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Goal-Directed Behavior (Frontiers of Social Psychology)
by Henk Aarts Andrew J. ElliotThis volume presents chapters from internationally renowned scholars in the area of goals and social behavior. The book is organized around a series of topics that are of critical importance to understanding the social-cognitive aspects of goal-directed behavior. In each chapter, the authors offer an introduction to past research on a specific topic and combine this with a presentation of their own empirical work to provide an integrated overview of the topic at hand. As a whole, this volume is designed to provide a broad portrait of goal research as it has been and is currently being conducted in the social psychological literature. It serves as an introduction to essential issues, while at the same time offering a sampling of cutting-edge research on core topics in the study of goal-directed behavior, such as how goals are represented, where goals come from, and what goals do in the process of regulation.
Collaboration and Assistance in Music Therapy Practice: Roles, Relationships, Challenges
by Trygve Aasgaard Tone Leinebo Tessa Watson Sarah Hadley Ruth Melhuish Rebecca O'Connor Pornpan Kaenampornpan Motoko Hayata Ming-Hung Hsu Mary-Clare Fearn Lyn Weekes Jorg Fachner John Strange Helen Odell-Miller Hannah Munro Gro Trondalen Eleanor Richards Catherine Warner Anthi AgrotouRelating the innovative ways in which assistants and collaborators can become an integral part of a course of music therapy, this book explores how the involvement of a diverse range of individuals, such as family members, learning support assistants, caregivers and medical staff, can contribute to successful sessions. Illustrated by clinical examples, the book will help music therapists and students to make the most of opportunities to collaborate with individuals other than the client who may be present during therapy sessions. The book also takes into account the challenges that can arise in music therapy collaboration, and explores the relationships that can develop between music therapists, clients and collaborators.
Living Well with Tinnitus: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural therapy (Living Well #1)
by Hashir Aazh Brian C.J. Moore'With real life examples to guide the reader and proven cognitive behavioural techniques, this will help people to overcome the distress associated with tinnitus and live a meaningful life'Dr Rory Allott, Greater Manchester NHS Foundation TrustWorldwide, about one billion people experience tinnitus at some point in their life. It is a life-changing experience for many of them. Learning effective management strategies in a timely fashion is the key to dealing with this difficult condition.This book combines cutting-edge knowledge of auditory science and theoretical frameworks in modern psychology with insight and real-life, human examples from clinical practice. Packed with metaphors and practical tips, the authors aid understanding of complex concepts by introducing an accessible and entertaining cast of characters from history and fiction, from Beauty and the Beast to Moby Dick, from Dante to Muhammad Ali, and from Sigmund Freud to Rumi.By following the advice in this book, you will:· Gain a realistic picture of what the recovery from tinnitus-related distress looks like· Learn how to go beyond the difficulties and annoyance caused by tinnitus and pay attention to the meanings behind those experiences· Develop skills that are proven to help on your journey.Everything that you need to know about living well with tinnitus is presented in ten steps!Living Well self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical.Series Editors: Professor Kate Harvey and Emeritus Professor Peter Cooper
Living Well with Tinnitus: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural therapy (Living Well #1)
by Hashir Aazh Brian C.J. Moore'With real life examples to guide the reader and proven cognitive behavioural techniques, this will help people to overcome the distress associated with tinnitus and live a meaningful life'Dr Rory Allott, Greater Manchester NHS Foundation TrustWorldwide, about one billion people experience tinnitus at some point in their life. It is a life-changing experience for many of them. Learning effective management strategies in a timely fashion is the key to dealing with this difficult condition.This book combines cutting-edge knowledge of auditory science and theoretical frameworks in modern psychology with insight and real-life, human examples from clinical practice. Packed with metaphors and practical tips, the authors aid understanding of complex concepts by introducing an accessible and entertaining cast of characters from history and fiction, from Beauty and the Beast to Moby Dick, from Dante to Muhammad Ali, and from Sigmund Freud to Rumi.By following the advice in this book, you will:· Gain a realistic picture of what the recovery from tinnitus-related distress looks like· Learn how to go beyond the difficulties and annoyance caused by tinnitus and pay attention to the meanings behind those experiences· Develop skills that are proven to help on your journey.Everything that you need to know about living well with tinnitus is presented in ten steps!Living Well self-help guides use clinically proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical.Series Editors: Professor Kate Harvey and Emeritus Professor Peter Cooper
Intercultural Supervision in Therapeutic Practice: Dialogues, Perspectives and Reflections
by Baffour AbabioIntercultural Supervision in Therapeutic Practice extends the dynamics of intercultural principles beyond the scope of the therapy room to the supervisory relationship. The book spotlights reflections from diverse cultural and "racial" identities and modalities, facilitating critical exchanges and conversations amongst the contributors without the constriction of rank. Trainee and qualified therapists who are not supervisors highlight the radical perspective of their placement supervision experience within intercultural settings and some pitfalls encountered in non-intercultural practice contexts. Chapters by experienced supervisors describe and review interventions, with recommendations for practice. The themes covered include the supervision of trainees within agencies, multi-disciplinary women working with survivors of domestic violence, and the supervision of therapists working with refugees and asylum seekers. At once contemporary and historical, this volume will serve as a reference for inquiring academics, and be of interest to students and clinicians undertaking supervision training, and supervisors and practitioners seeking to offer supervision to multi-disciplinary mental health practitioners.
