Applying Neuroscience to Counseling Children and Adolescents

Applying Neuroscience to Counseling Children and Adolescents: A Guide to Brain-Based, Experiential Interventions explores the neurobiological underpinnings of child and adolescent development and encourages readers to apply neuroscience-informed interventions and strategies to counseling practice.The book provides an overview and foundational perspective on neuroscience-informed child and adolescent counseling; covers models and modes of counseling from a neuroscience perspective; and examines common clinical presentations when working with children and adolescents. Individual chapters address ethical and cultural considerations, counseling theory and neuroscience, neuroscience of play, using neuroscience in working with parents and caregivers, and neuroscience-informed interventions to treat anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, substance misuse, and attention and behavioral issues. Each chapter features two primary cases, one for a young child and one for an adolescent, conceptualized from real-life clients. The chapters present practical interventions and a sample of counselor-client dialogue to help readers understand how an intervention might unfold during a session. Applying Neuroscience to Counseling Children and Adolescents bridges the gap between textbooks that cover neuroscience and counseling children and adolescents independently. It is an ideal supplemental text for courses on incorporating neuroscience in counseling.

Chad Luke is a professor of counseling who teaches neuroscience for counselors, career counseling, theories and techniques, multicultural counseling, among others. He is a clinical supervisor and a licensed counselor with 20 years of clinical experience. He is the author of Neuroscience for Counselors and Therapists: Integrating the Sciences of Mind and Brain.Christine J. Schimmel is an associate professor in the Department of Counseling and Learning Sciences at West Virginia University who teaches counseling techniques, group counseling, and counseling children and adolescents. She is a licensed professional counselor in West Virginia with more than 20 years of clinical and teaching experience. A former school counselor, she focuses her energies working with and training pre-service school counselors.