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Using a journal format, 12-year-old Maya chronicles her emotional ups and downs and describes the process of psychotherapy. She begins by describing a change in her feelings and functioning: a lack of interest in things she used to love, difficulties in school, and problems getting along with her friends and family?none of the problems extreme but serious enough to merit attention and intervention. The problems are portrayed as quite general, in order to reach the widest possible audience. The focus is not about resolving Maya's particular problems but about informing the reader about the process of psychotherapy and its potential usefulness. By the end of the book, Maya is ?feeling better.? She has discovered that changes in her family affected her more than she realized, has become aware of the suppressed feelings that have gnawed away at her, and has learned to deal with them more openly, with the result that she is back to being her old (true) self. For ages 8-14 . Includes a ?Dear Reader? introductory letter to the child, written by a PhD psychologist. De-stigmatizes psychotherapy, portraying it as a tool for ?normal? kids, used by many in a wide range of circumstances; provides basic information about the nuts-and-bolts process of traditional psychotherapy; and prepares kids for the emotional ups and downs of therapy.
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