Intercultural Therapy: Challenges, Insights and Developments
by Baffour Ababio Roland LittlewoodIntercultural Therapy: Challenges, Insights and Developments examines the impact of the work of the Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre in North London, which focused on providing free, psychodynamic therapy. Set up by Jafar Kareem, the centre was the first psychotherapy service with the specific task of offering psychodynamic psychotherapy to Britain’s Black and ethnic minority population. The editors of this book have invited a number of Nafsiyat therapists and colleagues to give their view on what has changed, or not changed, in regard to the integration of intercultural issues into mainstream therapy. Intercultural Therapy will be of interest to all psychotherapists working in multicultural practices, as well as practitioners and social workers.
DE FELICIDAD TAMBIEN SE VIVE (EBOOK)
by Jose Eduardo AbadiDe qué se trata la felicidad? Existe? Llega de un modo azaroso, o es posterior a una búsqueda y a un trabajo acorde? Existe una felicidad posible para todos los seres humanos? José Eduardo Abadi, reconocido médico psicoanalista, asume el desafío de repensar el concepto de felicidad despojándose por completo de fórmulas simplificadoras. Abadi propone el "ser feliz" como la combinación armónica entre lo que se siente, lo que se piensa y lo que se hace. Si nos planteamos metas alcanzables, renunciamos al goce del sufrimiento y relegamos las fantasías que nos llevan a callejones sin salida, la felicidad es posible. Y no se trata, por ello, de una felicidad mediocre, sino de un intento de coherencia interior entre nuestros anhelos y la realidad. Estamos pensando la felicidad humana, ligada a nuestra condición de sujetos mortales, incompletos y en conflicto. Si esto queda anulado, se juegan engañosamente objetivos inalcanzables. Por otro lado, no podemos pensar la felicidad como un concepto aislado. Es importante articular lo individual con la relación con el otro, con la sexualidad, la pareja, la imaginación, la amistad y la sorpresa. Abadi nos acerca formulaciones sobre la felicidad que han realizado pensadores significativos en la historia del conocimiento. Veremos allí los puntos de coincidencia y disenso entre ellos y, sobre todo, qué lugar ocupan muchas de esas formulaciones en nuestro presente. De felicidad también se vive reabre un diálogo preexistente pero a veces dejado de lado en la sociedad: el camino hacia la búsqueda de la felicidad. Se trata de un libro necesario, inteligente y riguroso, como sólo un pensador de la talla de José Eduardo Abadi podría escribir.
Y el mundo se detuvo: La vida nos ofrece una nueva oportunidad
by José Eduardo Abadi Patricia Faur Bárbara AbadiLos psicoanalistas José Eduardo Abadi, Patricia Faur y Bárbara Abadi analizan esta época donde todo se resignifica: el amor, la muerte, la información, los vínculos y hasta el poder político. Los autores hacen un gran aporte a esta nueva oportunidad de vivir en un mundo que se detuvo, pero está volviendo a arrancar. La pandemia puso al mundo patas para arriba, lo que significó, y aún lo hace, un antes y un después en nuestra vida. Todo cambió de un día para el otro: dejamos de ir a trabajar, de ver a nuestros familiares y amigos, se suspendieron las clases de los chicos, no pudimos despedir a seres queridos que fallecieron. Nos quedamos sin parámetros cotidianos, sin nuestra rutina y nuestros rituales. Paulatinamente, el confinamiento se fue flexibilizando mientras avanza la campaña de vacunación, si bien las consecuencias de estos tiempos son, como el virus, invisibles y aún no las podemos percibir. Los psicoanalistas José Eduardo Abadi, Patricia Faur y Bárbara Abadi despliegan su experiencia para desentrañar y echar luz sobre una época donde todo se ha replanteado: el amor, la muerte, la información, el vínculo con los hijos y hasta el poder político. Con una gran capacidad de observación y análisis, los autores hacen un aporte fundamental para esta nueva oportunidad de afrontar la vida en un mundo que se detuvo, pero está volviendo a arrancar.
