Life Skills and Adolescent Mental Health

Ole Jacob Madsen is Professor of Cultural and Community Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway. His previous works include: The Therapeutic Turn (2014), Optimizing the Self (2015), The Psychologization of Society (2018), The Routledge International Handbook of Therapeutic Cultures (2020) and Deconstructing Scandinavia’s "Achievement Generation" (2021).

• Preface Introduction The case of Sweden Look to Finland Something is rotten in the state of Denmark Back in the UK Life skills around the world Conclusion References Chapter 1 - Life mastery: A user handbook What is life mastery? Coping as a public health measure Major and minor victories and defeats How is mastery of life accomplished? Research shows that ... Chapter 2 - Life mastery in context Life mastery as prevention The will to master life Psychological will Political will – a seed is sown Pastoral care Processing by the Storting Early intervention Paedagogical will The Ludvigsen Committee Ideological will Therapeutic learning Individualisation Neoliberalism You are supposed to regulate yourself Metacognition Self-regulation Don’t eat the marshmallow yet! Chapter 3 - Between risk and resilience Being young is hell Life is to be endured, after all Stressed by stress The pressure paradox Who will profit from life mastery? Risk society Accountability Is life mastery apolitical? History of the fall of prevention Which edition of psychology represents life mastery? Lack of emotional intelligence Another psychology is possible It doesn't have to be so bad But of course, children and young people want it Building a ‛psyche’ Thanks Notes

‘Around the world, governments are now considering introducing life skills as a subject for children in schools. Norway has been a first mover, and, in this important new book, Ole Jacob Madsen critically discusses the dilemmas related to this development. This book is significant not just for readers interested in life skills curricula, but for anyone who wonders about the current replacement of political solutions to societal problems with psychological ones. Strongly recommended!’Svend Brinkmann, Professor of psychology, Aalborg University, Denmark and Author of Stand Firm: Resisting the Self-Improvement Craze.