Promoting Positive Parenting of Teenagers

Following on from the success of Promoting Positive Parenting, David Neville, Dick Beak and Liz King have now written this book which looks at the particular problems and challenges associated with working with parents of teenagers. The Centre for Fun and Families (from which the authors hail) is a national voluntary organization which was established in 1990. Its objective is to empower parents who are experiencing behaviour and communication difficulties with their children and young people, through the use of group work programmes. This book shares with readers the theoretical ideas that underpin the work of the Centre and provides a practical guide of how to undertake such a programme, thereby enabling the reader to react sensitively and productively to unforeseen circumstances which are inevitable when running groups. Professionals coming to these methods for the first time can work through the text safe in the knowledge that these are tried and tested ways of working, which are known to be effective. At a time when attention is focused on the importance of parenting and the way in which children are brought up and guided into adulthood, no practitioner working in this field should ignore the message within these covers.

David Neville, Liz King

Contents: Foreword, Tom Butler; Bishop of Leicester; Introduction, Professor Martin Herbert. The Background to the Centre for Fun and Families: The development of the Centre; Planning a living with teenagers group - practical lessons learned. Theoretical Background to Practice: Empowerment and anti-discriminatory practice; Social learning theory; Resolving family conflict; The role of cognitive behavioural theory; Groupwork skills: giving structure to groups for parents. The Seven-Week Living with Teenagers Programme: Understanding behaviour: Sessions 1 and 2; Influencing behaviour: Sessions 3, 4 and 5; Looking after ourselves, evaluation and goodbyes: Sessions 6 and 7. Part IV Follow-up After the Group: Evaluation; Parent support groups; Future developments. Appendices; References and further reading; Index.