We all want our efforts to help troubled children to be successful for the child, and let’s be honest, for ourselves as well. But how can we know that we are using the best strategies and the best approaches? Can we find the answers in the latest evidence-based practice, or in outcome research, or from the latest promising approaches? Perhaps, but sixty years of research points to an important fact—success comes less from the approach and more from the helping person and the environment. This book provides an unfiltered assessment of what actually works when helping troubled children. It does not advocate for a new approach, but rather takes all approaches into consideration to find the common ground of effective interventions. It is written by a psychologist with five decades of experience on the front lines of helping our society’s most challenging young people. You will find in these pages what works and what does not when helping troubled children, presented in a direct and frank style. After reading, it may just change some of thinking and your efforts to help change lives.