Fostering Friendship: Pair Therapy for Treatment and Prevention
by Robert Selman
Category: Political Science

A great number of children and adolescents face a world of violence and isolation. In this book, the members of the Group for the Study of Interpersonal Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston describe in detail an innovative intervention and prevention method, pair therapy, that is designed to address these issues by helping children develop healthy interpersonal relationships. Pair therapy is a relationship-oriented treatment modality that addresses the social context of the difficulties encountered in growing up in today's world. This approach has been developed not only as a therapeutic intervention in day and residential treatment centers but also as a prevention method that can be used in public schools, day care centers, and other contexts. This practical volume meets the demand for an accessible, hands-on guide to the pair method. The theoretical foundations of the approach are also presented in an accessible fashion here. The techniques described in this book model a relationship-building process between an adult professional and two children. This process replicates the social relations that happen naturally in healthy and happy interactions and long-term relationships among well-cared-for children in safe and secure communities. This book will be useful for a number of disciplines that deal with younger children and adolescents: social work, education, school and group therapy, and human development. It offers educators, therapists, and other practitioners in a wide variety of settings the opportunity to learn how to develop a pair therapy program. It will also be an indispensable tool in the libraries of mental health practitioners who counsel youth beyond ordinary clinical treatment.