The manual provides information and suggestions to parents of youth with psychiatric disabilities, based on the program at Thresholds, a psychiatric rehabilitation center in Chicago, Illinois. The manual includes case examples, exercises, and space for parent responses. Chapters have the following titles and topics: "The Importance to You of Your Youth's Employment" (the role of values and work, loss and adjustment of expectations, and fear of the unknown); "Understanding Your Youth's Feelings about Working" (adolescence, typical adolescent attitudes toward employment, special employment issues for mentally ill youth); "Ways You Can Help Your Youth Prepare for Employment" (communication techniques, raising self-esteem, and influencing adaptive behaviors); "Supporting Your Youth through the Job Seeking Process" (career exploration, assessing job readiness, the application and interview process); "Holding a Job Over Time: Helping Develop Social Skills" (social skills needed to begin, maintain, and terminate a job); "Stress Management: Helping Your Youth Stay On the Job" (sources of stress, methods of coping with stress, and managing tasks under stress). Fifty-one suggestions for further reading are included. (DB)