Presenting a developmentally grounded approach to treating a wide range of adolescent problems, this book shows how troubled teenagers and their parents can be helped to use family relationships as catalysts for growth and change. Case examples, practical discussions of the process of assessment and therapy, and straightforward clinical advice are provided. Introductory chapters illuminate the ways that families preoccupied with "the problem" of a symptomatic adolescent often neglect important aspects of their relationships and grow increasingly isolated, enabling conflict to persist and escalate. The therapist is encouraged to break the symptomatic cycle by encouraging change in the ways in which each family member sees and responds to the others. Key developmental tasks of early, middle, and late adolescence are delineated; stereotypes are defused. Specific family intervention strategies are presented for eating disorders, depression and suicide, violence, delinquency and defiant behavior, underachievement and school-related problems, stress caused by psychotic symptoms, problems of "leaving home," and other frequently encountered conditions. Each chapter focuses on a specific presenting problem, enumerates basic treatment principles, and addresses potential pitfalls and complications in therapy. Attention is also given to working with schools and the special challenges of treating multiproblem, low-income families. (Author/EMK)