In order to be reflective practitioners, to understand clients and their problems, helping professionals must have a working knowledge of developmental research. They must view clients in context - as part of, and inseparable from, a family, a social network, and a culture. This text teaches future counselors and social workers how to see that larger picture and prepares them to take into account all of the threads of continuity and change in life that cause people to seek help. After early chapters that introduce theoretical models and issues that will reappear throughout the text, the authors address development chronologically—exploring physical, social, and cognitive development as it evolves, from infancy and early childhood, through middle childhood and adolescence, to adulthood, middle age, and later life.