Hans Werner Reinfried Livres

Dealing with adolescent behavioral problems, especially those that lead to criminal offences, is a task that requires both delicacy and responsibility – for parents, teachers, fellows and the state alike. Drawing on 26 representative case studies, Hans-Werner Reinfried depicts psychotherapeutic processes regarding the assessment and ambulant care of adolescents and illustrates possibilities as well as the limits of psychotherapy. The book does not provide easy solutions – it rather serves as an encouragement to deepen one's understanding of adolescent distress and to react in an adequate manner when confronted with young offenders.

Psychotherapy with a focus on depth psychology can, in some cases, be successful even in the context of a penal system. The author describes the psychotherapeutic process on the basis of 35 annotated case studies from both closed and open prisons. His depiction of the causes for criminal offences, possible ways of therapeutic intervention as well as the problems of psycho-social therapy in prison are a huge benefit to both theory and practice. The books does not suggests easy fixes. Instead, it encourages the reader to pursue his or her own pragmatic and reality-based approach when working with prisoners. The volume also includes a preface by Walter Toman and an introduction to research on the empirical effectiveness of therapy in the penal system.