Increasing demands upon the time of the professional school counselor combined with the call by the American School Counselor Association to provide direct services to students may lead many in the profession to wonder from what theoretical standpoint(s) they can best meet these lofty goals. I propose a two phase approach combining person-centered…

Three psychotherapy theories are summarized and critiqued for their applicability to counseling psychology. The lack of attention to psychodynamic and experiential theories in the special section and the lack of theorizing by counseling psychologists in general are lamented. A plea is made for encouraging counseling psychologists to construct more…

In this reaction, we employ a critical lens as we evaluate three approaches to counseling intervention. In consideration of the assertion of the lead article's authors that these approaches are novel and because of our fervent belief in the importance of establishing clear operationalizations, developing cogent theory to guide practice, and…

With this rejoinder, we address some of the concerns and questions raised by Ridley and Mollen (2012) and Hill (2012). Specially, we reflect upon Ridley and Mollen's commentary about whether the three theories in this major contribution can be deemed emergent or whether they are simply old thought in new packages. We also address Hill's question…

The experiences of disabled people suggest that ableism insidiously and invasively impacts upon the practice of counselling and related therapies. This article critiques a particular account of psychotherapy with a child with the label of autism to illustrate how ableism can disrupt the process of empathy and negate the therapeutic experience. In…

In recent years, executive functioning (EF) has received increasing attention from researchers and practitioners focusing on how EF predicts important outcomes such as success at school and in life. For example, EF has been described as the single best predictor of school readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007). Moreover, EF has been implicated in…

This paper is a review of current practice in narrative therapy with a focus on how it is attractive and useful for therapists who wish to work for social justice. The authors describe narrative therapy's roots in poststructuralist philosophy and social science. They illustrate its major theoretical constructs, including the "narrative metaphor,"…

This article provides an overview of the major contribution that presents three emerging approaches to counseling: narrative therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. The three theoretical systems were chosen because they are current, for the most part not addressed in the mainstream counseling psychology…

The ascendance of large-scale disasters, catastrophes, and traumas as a concentrated focus of academic inquiry in counseling psychology is timely, and this special issue and subsequent investigations represent welcome areas of scholarship. The observations and comments herein salute the authors for responding to a post-Katrina discovery by…

Academic underachievement, a syndrome affecting nearly 50% of gifted adolescents across gender, race, and socioeconomic strata, has fueled research for decades, in an attempt to identify its antecedents, characteristics, and consequences on the individual and on society. The research bridges fields of inquiry that converge in the area of human…

Pediatric asthma is often undiagnosed, and therefore untreated. It negatively impacts children's functioning, including school attendance and performance, as well as quality of life. Schoolwide screening for asthma is becoming increasingly common, making identification of possible asthma particularly relevant for school nurses. Nurses may need to…

Social justice in the education of all K-12 students begins with school counselors; preparing school counselors as advocates and leaders who can implement these principles in U.S. schools begins with counselor educators. Suggestions for intentional preparation of school counselors to be social justice advocates in schools by integrating the…

Students who are at high risk of dropping out of high school encounter serious difficulties and challenges in their school-to-work and school-to-school transitions. While acknowledging that the prevention of high school dropout requires a comprehensive and systematic helping approach, this article attempts to take a close look at one of the…

This article explores the theory and practice of using the solution-focused approach of motivational interviewing (MI) with young people. MI is based on the premise that people are not always at a stage of readiness to change behaviours, such as smoking, drinking or drug use, which are perceived by others to be problematic. The article explores…

The school counseling profession has struggled throughout history to secure a legitimate integral position in the educational mission of school. The profession is more likely to gain acceptance and be seen as a legitimate profession if we understand three theories that form the foundation of professional legitimacy: Organizational Theory,…