This book examines new developments in the area of human competence and coping behavior. It sets forth a conceptual framework that considers the interplay between environmental contexts and personal resources and their impact on how indi viduals cope with life transitions and crises. The selections cover the tasks confronted in varied life crises and describe the coping strategies employed in managing them. The material identifies the long-term effects of such life events as divorce and bereave ment as well as the way in which these stressors can promote personal growth and maturity. The book contains a broad selec tion of recent literature on coping and adaptation, integrative commentaries that provide the background for each of the areas as well as conceptual linkages among them, and an introductory overview that presents a general perspective on human compe tence and coping. Illustrative case examples are included. The first part of the book is organized chronologically ac cording to developmental life transitions confronted by many people-from the childhood years through adolescence, career choice and parenthood, divorce and remarriage, middle age and retirement, and death and bereavement. The second part covers unusual life crises and other hazards that typically involve ex treme stress such as man-made and natural disasters and terrorism. The book highlights effective coping behavior among healthy individuals rather than psychological breakdown and psychiatric symptoms. The emphasis is on successful adaptation, the ability to cope with life transitions and crises, and the process by which such ix x PREFACf. ".

A result of a conference at the University of Trier, Germany, this volume mirrors its goals: * to provide an overview of recent advances in research on critical life events and the losses associated with them * to collect and stimulate new perspectives for the analysis of these events * to compare the psychology of victims experiencing stress and losses with the psychology of observers in their reactions to victims. Designed to prevent developmental psychological myths in the area of life crises, this collection questions, on an empirical basis, the adequacy of several widespread generalizations. At the same time its contributors attempt to draw paths to conceptualizations and theories in general psychology and social psychology which promise to be helpful in analyzing and interpreting phenomena in the field of life crises.

For some, life’s introduction to death and grief comes early, and when it does it can take many forms. Not only does Dealing with Dying, Death, and Grief during Adolescence tackle them all, it does so with David Balk’s remarkable sensitivity to and deep knowledge of the pressures and opportunities adolescents face in their transition from childhood to adulthood. In seamless, jargon-free language, Balk brings readers up to date with what we know about adolescent development, because over time such changes form the backstory we need to comprehend the impact of death and bereavement in an adolescent’s life. The book’s later chapters break down the recent findings in the study of life-threatening illness and bereavement during adolescence. And, crucially, these chapters also examine interventions that assist adolescents coping with these difficulties. Clinicians will come away from this book with both a grounded understanding of adolescent development and the adolescent experience of death, and they’ll also gain specific tools for helping adolescents cope with death and grief on their own terms. For any clinician committed to supporting adolescents facing some of life’s most difficult experiences, this integrated, up-to-date, and deeply insightful text is simply the book to have. David E. Balk is professor in the department of health and nutrition sciences at Brooklyn College (CUNY), where he directs the graduate program in thanatology. He is the author of Adolescent Development: Early Through Late Adolescence, Helping the Bereaved College Student, and several other books on death and bereavement. He is also co-editor of the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Thanatology (Routledge, 2013).

Twenty-nine collected essays represent a critical history of Shakespeare's play as text and as theater, beginning with Samuel Johnson in 1765, and ending with a review of the Royal Shakespeare Company production in 1991. The criticism centers on three aspects of the play: the love/friendship debate.

Do you wonder why some people handle crises so well while others encounter the same situation and do so poorly? Take Control of Life's Crises Today! shows you how to confidently deal with nearly anything you encounter. You can assess your current skills and learn how to effectively handle crises — a fight with a partner, a job interview, dealing with a natural disaster like a hurricane, or reacting to a car accident. While this book is written for anyone looking to improve his or her ability to handle crises in life, special chapters are designed to address: **Parents helping their children learn to cope with crises **Teachers preparing themselves and their students for a crisis **First Responders learning to better cope with crises on the job Take Control of Life's Crises Today! is personal and easy to read. It is filled with case examples, practical suggestions, and simple, concrete steps for developing your skills in managing crises.

"It is not thought as such that can move anything, but thought which is for the sake of something and is practical." This discerning insight, which dates back more than 2000years to Aristotle, seems to have been ignored by most psycholo gists. For more than 40years theories of human action have assumed that cogni tion and action are merely two sides of the same coin. Approaches as different as S-O-R behaviorism,social learning theory, consistency theories,and expectancy value theories of motivation and decision making have one thing in common: they all assume that "thought (or any other type of cognition) can move any thing," that there is a direct path from cognition to behavior. In recent years, we have become more and more aware of the complexities in volved in the relationship between cognition and behavior. People do not always do what they intend to do. Aside from several nonpsychological factors capable of reducing cognition-behavior consistency, there seems to be a set of complex psychological mechanisms which intervene between action-related cognitions, such as beliefs, expectancies, values, and intentions,and the enactment of the be havior suggested by those cognitions. In our recent research we have focused on volitional mechanismus which presumably enhance cognition-behavior consistency by supporting the main tenance of activated intentions and prevent them from being pushed aside by competing action tendencies.

COPING IN CRISIS attempts to examine 'crisis resolution' processes in the light of the time honoured Chinese perspective that crisis 危機 is a time of danger and a time of opportunity. It presents a specific approach to crisis intervention - designed to turn the dangers, demands and deprivations inherent in crisis situations along positive lines - and provides an impetus for" growth. The Hong Kong crisis study, reported in this book, examines the nature of personal, and family, crises; over which people in Hong Kong seek help from the family service centres of the Social Welfare Department and Caritas. It also seeks to discover whether opportunities for growth and learning are present, despite the risks to which the person-in-crisis is exposed.

This volume presents current models of coping, describes the coping process, and relates that process to environmental factors, person variables, and desirable outcomes. Unlike most treatments of coping, which are organized around stress, this volume emphasizes features of the coping process that have broad relevance across many potential stressors. Although each model in the book tends to emphasize different aspects of coping, the organization around models gives each chapter a theoretical focus which will be attractive to researchers and to those applying current research to applied problems such as interventions. The most obvious audience is made up of researchers and scholars in the broad area of stress and coping. With the emerging emphasis within applied programs on more common psychological and health problems, coping theory is well suited to train students in the principles and issues relevant to everyday problems and functioning. This volume is well suited to assist in such training.

Therapist's Guide to Clinical Intervention, Second Edition is a must-have reference for clinicians completing insurance forms, participating in managed care, or practicing in treatment settings requiring formalized goals and treatment objectives. This practical, hands-on handbook outlines treatment goals and objectives for each type of psychopathology as defined by the diagnostic and statistical manual by the American Psychiatric Association, identifies skill-building resources, and provides samples of all major professional forms.With over 30% new information, this new edition covers a variety of new special assessments including domestic violence, phobias, eating disorders, adult ADHD, and outpatient progress. New skill-building resources focus on surviving holiday blues, improving communication, overcoming shyness, teaching couples to fight "fair", surviving divorce, successful stepfamilies, managing anger, coping with post traumatic stress, and more. Additional professional forms have been added including treatment plans, a brief mental health evaluation, parent's questionnaire, and a contract for providing service for people with no insurance. - Outlines treatment goals and objectives for DSM-IV diagnoses - Outlines for assessing special circumstances - Offers skill building resources to supplement treatment - Provides samples for a wide range of business and clinical forms