Counseling Crime Victims: Practical Strategies for Mental Health Professionals

“Counseling Crime Victims is a wonderful and comprehensive resource for anyone working with crime victims. Clinicians, advocates, law enforcement, and attorneys should all keep a copy close at hand.”
—Jeff Dion, Director, National Crime Victim Bar Association

“Here is the gold standard – the book for mental health clinicians on helping crime victims sort through one of life’s most difficult and traumatic experiences. Dr. Laurence Miller, renowned clinical and forensic psychologist, has once again proven that he is more than an expert in these fields. Counseling Crime Victims is the most comprehensive work on how being a crime victim may change a healthy, functioning person into a terrorized, fearful, and mentally incapacitated individual. “Covering all aspects of victimization – from the theoretical to the experiential – Dr. Miller shows us how the after affects of these traumas can lead to various psychological syndromes, substance abuse, and personal and familial deterioration. Moreover, with the clinician in mind, Dr. Miller details critical components for successful mental health interventions for victims, including what to say and how to say it, how to foster coping skills and improvement through active listening, symptom management, and specific crime victim psychotherapeutic techniques designed to promote and restore healthy adaptation and functioning. Dr. Miller also provides guidelines for on-scene first responders, such as law enforcement and the emergency services. “Also covered in this extensive and soon-to-be classic work by Dr. Miller are interventions of all varieties for crime victims and their families including non-violent and violent crimes as well as homicides, rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence, workplace violence, bullying and school violence, and terrorism. Adding to the volume’s great value are sections on the crime victims’ participation in the criminal justice system, forensic evaluation of victims, and civil remedies available to victims. “Counseling Crime Victims is an absolute must have book for clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, those persons who work in courts to support crime victims such as attorneys, case managers, and victims’ assistance coordinators, and will surely become the referenced text for consultation in college, university, and public libraries for students as well as for the public at large.”–Richard L. Levenson, Jr., Psy.D., CTS,
Licensed Psychologist, New York State,
Editor, International Journal of Emergency Mental Health

“Victims of crime, particularly violent crime, face some unique challenges. They are thrust into a universe most never could have anticipated…. If victims are fortunate enough to recover from physical injuries, many discover that the emotional impact cuts deeper than they would have suspected…. Those who are committed to supporting victims in the aftermath of their emotional trauma discover that learning a whole new language and culture is a necessity for providing meaningful assistance…. Dr. Miller’s work is a practical primer on the recognized language and culture of crime victimization, particularly at the emotional and psychological level. While intended specifically for mental health professionals, this book is a valuable reference for all who serve victims in any direct capacity. He provides a sensible and functional breadth and depth of knowledge that exposes the extraordinary dimensions associated with victim response and intervention. Those who have field experience will immediately recognize the functional nature of Dr. Miller’s labor while certainly discovering new insights for serving victims of all kinds.”-from the foreword by Will Marling, MDiv, DMin, CCR, Interim Director, The National Organization for Victim Assistance

“”Dr. Miller’s “Counseling Crime Victims” is extremely effective…and it will occupy a central spot on my bookshelf…It is really a golden find.””

“–Society for Police and Criminal Psychology”

“”Here is the gold standard – the book for mental health clinicians helping crime victims sort through one of life’s most difficult and traumatic experiences.–Richard L. Levenson, Jr., Psy.D., CTS
Licensed Psychologist, New York State

As more and more mental health professionals are becoming involved in the criminal justice system – as social service providers, victim advocates, court liaisons, expert witnesses, and clinical therapists – there has not been a commensurate improvement in the quality of text material to address this expanding and diverse field. Until now, students and practicing professionals have had to content themselves with either overly broad texts on criminology or trauma theory, or exceeding narrow tracts on one or another sub-area of victim services.

“Counseling Crime Victims” provides a unique approach to helping victims of crime. By distilling and combining the best insights and lessons from the fields of criminology, victimology, trauma psychology, law enforcement, and psychotherapy, this book presents an integrated model of intervention for students and working mental health professionals in the criminal justice system. The book blends solid empirical research scholarship with practical, hit-the-ground-running recommendations that mental health professionals can begin using immediately in their daily work with victims.

“Counseling Crime Victims” is a practical guide and reference book that working mental health clinicians will consult again and again in their daily practices. This book will also be of use to attorneys, judges, law enforcement officers, social service providers and others who work with crime victims in the criminal justice system. It can also serve as a college- and graduate-level text for courses in Psychology and Criminal Justice.
Key Features of this Book:
Victim assistance is becoming a full-fledged field for social workers and counselors A practical, hands-on guide which offers counselors techniques for dealing with victims of a wide variety of crimes Shows counselors how to guide their clients through the legal and judicial system “