Intended to enhance the work of therapists, guidance counselors, teachers, clergy, pediatricians, and others who work with children and their parents, this book sets out a wise and practical framework for more effective interventions with challenging children and resistant parents in school, community, or health care settings. The book offers insights based on over 25 years of clinical experience and more than 1,000 workshops with parents, children, and professionals, while reflecting a deep understanding of the unprecedented demands on family life today. The chapters are as follows: (1) "Getting Started: How To Quickly Gather Information That Counts"; (2) "Down and Dirty Diagnosis: Spotting Developmental Psychiatric Problems Early On"; (3) "Tough Tykes: Getting through to Difficult Children (2-10 Years Old)"; (4) "Up Against the Wall: Getting through to Difficult Parents"; (5) "Gut Responses: Handling Anger, Outrage, Sexuality, and Other 'Unprofessional' Feelings"; (6) "Staying in Charge: Helping Parents Avoid the Traps of Modern Parenthood"; (7) "The Second Family: Working with Adolescents in a Dangerous World"; (8) "Resilient Kids: Nurturing Self-Esteem in 21st-Century Children and Adolescents"; (9) "The Power of Two: "Helping Parents Create a United Front"; (10) "Families under Siege: Helping Parents and Children Connect"; and (11) "At the Millennium: Toward a New Paradigm for Working with Children and Parents." (HTH)