Teen Dream Power: Unlock the Meaning of Your Dreams
by M. J. AbadieThe first and only complete guide to dream interpretation written specifically for teens.• Provides instruction for dream recall, interpretation, developing a personal dictionary of dream symbols, and keeping a dream diary.• Explains how to handle nightmares and negative dream images and explores the significance of dreams about sex. • Includes language, imagery, and life examples geared specifically to the needs and concerns of teens.• Written by the coauthor of Love Planets (50,000 copies sold) and the author of Your Psychic Potential (20,000 copies sold).When we dream we uncover our inner selves, process our hopes and fears, and explore our potential. Teen Dream Power teaches teens that when they sleep, their unconscious minds are sending them important messages that may hold the keys to their personal happiness. A professional astrologer and psychotherapist with a specialty in dream interpretation, M. J. Abadie explores the dream wisdom of earlier societies and what it means for teens today. She shows teens that by inducing dreams for special purposes and maneuvering negative dream images they can solve everyday problems. Teens will learn to increase dream recall, interpret dreams using their own personal dream symbol dictionary, handle nightmares, and explore the fascinating inner changes going on at this time in their lives. With the tools in Teen Dream Power, teens can gain self-understanding, enhance learning skills, and increase their creativity and productivity.
Drug Use and Abuse: A Comprehensive Introduction (8th Edition)
by Howard AbadinskyPacked with the latest data and research, the powerful new DRUG USE AND ABUSE: A COMPREHENSIVE INTRODUCTION, 8e delivers a thorough, interdisciplinary survey of all aspects of drug and alcohol abuse. The text draws from the many disciplines of history, law, pharmacology, political science, social work, counseling, psychology, sociology, and criminal justice--resulting in the most comprehensive, authoritative single source available. It explores the history of drugs, their impact on society, the pharmacological impact of drugs on the body, drug policy implications, the criminal justice system response, the drug business, law enforcement, theories of use, as well as the effects, treatment, and prevention of abuse. New coverage includes nonmedical use of prescription drugs, synthetic substances, the use of stimulants to treat PTSD and ADD, medical marijuana, the connection between drug trafficking and terrorism, and an updated analysis of the United States drug policy.
Cross-Cultural Dialogue as a Conflict Management Strategy (Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications)
by Gracia Abad-Quintanal J. Martín RamírezThis book contributes to the current knowledge and research on conflict and cross-cultural dialogue, emphasizing how respect, tolerance and dialogue may be quite effective tools for bridging the diverse cultures and, consequently, for solving many of the conflicts of today’s world, characterized by a dynamic interchange of populations with very diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. For this purpose, we rely on reputed scholars from ten different countries, and from different cultures and fields of expertise, which allows for diverse contributions from a valuable interdisciplinary perspective. The first section of the book deals with the correlation between cultural differences and conflict, while also showing how such conflicts can be prevented and, should they arise, managed and solved. The second section addresses a different, more specific issue: how cultural expression means and tools for cultural communication may lead to conflict whereas they may help to avoid it as well. Finally, the third section analyzes how legal and justice systems deal with cross-cultural conflicts as well as with situations which may lead to cross-cultural conflicts, thus assessing to which extent such systems contribute to avoid and/or solve such kind of conflicts.
