It is widely accepted that the journey from youth to adulthood is a complex ongoing process. Not as clearly recognized is how goal directed and shared that journey actually is. Transition to Adulthood: Action, Projects, and Counseling brings both of these dimensions front and center in a contemporary practical perspective for viewing youth development, and for supporting young people as they attain adulthood. Focusing on the period from the end years of childhood through adolescence, and taking to task popular notions of children growing up too slowly or too quickly, the book's contextual action theory capitalizes both on the individual's agency in his/her development and on the social and cultural context provided by parents and other key figures. Chapters depict this transition as a non-linear rather than a strictly upward trajectory as young people prepare to enter such adult domains as decision-making, careers, autonomy, and intimacy. Instructive case examples and new study finding are included in these and other salient areas:

Transition to Adulthood: Introduction.- Transition to Adulthood as Goal-Directed Action.- Action and the practice of counseling for transitions.- Studying Transition Processes.- Relationships.- Emotion and the Transition to Adulthood.- Identity.- Family.- Work.- Culture.- Romantic Relationships.- Transition in the Context of Disability.- Suicide in the Context of the Transition to Adulthood.- Working with Narrative and Interpretation.- Using the Self-Confrontation Procedure in Counseling.