Doing Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy (eBook)

Richard Bromfield is a faculty member of Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts Mental Health Center. He has written extensively about children, psychotherapy, and family life, and maintains a private practice with children and adult clients.

What's New to the Second Edition ix

Preface to the First Edition xiii

Acknowledgments xv

To the Reader xvii

Part I The Essentials

1 Easy Does It: Beginning Therapy 3

2 Can I Help You? Evaluating the Child and Offering Treatment 15

3 The Not-So-Magic of Therapy: How Therapy Works 29

4 Do Fence Me In: The Bounds and Limits 47

5 Tell Me Where It Hurts: On Talking and Querying 63

Part II Techniques and Tools

6 The Lowdown on High Drama: Playing with Puppets and Action Figures 77

7 Shoot, Topple, and Roll: Using Games, Building Toys, and Guns 89

8 Drawing Out the Child: Artwork in Therapy 105

9 All Together Now: Balancing Play and Talk 125

10 Pushing the Envelope: On Giving, Telling, and Other Exceptions 141

Part III The Rest

11 Handle with Care: Working with Parents 161

12 Handle with Care, Part II: More Work with Parents 177

13 On Brotherly Love and Musical Chairs: Family Work 187

14 Talking Heads: Working with Schools and Other Agencies 199

15 Hard Times: Unwilling Patients and Therapeutic Crises 209

16 Getting to Know You, Getting to Know Me: aRace, Religion, and Culture 227

17 When Therapy Is Not Enough: Medication 239

18 I Can Name That Tune in Six Sessions: Managed Care and Evidence-Based Treatment 249

19 All's Well That Ends Well: Closing Therapy 261

References 277

Index 283

About the Author 293

"In this updated text, psychologist Richard Bromfield, Ph.D. opens
a window into child therapy at its best. Highly recommended, this
lively volume will be of great interest to professionals working in
clinic or office practice, as well as to experienced clinicians who
teach or supervise child psychotherapy." (New England
Psychologist, July 2009)

"...is a comprehensive yet coherent guide to counseling
youth. He gives the social work student and current practitioner a
realistic view of working with children." (Socialworker.com,
7/2008)

"Through an accessible and contemporary overview of
psychodynamic work with adolescents, this book draws from the
author's years of experience as a practitioner with children,
adolescents, and families. This second volume is colorfully
written, and full of rich clinical insights written in plain
language." (Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, June
2008)

"'Doing Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy' is
excellent--engaging, fun, educational, and thought provoking. It
would be a great addition to the library of both the novice and the
experienced therapist."

--Abigail L. Donovan, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
(JAACAP, June 2008)