Understanding adolescents for helping professionals / Avidan Milevsky, PhD, LCPC.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Understanding Adolescent Development -- What Is Development? -- Why Do We Study Adolescent Development? -- The Study of Adolescent Development: Past, Present, and Future -- 2. Adolescent Developmental Theories -- Intrapsychic Theories -- Cognitive Theories -- Behavioral and Environmental Theories -- Biological Theories -- Integrative Theories -- 3. Research and Practice in Adolescent Development -- The Importance of Research-Based Practice -- The Research Method -- Evaluating the Science and Ethics of Research -- Careers in Adolescent Development -- 4. The Process of Puberty -- The Beginning of Puberty -- The Timing of Puberty -- Off-Time Puberty -- 5. Body and Brain Development -- External and Internal Physical Changes -- The Brain -- 6. Health and Nutrition -- Overall Health -- Sleep -- Diet and Nutrition -- 7. Cognition, Thinking, and School -- Piaget's Formal Operational Stage -- Thinking in Context -- Educating Adolescents -- 8. Psychosocial Development -- Interacting Forces -- Understanding the Self -- Identity -- Emotions -- 9. The Social Network and the Modern World -- Family -- Friends and Enemies -- Dating and Love -- TV and the Media -- Technology -- Cyberbullying -- 10. Adolescent Problems -- Externalizing Problems -- Internalizing Problems.

Adolescence is a distinct and complex stage of development, and successful interventions with this population require an in-depth understanding of the many forces affecting them. This is a practical, thorough, yet concise survey of adolescent development for early career professionals in psychology, mental health counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, education, and nursing. Based on in-depth theoretical and empirical understanding of adolescent physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, the text demonstrates how this knowledge can be applied immediately to treating adolescents in any setting. The only book of its kind, it is a welcome alternative to purely clinical books because its strategic focus is on understanding normal adolescent development and appreciating the crucial difference between adolescent developmental issues versus clinical issues. Comprehending this important difference is an integral aspect of successful interventions with adolescents. The book provides an overview of historical perspectives, major theories and research, and current best practices in the profession. It addresses topics in adolescent development, with a particular emphasis on how physical, cognitive, and socioemotional developments interact in an integrative process. Particularly helpful features include a section in each chapter, "Adolescent Development in the Real World," which highlights interviews with professionals who, in their daily work, apply the concepts discussed in the text. The "In Their Own Words" feature provides interviews with adolescents from various gender and ethnic groups, providing first-person accounts of how specific issues are manifested in life. Other hallmarks of this text include easy-to-understand language, discussion-oriented critical thinking tasks, and suggestions for further reading. Readers will come away with a deep theoretical and empirical understanding of adolescent development, as well as how to apply and implement these concepts in any adolescent or adolescent-related mental health setting.

Cataloging Notes: 20240203 STAMIU-0199STAMIU-0199