Jennifer R. Curry – författare

College and career readiness is essential to promoting the success of all students. Educational and economic changes in today’s society demands well thought out strategies for preparing students to survive academically, socially, and financially in the future. African American students are at a disadvantage in this strategic planning process due to a long history of racism, injustice, and marginalization. African American Students’ Career and College Readiness: The Journey Unraveled explores the historical, legal, and socio-political issues of education affecting African American students and their career and college readiness. Each chapter has been written based on the authors’ experience and passion for the success of students in the African American population. Some of the chapters will appear to be written in a more conversational and idiomatic tone, whereas others are presented in a more erudite format. Each chapter, however, presents a contextual portrayal of the contemporary, and often dysfunctional, pattern of society’s approach to supporting this population. Contributors also present progressive paradigms for future achievements. Through the pages of this book, readers will understand and hopefully appreciate what can be done to promote positive college bound self-efficacy, procurement of resources in the high school to college transition, exposure and access to college possibilities, and implications for practice in school counseling, education leadership, and higher education.

Play therapy interventions are critical elements of providing responsive services within the context of comprehensive school counseling programs. However, many school counselors are not trained in the use of play therapy techniques during their graduate training programs as Play Therapy is not a required course based on standards set by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) (2009). Indeed, while there are over 400 school counseling programs in the U. S., there are only 11 certified play therapy training centers. Even more critically, school counselors may not know which play therapy approaches and interventions are evidenced based for specific childhood concerns (e. g., selective mutism, social skills deficits, parent deployment).Play therapy is a structured, theoretically-based approach to counseling that builds on the normal communicative and learning processes of children as they may not have developed the complexities of language to accurately express their concerns (Carmichael, 2006; Gil, 1991; Landreth, 2002; O'Connor & Schaefer, 1983). Further, children who are most in crisis may be the ones who need play concepts integrated in counseling; yet, many school counselors are unprepared to provide these vital resources. The focus of this book is on various play techniques and the application of various play therapy theories (i. e., Child Centered Play Therapy, Solution Focused Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy) within comprehensive school counseling programs, addressing various childhood concerns, prevention and intervention. Each chapter offers vignettes, a literature review of a specific childhood concern (e.g., homelessness, separation anxiety), pragmatic interventions for the school environment, and a case study to demonstrate application of techniques.