Experiencing The Lifespan

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

Janet Belsky is an innovative and accomplished teacher, an engaging and perceptive writer, as well as a practicing psychologist who has worked in many settings--from inner-city hospitals to nursing homes. Drawing on the sensibilities that have defined her professional life, Janet Belsky has produced an exploration of development across the lifespan unlike any other. Person-centered yet scientifically sound, practice-oriented yet rich in current and classic research, Belsky's Experiencing the Lifespan offers students an experience learning about life that they will take to heart. And at around just 550 pages, it is an experience that fits comfortably within a single term.

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.

Positive Psychology Across the Life Span provides an insight into how we are affected by the different stages of adult development and gives us the opportunity to change through choice rather than leaving change to chance. The science of positive psychology offers a wealth of research and evidence-based interventions and shares insights into which habits and behaviours contribute to how to live a flourishing life. This book aims to extend that knowledge by introducing and incorporating key aspects of existential and humanistic psychology and explores positive psychology with a lifespan perspective. It goes beyond theory to look at practical application, with insightful reflective questions. Whilst acknowledging the differences and disagreements between some of the key figures in the subject areas of the book, it seeks to highlight the areas where there is agreement and congruence which have been previously overlooked or ignored. The book will be essential reading for students and practitioners of positive psychology as well as other mental health professionals.

Lifespan developmental neuropsychology is the study of the systematic behavioral, cognitive, and psychosocial changes and growth that occur across infancy, adolescence, adulthood and later life. This book provides insight into how brain-behavior relationships change over time, how disorders differ in presentation across the lifespan, and what longer-term outcomes look like. Providing practical guidance in a succinct and accessible format, this book covers the most common neurodevelopmental, behavioral and cognitive disorders, including but not limited to ADHD, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, and epilepsy. Key points concerning the practice of developmental neuropsychology are emphasized in order to aid understanding of neuropsychological development and its impact on behavior, emotion, cognition, and social integration. This will be essential reading for advanced graduate students and early career professionals in the fields of neuropsychology, pediatric psychology, clinical psychology, school psychology, and rehabilitation psychology, as well as practitioners in the allied fields that interact with neuropsychology.

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.

Study Guide to Janet Belsky's Experiencing the LifeSpan. Reflecting a scientist's understanding of key research, a psychologist's understanding of people, and a teacher's understanding of students. This extensively updated new edition features significant new findings, a broad-based global perspective, and enhanced media offerings.

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. "

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.

This book addresses the various ways in which communication plays an important role in fostering hope and resilience. Adopting a lifespan approach and offering a new framework to expand our understanding of the concepts of «hope» and «resilience» from a communication perspective, contributors highlight the variety of «stressors» that people may encounter in their lives.