This book explores the lifespan by combining research with a practicing psychologist's understanding of human development from infancy to old age.

Exceptionally well-loved by instructors and students who've used it, Janet Belsky’s text offers a fresh, remarkably brief way to understand the experience of human development throughout the lifespan. It gives students an immediate and practical grounding in the field’s basic concepts, guiding them from underlying research to practical applications, in a highly conversational style, with pedagogy that reinforces learning, and with examples drawn from an extraordinarily broad range of cultures throughout the world.

This book describes the method which Peggy Pace developed for healing adults and adolescents who experienced trauma or neglect in childhood. Lifespan Integration therapy differs from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in that LI heals and integrates the body-minds of clients in multifaceted ways. LI therapy clears trauma memory and the defenses against early trauma throughout the body-mind. This is true even for cases when the trauma was pre-verbal and is not explicitly remembered. LI therapy can also be used to increase positive self-regard, to improve affect regulation, and to strengthen the core self. In her book, Pace describes how her Lifespan Integration method can be used to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and panic disorders, mood disorders, and eating disorders. In the chapter which discusses using LI to heal Dissociative Identity Disorder, Pace describes how Lifespan Integration therapy brings more coherence to the fragmented self systems of dissociated clients, eventually resulting in a unified self. The Lifespan Integration book includes a summary of recent discoveries in the field of neuroscience. Pace overviews what is known about how separated selves and self states become integrated within the developing child. Pace proposes in her book that neural integration continues throughout the lifespan, and can be expedited during therapy when the conditions required for neural integration are re-created within the therapeutic setting. Pace cites recent discoveries in the field of neuroscience to support her hypothesis about how and why her Lifespan Integration technique is so effective in the psychological healing of adult survivors of childhood trauma.

"[Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan] represents a significant advance because it looks at the issues from a bio-psychosocial perspective. To a social worker who has worked mainly in a medical and nursing environment, this is a great step forward." --Bereavement Care "[Offers] valued sensitivities, knowledge, and insights, and most importantly, age-appropriate interventions for a range of significant losses....Counselors will want to keep this indispensable work close at hand." -Kenneth J. Doka, PhD Author, Counseling Individuals With Life-Threatening Illness "By taking a lifespan view, this book fills a gap in the literature on loss and grief and takes theory and practice in new and invigorating directions. It will be welcomed by those professionals of all disciplines who daily listen to and help re-write narratives of loss." -Jeffrey S. Applegate, PhD Professor Emeritus Graduate School of Social Work & Social Research Bryn Mawr College "[A] thorough, thoughtful, sensitive, and up-to-date contribution that may be the best book available today for teaching bereavement, grief, and mourningÖ.[H]ighly recommended for experienced grief professionals as well as for students." -Jeffrey Kauffman, MA, MS, LCSW, BD, CT, CAS, BCETS Psychotherapist in private practice, Philadelphia, PA "Walter and McCoyd have written a well-organized and comprehensive examination of grief and bereavement that will be useful to the seasoned professional as well as the student new to grief and loss. The historical analysis of grief theory from classic to postmodern is interesting reading and essential for a full understanding of grief and loss in modern society. " --Paige E. Payne, MS, MSW, LSW Support Services Manager PinnacleHealth Home Care and Hospice Harrisburg, PA Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan is unique in its treatment of grieving patterns and intervention strategies for different age groups. With this book, students and practitioners will learn how grief is influenced by biological responses to stress, psychological responses to loss, as well as social norms and support networks. The authors utilize a developmental framework, as each level of development from infancy through old age is addressed in four ways: Reviews normal developmental issues, abilities, and challenges for the age in question Analyzes how individuals of each age cope with serious loss of a significant other, and how they may experience life-threatening illness themselves Examines how significant others react to and mourn the death of someone in that age range Identifies the normative losses a person is likely to experience, and addresses protective and risky ways of coping with those losses The authors review important grief theories, such as postmodern and Dual Process Theory, and discuss current topics in grief, including continuing bonds, meaning making, ambiguous loss, and disenfranchised loss. With the help of this book, practitioners and students of grief counseling can learn to help patients of all ages understand that loss is at the heart of life and growth.

A personal narrative and guide to the safe, responsible use of MDMA for personal healing and social transformation • Details the author’s 50 years of responsible experimentation with mind-altering substances and how Ecstasy has helped him become a better therapist • Explains how he and his wife found Ecstasy to be the key to renewing and enriching their lives and marriage as they entered their senior years • Describes what the experience actually feels like and provides protocols for the safe, responsible, recreational, and celebrational use of MDMA for individuals and groups In a world that keeps us separate from each other, MDMA is the chemical of connection. Aptly known in popular culture as “Ecstasy,” MDMA helps us rediscover our own true loving nature, often obscured by the traumas of life. On its way to becoming a prescription medication due to groundbreaking research on its use to treat PTSD, Ecstasy can offer benefits for all adult life stages, from 20-somethings to seniors. In this memoir and guide to safe use, Charles Wininger, a licensed psychoanalyst and mental health counselor, details the countless ways that Ecstasy has helped him become a better therapist and husband. He recounts his coming of age in the 1960s counterculture, his 50 years of responsible experimentation with mind-altering substances, and his immersion in the new psychedelic renaissance. He explains how he and his wife found Ecstasy to be the key to renewing and enriching their lives as they entered their senior years. It also strengthened the bonds of their marriage. Countering the fearful propaganda that surrounds this drug, Wininger describes what the experience actually feels like and explores the value of Ecstasy and similar substances for helping psychologically healthy individuals live a more “optimal” life. He provides protocols for the responsible, recreational, and celebrational use of MDMA, including how to perfect the experience, maximize the benefits and minimize the risks, and how it may not be for everyone. He reveals how MDMA has revitalized his marriage, both erotically and emotionally, and describes how pleasure, fun, and joy can be profound bonding and transformative experiences. Revealing MDMA’s versatility when it comes to bringing lasting renewal, pleasure, and inspiration to one’s life, Wininger shows that recognizing the transformative power of happiness-inducing experiences can be the first step on the path to healing.

Edition after edition, Kathleen Stassen Berger s bestselling textbooks connect all kinds of students to current state of developmental psychology, in an engaging, accessible, culturally inclusive way. Berger s "Invitation to the Life Span" does this in just 15 concise chapters, in a presentation that meets the challenges of exploring the breadth of the life span in a single term. The new edition of "Invitation to the Life Span" incorporates a wide range of new research, especially in fast-moving areas such as brain development and psychopathology, while taking advantage of innovative new tools for media-centered teaching and learning. But throughout, as always, the signature voice of Kathleen Berger ties it all together, with relatable explanations of scientific content, wide ranging cultural examples, and skill-building tools for sharper observation and critical thinking. "