Knowing What Things Are: An Inquiry-Based Approach (Synthese Library #466)
by André J. AbathThis book provides an account of what is to know what things are, focusing on kinds, both natural (such as water) and social (such as marriage). It brings tools from an area that has received much attention in recent years, the epistemology of inquiry. The knowledge of what things are is to be understood as resulting from successful inquiries directed at questions of the form ‘What is x?’, where x stands for a given kind of thing. The book also addresses knowledge-wh in general (which includes knowledge-who and knowledge-where), as well as the phenomenon of ignorance regarding what things are and our obligations in respect to knowing what things are. It also brings to light new avenues of research for those interested in the relation between the knowledge of what things are and concept possession and amelioration.‘Knowing What Things Are’ should be of interest to researchers in Epistemology, Philosophy of Language, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Social Philosophy and Linguistics.
My Revision Notes: Edexcel A level Psychology
by Ali AbbasManage your own revision with step-by-step support from experienced teacher and examiner XXX. Use a selection of examples activities to improve your understanding of psychological concepts. Apply psychological terms accurately with the help of definitions and key words.- Plan and pace your revision with the revision planner- Use the expert tips to clarify key points- Avoid making typical mistakes with expert advice- Test yourself with end-of-topic questions and answers and tick off each topic as you complete it- Get exam ready with last minute quick quizzes at www.hodderplus.co.uk/myrevisionnotes
My Revision Notes: Edexcel A level Psychology
by Ali AbbasManage your own revision with step-by-step support from experienced teacher and examiner XXX. Use a selection of examples activities to improve your understanding of psychological concepts. Apply psychological terms accurately with the help of definitions and key words.- Plan and pace your revision with the revision planner- Use the expert tips to clarify key points- Avoid making typical mistakes with expert advice- Test yourself with end-of-topic questions and answers and tick off each topic as you complete it- Get exam ready with last minute quick quizzes at www.hodderplus.co.uk/myrevisionnotes
Psychology GCSE for Edexcel: Revise and Supplement
by Ali AbbasThis accessible and interactive textbook covers all compulsory and optional topics on the GCSE Edexcel Psychology syllabus introduced in 2017, including development, memory, psychological problems, brain and neuropsychology, social influence and research methods. All topics are covered in depth, enabling you to digest and retain the information necessary and be ready for your exams. Packed with ideas and techniques designed to help you cement your knowledge, the book includes a number of unique and helpful features, such as: Expert tips from an experienced senior examiner to clarify key points and help you avoid making common errors New and updated exam questions to aid practice Active learning tasks, such as key definitions and word gaps Double page spreads outlining the studies you need to know, and their strengths and weaknesses Coverage of the new compulsory mathematical element which was brought into the specification in 2017 Perfect for revising psychological concepts, theories and studies in relation to the three critical assessment objectives, Psychology GCSE for Edexcel 2nd Edition is an essential resource for anyone taking a psychology GCSE using the Edexcel specification.
Psychology GCSE Revision Guide for Edexcel
by Ali AbbasIf you’re studying for a GCSE in Psychology you’ll need a revision guide that tells you everything you need to know. This accessible and interactive book covers all compulsory and all optional topics on the GCSE Edexcel Psychology syllabus introduced in 2017, including development, memory, psychological problems, brain and neuropsychology, social influence and research methods. It summarises the specification material clearly and attractively, enabling you to easily digest and retain the information ready for your exams. Packed full of revision ideas and techniques designed to help you cement your knowledge, the book includes a number of unique and helpful features, such as: Expert tips from an experienced senior examiner to clarify key points and help you avoid making common errors Sample exam questions to aid practice Active learning tasks, such as key definitions and word gaps Double page spreads outlining the studies you need to know, and their strengths and weaknesses Coverage of the new compulsory mathematical element which was brought into the specification in 2017 Perfect for revising psychological concepts, theories and studies in relation to the three critical assessment objectives, Psychology GCSE Revision Guide for Edexcel is an essential resource for anyone taking a psychology GCSE using the Edexcel specification.
The Rupture of Serenity: External Intrusions and Psychoanalytic Technique
by Aisha AbbasiWhat happens when the outside world enters the psychoanalytic space? In The Rupture of Serenity: External Intrusions and Psychoanalytic Technique, the author draws on clinical material to describe some of the dilemmas she has encountered in her work with patients when external factors have entered the treatment frame. She considers analytic dilemmas that range from how to deal with patients' unusual requests regarding the conduct of an analytic treatment to the question of how to handle events in the analyst's personal life that, by necessity, must be addressed in the analysis. As a Muslim of Pakistani origin, the author is also able to discuss, frankly and with compassion, the role that ethnic and religious differences between patient and analyst can play in treatment-differences that, in the aftermath of 9/11 and the search for and killing of Osama bin Laden, became a palpable presence in her consulting room.
