Reviews:
“Mary Eno’s insight
into the culture and systems of schools and families provides rare and
indispensable wisdom and context for therapists working with children. A
brilliant colleague to many educators during her lifelong career as a therapist
in schools, she has provided a masterful summary of her experience. Dr. Eno’s professional skill, compassion, curiosity, and empathy ring
beautifully through her writing in The School-Savvy Therapist. “
—Rich Nourie,
M.Ed., Head of School at Abington Friends School
“The School-Savvy
Therapist is an invaluable and critical resource for all
clinicians working with school-age children and their families. Rooted in
systems theory, this seminal work provides effective and practical guidance to
assist clinicians in successfully navigating the complex landscape of schools
today. Providing a theoretical framework, as well as illustrative case examples
and guiding questions, The School-Savvy Therapist is the authoritative
handbook on how to effectively collaborate with school systems and personnel to
foster a truly supportive family–child–school dynamic.”
—Eleanor
DiMarino-Linnen, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools, Rose Tree Media School
District, Licensed Psychologist, Certified School Psychologist
“Dr. Eno expertly
captures the power of a productive collaboration between school and family and
provides an accessible guide for how to broker that collaboration by building
synergistic family-school relationships. Her strengths-based perspective,
peppered with case examples and viewpoints from practicing clinicians and
educators, makes this book a tremendous resource for those who are learning to
be child or family therapists, and for those who are training the next
generation of therapists.”
—Mary Rourke,
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Widener University
“The School-Savvy
Therapist is the definitive guide to decoding and bridging the
worlds in which kids live: home and school. Keenly aware of the complexities of
the two landscapes, Dr. Mary Eno expertly provides a comprehensive, nuanced,
and incisive roadmap for synthesizing them in the therapeutic setting. Her book
is essential reading for novice and seasoned clinicians alike, and will empower
schools and parents in the crucial task of educating our children while
stewarding their well-being.”
—Tamar Chansky,
Ph.D., Founder Children’s and Adult Center for OCD and Anxiety, author of Freeing
Your Child from Anxiety, Freeing Your Child from Negative Thinking, and Freeing
Yourself from Anxiety
“The School-Savvy
Therapist is an action-oriented, comprehensive, and incredibly
thought-provoking resource for professionals. Dr. Eno offers practical tips and
expertise for therapists who seek to effectively work with schools to foster a
positive collaboration between family, school, and child. As a teacher who has
worked with dozens of therapists, I applaud Dr. Eno’s thorough understanding of
school dynamics and her relentless focus on the child and the benefits that can
come when families, therapists, and schools work to solve problems together.”
—Elena Carlson,
M.Ed., Second Grade Teacher, Lower Merion School District
“Mary Eno has enormous
firsthand experience in transforming what can be contentious and unproductive
interactions into meaningful conversations that make a significant difference
in the lives of children and families. Her respect and compassion for all
parties in the complicated relationship between families, therapists, and
schools permeate every page. She brings her rigor, quest for knowledge, and
astutely questioning mind to the thorny dilemmas she’s posed and doesn’t shirk
from confronting the possible roadblocks and pitfalls of the very difficult and
delicate balancing act that therapists face. The School-Savvy Therapist
is a unique and invaluable guide that should be required reading for all
clinicians who work with children.”
—Frances Schwartz,
Ph.D., LCSW, Educational Consultant, and Martha Edwards, Ph.D., Director,
Center for the Developing Child & Family, Ackerman Institute for the Family
“Mary Eno’s detailed
and intimate perspective on working relationships between parents, children of
all ages, and educators in all kind of schools is remarkable. Rich cases cut
through professional jargon to examine subjects ranging from homework and bullying
to special education and today’s anxious school climate. The book is wonderful,
and not only for therapists.”
—Graham S. Finney,
Founding Board Member, Mastery Charter Schools (Philadelphia), Former
Management Consultant (Urban Affairs, Education)
“ Any well-intended
therapist working with children, their families, and schools can easily get
lost amidst the dense forest of contemporary education’s many challenges—unless
you have a guide. Reading Mary Eno’s book, The School-Savvy Therapist,
is like being accompanied by a wise inhabitant fluent in multiple languages,
who knows where to go, how to get there, and what to avoid. It’s the ecology of
education at its healing best: a practical, collaborative, systemic, and
strength-based path forward that sees the forest and the trees.”
—Jay Lappin,
MSW, LCSW, Minuchin Center for the Family; Adjunct Faculty, Graduate School of
Education, University of Pennsylvania
“Families and schools
are often ‘worlds apart.’ When children have behavior or learning problems, it
is vital that the people in these worlds learn how to collaborate. But first
they have to get to know each other. Mary Eno’s comprehensive, readable guide
shows therapists when, why, and how to engage with worried parents, frustrated
school staff, and troubled students. The engaging text is threaded with case
studies and practical tools, such as checklists of questions to guide
interviews and family-school meetings.”
—Theodora Ooms,
Former Director, Family Impact Seminar
Description:
When it comes to therapy with kids, collaborating with
schools and families is essential.
Kids
encounter problems at school that run the gamut from school violence, to
complex systemic problems rooted in poverty or racism, to daily struggles with
homework or making friends. Therapists who work with kids typically do not
receive training about when and how to contact schools, or about how to work
with them collaboratively. The School-Savvy Therapist by Dr. Mary Eno
provides a framework, tools, and guidelines for doing just that.
Drawing
on research, illustrative case examples, and interviews, this practical
resource describes what therapists need to know about schools and how they can
effectively foster a supportive child–family–school dynamic. From reviewing
test results, conducting school observations and attending family–school
meetings, to helping parents advocate for their kids and more, this book will
help therapists understand the critical role they play in supporting kids who
struggle at school. Checklists, questions, and specific guidelines are provided
so that both novice and experienced therapists can engage in this work with
skill and confidence.
Contents:
Preface
Introduction
Part I: The Basic Building
Blocks
Chapter 1: What Therapists Need to Know
About Schools
Chapter 2: Conducting School-Savvy
Sessions
Chapter 3: The Case for Contacting the
School (and Why You Might Not)
Chapter 4: Building a Collaborative
Relationship with the School
Part II: Establishing
Collaborative Relationships
Chapter 5: Effective Practices for
Contacting the School
Chapter 6: Observing Kids at School
Chapter 7: Homework, Report Cards, and
Testing: Using Other Data to Help Assess Kids
Chapter 8: Family-School Meetings
Part III: Challenges
Chapter 9: Common Challenges
Chapter 10: Navigating Complexity and
Crises
Part IV: Parents as
Advocates
Chapter 11: Parents as Advocates for
Kids
Chapter 12: Helping Families Navigate
Special Education Systems
Chapter 13: Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix
A: A Quick Overview of School Types and Pedagogies
Appendix
B: Who’s Who at School
Appendix
C: Direct Observational Coding Systems
Appendix
D: Behavioral Rating Scales for Kids
Appendix
E: An Abbreviated Glossary of Special Education Terms and Regulations
Appendix
F: Educational Advocacy Resources
Acknowledgments
References
Index
About the Author:
Mary M. Eno was on the teaching faculty
at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College for several decades.
She is a therapist in private practice in Philadelphia and has served as consulting
psychologist in multiple schools.
Target Audience:
The book is an invaluable
and critical resource for all clinicians, psychologists, therapist working
with school-age children and their families.