Clinical and Educational Interventions with Fathers (Paperback)

Call on men's hidden strengths to help them become responsible fathers in even the most challenging circumstances!

Clinical and Educational Interventions with Fathers gives you fresh approaches for effective interventions with fathers. Whether by calling on their faith to help them deal with the complexities of fatherhood or offering high-tech interventions on the Internet, these techniques help men find their strengths, maintain their masculinity, and learn to guide, nurture, and discipline with love and responsibility. Instead of thinking of fathers as deficient, the book emphasizes finding fathers’strengths and potentials for growth. It also respects the diversity of parenting styles among fathers from various ethnic, racial, and class backgrounds.

No man wants to be a bad father. Nevertheless, many men in our culture do not know how to care for the children they beget. Trapped by stereotypes of masculine behavior and deprived of positive role models, they find themselves trying to do the challenging work of fatherhood without the necessary resources, information, or support.

Clinical and Educational Interventions with Fathers offers positive approaches to helping men become responsible fathers, including:

designing special techniques and programs to help fathers in prison and other challenging circumstances
helping fathers manage anger
developing therapeutic support groups for African-American men
offering Web-based support for fathers
training staff to recognize and respond to fathers’unique needs
finding legal tools to support fathers’rights

Reaching fathers has become an ever more urgent priority for practitioners as family structure and family life change. Traditional social-service programs for mothers tend not to work well with men's very different needs and attitudes. Yet very little has been published on successful interventions with fathers. Clinical and Educational Interventions with Fathers fills that gap and suggests promising new directions for further research in this field. By offering positive, tested ways to help men become responsible fathers, this volume will help you improve their lives and the lives of their sons and daughters.

Contents

About the Editors
Contributors
Foreword
Introduction
Organization of the Book
Objectives of the Book
The Need for Fathering Interventions
What Practitioners Need to Know to Work with Fathers
Conclusion
Section I: Clinical Interventions
Chapter 1. Tools for the Trade: Clinical Interventions with Fathers in Family Therapy
Fathers in Family Therapy: Psychological and Social Issues
Assumptions and Values
“Tools” of Best Practice with Fathers
Increasing Father Involvement in Therapy
Outcome and Evaluation
Conclusion
Chapter 2. Therapeutic Support Groups As a Primary Intervention for Issues of Fatherhood with African-American Men
Some Underlying Psychological Factors
Therapeutic Support Groups for African-American Fathers
Major Themes to Promote in Therapy
“Best Practices” for Implementing Support Groups
Evaluation
Conclusion
Chapter 3. When a Divorced Father Does Not Visit
Psychological, Social, and Economic Issues Faced by Divorced Fathers
Divorced Fathers and Contact
Clinical Issues in Reconnecting Divorced Fathers to Their Children
Conclusion
Chapter 4. Anger Management for Fathers
The Psychological and Social Foundations of Anger Management
Theoretical Assumptions of Constructive Engagement
Constructive Engagement (STRACK): A New Approach
Expected Outcomes of STRACK
Evaluation
Barriers
Conclusion
Section II: Educational Interventions
Chapter 5. Parent Education for Incarcerated Fathers
Review of Research
Designing a Program for Incarcerated Fathers
Core Learnings: Lessons from the Field
Conclusion
Chapter 6. Web-Based Education and Support for Fathers: Remote But Promising
Web-Based Education and Fathers
Overview of Fathering Education Sites: What Is Out There?
Evaluating Outcomes: A Case Study
Conclusion
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Chapter 7. Father/Male Involvement in Early Childhood Programs: Training Staff to Work with Men
Social and Economic Issues Faced by Fathers
Intervening to Encourage Father Involvement in Early Childhood Programs
Basic Assumptions and Values: Father Involvement in Early Childhood Programs
Evaluation of the Intervention Program
Outcomes of the Evaluation
Implications and Lessons Learned for “Best Practices”
Conclusion
Chapter 8. Turning the Hearts of Fathers: Faith-Based Approaches to Promoting Responsible Fatherhood
Basic Assumptions
Evangelical Protestant Approaches to Fatherhood Interventions
The Catholic Church and Fatherhood Interventions
Mainline Protestant Denominations and Fatherhood Interventions
Smaller Faith-Based Fatherhood Interventions
Barriers and Challenges Ahead
The Promise of Faith-Based Approaches
Appendix
Chapter 9. Legal Support for the Father-Child Relationship in Disunited Families
Introduction
Know the Rules
Legal Tools to Use in Custody and Time-share Issues
Plan a Course of Action and Do Not Lose Sight of the Ultimate Goal
Special Legal Issues Faced by Single Fathers
Evaluation of Fathers Advocacy
Conclusion
Chapter 10. English-Speaking Caribbean Immigrant Fathers: The Task of Unpacking the Cultural Pathways to Intervention
Caribbean Migration
Psychological, Social, and Economic Issues Faced by Caribbean Immigrant Fathers
Practice Strategies for Working with Caribbean Immigrant Fathers
An Approach to Working with Fathers
Conclusion
Chapter 11. Research and Practice on Fathers in High-Risk Families: Exploring the Need and Potential Areas for Collaboration
Historical Overview of Policy and Research
The Argument for Practice-Derived Research
Focus Group Participants and Procedures
Learning from

School Psychology

Clinical and Educational Interventions with Fathers

By Jay Fagan, Alan Hawkins

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