Marian Volkman reviews

Healing the Hurt Child
by Donovan & McIntyre
ISBN: 0393700933

I was lucky enough to hear them give a half-day presentation on their work some years ago. These two break the mold. They get better results faster. They get results where many have failed before them. They do that, in my opinion, first by being solidly, unequivocally there for the children they work with, and secondly by using the superior technical methodology that they have developed. They cite Rogers, the father of person-centered work and stand out as shining examples of the use of this model. The text is rich with examples and no matter how "bad" a child is, it's clear that they never, ever blame the child. The proof of the validity of their approach is the results they get. They are therapists writing to other therapists, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested. One technique they employ that anyone could use is the "Five Minutes" where a parent is asked to give five minutes a day of undivided, uncritical attention to whatever his or her child wants to say. To get the excellent results they get from this technique, see Chapter 5 for the definitions that support it. Highly Recommended

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