Fostering friendship

A great number of children and adolescents face a world of violence and isolation. In this book, the members of the Group for the Study of Interpersonal Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston describe in detail an innovative intervention and prevention method, pair therapy, that is designed to address these issues by helping children develop healthy interpersonal relationships. The techniques described in this book model a relationship-building process between an adult professional and two children. This process replicates the social relations that happen naturally in healthy and happy interactions and long-term relationships among well-cared-for children in safe and secure communities. This book offers educators, therapists, and other practitioners in a wide variety of settings the opportunity to learn how to develop a pair therapy program. It will also be an indispensable tool in the libraries of mental health practitioners who counsel youth beyond ordinary clinical treatment.