Handbook of Interventions for Changing People and Communities

This book arises from an experience common to many behavioral professionals: Practitioners from different disciplines carrying out the same procedures using different language and labels, with no one having any idea that the other is doing the same exact thing. As science advances, this methodological "near-sightedness" will lead to untold problems. Psychologists, social anthropologists, healthcare and social workers, all need to learn to relate to one another in an interdisciplinary way.

This book pulls apart the components of a number of different interventions, showing readers the basic things being done by different groups. It offers a way of talking about interventions that synthesizes different approaches without the added challenge of professional jargon.

Readers will learn to be comfortable planning interventions of all sorts-from individual therapy and skills training to community and societal interventions. Even readers without the skills and experience necessary to carry them out will be able to identify the kinds of skill sets required to make successful interventions happen.

The book examines typical interventions for drug and alcohol abuse, sports psychology, hypnosis, violence, health promotion, organizations, self-help groups, peer mediation, family planning, education, cognitive therapy, counseling, social marketing, injury prevention, racism and discrimination, and more.

This book will be of interest to:

•those wanting to learn about social interventions for the first time
•teachers and students of intervention courses who want to go beyond just their own discipline
•intervention practitioners who want to step out from their normal boundaries
•those wanting to learn a broader set of techniques, including community and participatory interventions
•those who have academic training but want to use that now in changing the world