Think Positively!: A course for developing coping skills in adolescents

Description

Depression is being experienced in epidemic proportions in many Western societies, and there is great concern over the number of young people who are suffering, sometimes to the extent of committing suicide. This book aims to help prevent stress and depression by taking a positive approach to the promotion of health and well being in young people.

Erica Frydenberg is a clinical, organisational, counselling and educational psychologist. She practiced extensively in educational settings in Australia before joining the staff of the University of Melbourne, where she is an Associate Professor in Psychology in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. She is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and an elected member of its Board 2007-2009.

'...a vividly written, well researched, and highly practical text.' Brian Hughes, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway 'Welcome to the Age of Resilience! "Think Positively" is a timely summons for teachers and parents to actively assume responsibility for making declarations such as "look on the bright side," or "the sky is the limit" to be more than just encouragements and instead become the way of life for young people. Erica Frydenberg's course is carefully grounded in developmental theories and empirical research on stress and coping. This resourceful book offers very practical templates for teaching children and teenagers productive coping strategies with past, present and future stressors. Yes we can, with the aid of this volume, coach our children to make well-informed choices regarding different ways of coping.' Krys Kaniasty, Professor of Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA & Opole University, Poland 'Erica Frydenberg's Think Positively! is a highly important and valuable manual that should be widely consulted. So much of the popular literature on positive thinking offers advice that is well-meaning but poorly evidence-based. However, this text is different. Its uniqueness lies in its promotion of coping skills and empowerment strategies based on principles drawn from empirical research. In adopting this approach, Frydenberg can be credited with providing an important service to young people and their mentors. This is a vividly written, well researched, and highly practical text.'Brian Hughes, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway '... a great resource for psychologists, teachers and adolescents. The good news of this book is like the author says - that coping skills can be learnt, whether as part of a universal class-based program, in a small group setting for young people with particular needs, or for an individual.' Maria Emilia Lucio Gomez-Maqueo, Professor of Psychology, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) 'I think Erica's new book serves two valuable purposes: one is giving a reliable picture of the latest research in the topical area of positive psychology. The other, even more important purpose is its practical usefulness in the classroom....I think it's a perfect text for schools and teachers who might want to start up or develop their positive thinking programs for students.' Glyn Davis, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Melbourne, Australia 'Erica Frydenberg's excellent text, published last year, is a welcome addition to the field of education for personal and emotional learning ... an excellent set of resources, clearly based on theory, attractively produced and supported by website materials.' -- Educational Review