This article weaves the stories of three practitioner-family relationships and describes how the Parent-Child Relationship Competencies (PCRCs; St. John, 2010) function as a map for assessment and treatment planning. The PCRCs are a set of culturally variable yet universal bi-directional (parent-to-child and child-to-parent) relational capacities…

Studies support the observations by college psychotherapists that students returning from study abroad adventures often have a difficult time readjusting to being back "home." We consider what the internal developmental challenges might be that relate to this transitional step. We weave first-hand comments of students into our article.

For Dr. William Glasser (1965), the world-famous originator of Reality Therapy, the first question that he generally asks of all those who seek his services is: "What do you want?" While seeking to acquire an answer to this inquiry, however, he strongly recommends that the therapist also "make friends with the client," so that the relationship is…

Guided imagery is a flexible intervention whose efficacy has been indicated through a large body of research over many decades in counseling and allied fields. It has earned the right to be considered a research-based approach to helping. This article provides a brief introduction to the history of guided imagery and examples of selected research…

Decsribes the use of a dog in individual and group therapy with youth and adults. The presence of, and interaction with, the dog stimulated patients, facilitated discussions around pet memories and experiences, elevated patients a bit from their status as chronic dependents, and allowed children to engage in normal cooperative experiences. (SAS)

Addresses art therapy for homebound people, giving special attention to the set of needs for this environment; the desired personality traits of the in-home therapist; the structure of the therapeutic relationship; and appropriate art therapy goals. Presents two case studies of home-bound art therapy which demonstrate the complexities and…

Successful psychotherapy is characterized by a sense of vital intensity and personal intimacy between client and therapist. Current theory and research have left this level of interpersonal contact untouched. The hypothesis is advanced that the intensity and intimacy of interpersonal contact supplies the motivation which allows the patient to make…

Discusses Tikkun Olam--the Jewish tenet of healing the world through individual good deeds--and its applicability to the practice of adventure therapy. Focuses on the therapeutic relationship, as it develops in group settings, and the role of adventure leaders and therapists in nourishing such relationships to provide a vehicle for healing or…

Dugald S. Arbuckle, an advocate of human rights in counseling and writer on existential humanistic thought in psychotherapy and education, reflects on the roots of his humanistic thinking. He discusses a wide range of ideas with a former student. (Author)

This paper reviews family therapy with chronically dysfunctional families including the development of family therapy and current trends which appear to give little guidance toward working with severely dysfunctional families. A theoretical stance based upon the systems approach to family functioning and pathology is presented which suggests: (1)…

The relational-cultural model of psychotherapy has been evolving for the past 20 years. Within this model, difficult group dynamics are conceptualized as the playing out of the central relational paradox. This paradox recognizes that an individual may yearn for connection but, out of a sense of fear, simultaneously employ strategies that restrict…

Crisis intervention is a now accepted form of brief therapy that has become the treatment of choice for many individuals seeking to cope more effectively with life stresses. Recently, there has been an evolution of several disparate styles of crisis intervention in the direction of one convergent model. The screening/assessment style that…

Adlerians believe that change of any lasting value has a fundamental dependency on the client's awareness of how he incorrectly processes data in his life; he must develop the insight necessary to correct the errors in his life style. Also, the therapist must know the goals of the client's behavior in order to make relevant comments in therapy.…

The college and university counseling center traditionally employs standard techniques in helping students, faculty, and staff in overcoming problems of mental stress (Berman, 1972). A technique suitable to both individual and group sessions, but rarely utilized is Re-Evaluation Co-Counseling or R.C. For the past twenty years, R.C. has gained an…

The implications of attachment theory for clinical work with maltreated children are examined in the context of the therapeutic relationship. The article describes therapeutic strategies in which the clinician intervenes to enable the child to modify negative and pessimistic beliefs and expectations of others and of self. (Author/DB)