Reaching through Resistance: Advanced Psychotherapy Techniques
by Allan AbbassA New Metapsychology of the Unconscious Helps Patients Succeed in PsychotherapyAbout half of all psychotherapy clients do not respond--or even worsen--in treatment. Why? They unknowingly use treatment-defeating behaviors, or resistances, that prevent successful collaboration with the therapist. It's as if they cannot allow treatment to succeed. This can be frustrating and demoralizing for both the therapist and the client. How can you and your client detect and handle treatment resistance? How can you reach through to the person beneath this resistance--the person your client was meant to be?For treatment to succeed, you need to recognize and challenge treatment resistance from the first session. Reaching through Resistance will help you * turn a client against his or her own long-held defeating behaviors * regulate intense anxiety when strong feelings are activated * activate and process previously avoided impulses and feelingsUsing the interventions in this book for handling resistances, you can empower a collaborative, vigorous treatment alliance and mobilize the healing forces within your client."Numerous clinical vignettes show how to put theory into practice, leading to enduring change...If you want to know how to help clients change, this book is essential reading."--David Malan, DM, FRCPsych, noted researcher and author"Abbass demonstrates how one can reach behind the resistances of even the most repressed and fragile character types and offer them genuine, lasting change...a gold mine of clinical insight."--Stanley B. Messer, PhD, Dean and Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers UniversityAllan Abbass, MD, is a professor of psychiatry and psychology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. He is a highly sought-after consultant, speaker, and clinical supervisor in North America and Europe.
Psychology in the Talmud: Guidelines for Simchah and Personal Growth
by Rabbi Elihu AbbeThis book uncovers important insights from the Jewish tradition and offers tools for success, joy, growth, and inspiration. Timeless ideas are elaborated on from the writings of classical Torah commentaries as well as current leaders in the fields of psychology and personal growth. Short summaries enable readers to more easily implement these crucial concepts into their lives.
Emerging Methods in Psychology (History And Theory Of Psychology Ser.)
by Emily Abbey Seth SurganThe motivation for this volume in the History and Theory of Psychology series is to look across sub-disciplines within psychology and highlight instances where researchers transcended the tendency to think about methodology along traditional lines. Contributors have located examples of researchers who built upon existing ideas to create methods true to their interests and theoretical convictions.Emerging Methods in Psychology shows how a discipline creates new methods and carves out possibilities that not only generate data, but also advance knowledge of human psychological functioning. It concentrates on showcasing the possibilities that exist when the researcher focuses on the relationship between theory, method, and data.The question of what kind of expertise is required is a key issue. This is particularly the case in psychology where the tradition of standardizing methods over the last century has served to stabilize research questions. Knowledge creation is deeply affective and ambiguous rather than the secure accumulation of data by a socially legitimized procedure. This innovative volume moves beyond psychology as social engineering into new varieties of social knowledge.
The Heat of the Moment in Treatment: Mindful Management of Difficult Clients
by Mitch AbblettHow to warm up to the clients that stop you cold. Have you experienced the anger, fear, doubt, and frustration that most clinicians feel but rarely put words to? Have you ever overreacted to a client in session or found yourself overwhelmed by the work with that client in your caseload? Are you looking for tools to manage your most "difficult" clients? Chances are, you're like all other clinicians: At times you play "tug-of-war" with those in your care. The Heat of the Moment in Treatment is for clinicians looking to explore, reassess, and transform the way they treat their most difficult clients. With carefully designed mindfulness-based exercises, self-assessments, and skill development activities, this workbook helps clinicians understand their own role in therapeutic interactions, as well as how to proactively respond to tough client behavior in ways that improve the prospects for successful treatment. Author Mitch Abblett acts as a sensitive, expert guide, laying out a roadmap for the toughest of clinical encounters that almost all therapists face, whether seasoned or just starting out. His use of relatable metaphors, rhetorical questions, and stories from his own experience allows readers to reflect upon their own psychotherapy practice without feeling like there is one right way to deal with challenging clients. The Heat of the Moment in Treatment will help clinicians move beyond assumptions and reactive impulses to their "difficult" clients. Readers will gain proactive clinical leadership skills, while learning how to expand mindful awareness of self and others to access compassion and empathy for any client--even when the "heat" of moment-to-moment interaction in session is hard to tolerate.
Complex Social Issues and the Perinatal Woman
by Laura AbbottPursuing a multidisciplinary approach, this book demonstrates the best quality care for pregnant women and new mothers who may have complex social needs. This book will benefit all health and social care professionals working in women’s health, while also providing a valuable reference guide for maternity departments. The latest Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) demonstrates the consequences that having multiple complexities has and the need to ensure that susceptible groups receive personalised, appropriate care and meeting the needs of all women is urgent and essential. This book brings together a blend of health and social care professionals, experts by experience and the charity third sector. All have expertise in caring for and supporting perinatal women with issues that may affect their health and the type of care they require. Through our collective writing, we provide a paradigm for partnership working and hope to have strengthened voices by highlighting women’s experiences and the importance of third sector partnerships, working in tandem with women who are experts by experiences and bringing health professionals together. In combination with recommendations from specialists in the field, we have offered a unique mix of compassion and evidence-based guidance. From substance abuse, domestic violence and HIV to experiences of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minorities, homelessness, women seeking asylum and women in prison, we have addressed a range of current issues and provided essential information and opportunities to reflect. Each chapter invites the reader to step into the shoes of the perinatal woman. Through our collective writing, we provide a paradigm for partnership working and hope to have strengthened voices by highlighting diverse experiences. We have looked at how using a trauma informed approach can be applied universally to care for all women and learn from charities such as Birth Companions, the 4M project and the Salamander Trust, how different approaches may directly impact women’s care in a positive and holistic way. An overarching aim of our book has been to find ways to deliver multi-agency continuity of care, whilst being aware of bias, professional responsibilities and an understanding how we can take a holistic approach - crucial for attaining excellence in 21st century maternity care provision.
Narratives of Faith from the Haiti Earthquake: Religion, Natural Hazards and Disaster Response (Routledge Focus on Religion)
by Roger Philip Abbott Robert S. WhiteThis book presents an in-depth ethnographic case study carried out in the years following the 2010 Haiti earthquake to present the role of faith beliefs in disaster response. The earthquake is one of the most destructive on record, and the aftermath, including a cholera epidemic and ongoing humanitarian aid, has continued for years following the catastrophe. Based on dozens of interviews, this book gives primacy to survivors’ narratives. It begins by laying out the Haitian context, before presenting an account of the earthquake from survivors’ perspectives. It then explores in detail how the earthquake affected the religious, mainly Christian, faith of survivors and how religious faith influenced how they responded to, and are recovering from, the experience. The account is also informed by geoscience and the accompanying "complicating factors." Finally, the Haitian experience highlights the significant role that religious faith can play alongside other learned coping strategies in disaster response and recovery globally. This book contributes an important case study to an emerging literature in which the influence of both religion and narrative is being recognised. It will be of interest to scholars of any discipline concerned with disaster response, including practical theology, anthropology, psychology, geography, Caribbean studies and earth science. It will also provide a resource for non-governmental organisations.
Social and Personality Development (Routledge Modular Psychology Ser.)
by Tina AbbottSocial and Personality Development looks at the processes by which we come to be who we are. It covers a range of topics central to personality and developmental psychology. The book is arranged in three sections, the first covering the main theories of personality, the second describing the development of gender and the third focusing on adolescence. It is suitable for the AQA-A A2 Level examination, but will also be of interest to those studying education, nursing and other related disciplines.
The Great Jeff
by Tony Abbott<P><P> Perfect for fans of Gary D. Schmidt comes the companion to the modern classic Firegirl from acclaimed writer Tony Abbott. Life hasn't been great for Jeff Hicks. <P><P>After years at his beloved St. Catherine's, he's forced to spend eighth grade in the public middle school, which he hates. He's no longer speaking to his former best friend, Tom Bender, because of "that burned girl" Jessica Feeney. <P><P>But worst of all, his family is changing, and it's not for the better. <P><P>When his mom comes home announcing that she's lost her job, Jeff begins to worry about things far beyond his years: How will they pay the rent? Will his absentee dad step up and save the day? Is his mom drinking too much? And ultimately, where will they live? <P><P>The Great Jeff is a powerful look at the life of a troubled boy who finds his life spiraling out of control.