A human being's development is a complex, multidimensional process, one open to variations and variances. For professional counselors to effectively serve those in need or provide preventative programs fostering the development of wellness, understanding the intricate nature of human development and the factors that impact that development is vital.

Facilitating Growth Through Lifespan Development provides readers with a unique and illuminating review of theories and research that describe and explain the lifespan, including its normative tasks and progressions, and the challenges and roadblocks that can be encountered. Readers gain a deeper understanding of the interplay between one's biological foundations and the physical-social-psychological environments in which an individual's development plays out.

The book is organized alongside stages of development, transitioning from conception to death. Each chapter presents theory and research depicting the unique neurological and cognitive changes experienced during a particular stage of development; normative changes in emotional and social development; and conditions that reflect development outside of the norm and invite mental health intervention and prevention efforts. Throughout, cases and self-directed exercises foster greater levels of reader engagement and practical application.

Featuring a novel approach to the subject, Facilitating Growth Through Lifespan Development is an ideal textbook for courses and programs in mental health counseling and human development.

The Counselor as Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide to Research Methods is designed to help readers integrate a researcher's perspective and research methodology into their professional practice. Approaching practice as a practitioner-researcher not only facilitates the gathering of data and the drawing of useful conclusions, but also results in more ethical and effective practice decisions.

Section I provides readers with an overview of the need and value of research in support of the counseling profession and as a basis for sound and successful practice decisions. In Section II, the fundamentals of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed designs are reviewed. Section III highlights specific designs and their value to the counselor as practitioner-researcher, including between group, within subject, action research, and case study designs. The text concludes with an extensive case illustration of counselor research and the steps necessary to developing a specific research plan.

The Counselor as Practitioner-Researcher assists those in training and those in practice to not only become informed consumers of research, but also doers of research as it guides their practice decisions, affords measures of accountability, and supports program evaluation.

As the need for mental health services increases dramatically, the need for competent, effective counselors has risen in tandem. Clinical Mental Health Counseling: An Introduction to the Profession and Practice provides future counselors with a clear, focused orientation to the field. The text helps readers understand the evolution of the role of the mental health counselor and the value served by those within the profession.

The book's primary focus is on fostering the development of the reader's professional identity as a clinical mental health counselor. Section I of the text reviews the history and foundation of the profession and highlights the factors that make mental health counseling unique among mental health professionals. In Section II, readers are introduced to the theories and models that guide mental health counselors' practice in case conceptualization and treatment formulation. Section III examines the various roles, settings, and populations served by clinical mental health counselors. The final section discusses those elements that come together to make clinical mental health counseling a profession.

Clinical Mental Health Counseling is designed to align with contemporary CACREP competency standards and features coverage of best practices, current laws and regulations, and the impact of technology on practice delivery. The book is ideal for foundational courses in clinical mental health counseling.

Brief therapy is a unique and effective approach to mental health service delivery. Brief Psychotherapy: Time-Limited and Effective Treatments offers readers insight into the assumptions and operating principles that are at the core of all brief therapies. The book reviews contemporary and time-limited models of psychotherapy and also provides clinical illustrations of each theory.

Part I provides readers with an overview of brief therapy. The chapters describe brief therapy's unique perspective and focus for mental health service, the social and cultural forces that have contributed to its emergence, its key values and principles, and various factors that may impact the suitability of brief therapy for individual clients.

Part II focuses on various theories and their applications with chapters that cover solution-focused brief therapy, time-limited dynamic psychotherapy, brief cognitive behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, emotion-focused therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and single-session therapy. Each chapter describes the individual theory's history and significant contributors; unique perspective; assumptions and guiding principles; principles in action; supportive research; and its suitability and effectiveness. Throughout, engaging case studies and activities bridge theory and practice and enrich the student learning experience.

Designed to provide students and practitioners with an effective introduction to emerging mental health treatment and provisions, Brief Psychotherapy is an ideal resource for mental health training programs and practitioners at all levels.

Introduction to School Counseling: Becoming a Leader, Advocate, and Change Agent introduces readers to the evolution of the role and function of the school counselor and their emergence as leaders, advocates, and collaborators in the provision of quality and equitable education for all students.

The primary goal of the text is to provide readers with not only information but inspiration in service of their developing professional identity as a school counselor. Each chapter opens with a reflection from a school counselor, which provides readers with valuable insight into the lived experience of the school counselor. The chapters also employ case illustrations and guided exercises to foster greater understanding of the profession.

Dedicated chapters explore the unique dynamic and breadth of the role of the school counselor, how to advocate for systemic change within school environments, ethical standards and behavior, and multi-tiered systems of support. Readers learn how to assist those with educational challenges, address threats to socioemotional development, connect with parents and caregivers, and better understand the nuances and requirements for serving in elementary, middle, and high school environments.

Introduction to School Counseling is an inspiring and informative resource for foundational courses in school counseling.

Ethical Decision Making: A Guide for Counselors in the 21st Century emphasizes the importance of ethical decision making while simultaneously recognizing the complexity and nuance involved in decision making in the counseling profession. Urging readers beyond simple comprehension of a professional code of ethics, the text guides them through the translation and application of codes of ethics to critical clinical decisions.

In Section I, readers learn about the need for and challenge of ethical practice, and receive an introduction to various models of ethical decision making. Section II highlights the unique challenges counselors face in a time of expanded diversity and increasing technology. Readers are provided with case illustrations and guided exercises to close the gap between theory and practice. In dedicated chapters, readers are invited to apply an ethical decision-making model to specific clinical dilemmas.

Ethical Decision Making provides a structure needed to guide the ethical decision making in the 21st century. It is an ideal supplementary text for courses and programs in counseling as well as a valuable tool for those in practice.

Richard D. Parsons, Ph.D. is a professor of counselor education at West Chester University. He has over 40 years of university teaching experience and has had a private clinical practice for over 30 years. Dr. Parsons serves as a consultant to educational and mental health institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, book chapters, and professional articles. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Temple University.

Peter J. Boccone, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Counselor Education Department at West Chester University. He is an approved clinical supervisor and a licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Dr. Boccone's research interests include legal and ethical issues in counseling and LGBTQ+ considerations in counseling.

Recognizing that real-world school counselor practice rarely fits into traditional models or timetables, Solution-Focused Counseling: An Evidence-Based Approach for School Counselors provides readers with evidence-based and effective interventions that work within the realities of time-limited constraints.

The text posits that school counselor need to employ models of service that are non-pathologizing in perspective, collaborative, and flexible in approach and which engage students' strengths and previous successes in coping. It offers readers greater insight into the unique perspective and approach that is solution-focused counseling to help future school counselors translate the theory into practice. Each chapter includes a description of theoretical constructs supported by research, case illustrations, analyses of counselor actions and decision-making processes, and guided practice exercises to bring the material to life. Individual chapters address finding hope in the inevitability of change, scaling, creative adaptations for younger students, solution-focused small group and classroom application, and more.

A highly practical textbook with emphasis on application in the school counseling setting, Solution-Focused Counseling is an ideal resource for graduate-level programs and courses in school counseling, as well as practitioners within the discipline.

The Counselor as Practitioner-Researcher: A Practical Guide to Research Methods is designed to help readers integrate a researcher's perspective and research methodology into their professional practice. Approaching practice as a practitioner-researcher not only facilitates the gathering of data and the drawing of useful conclusions, but also results in more ethical and effective practice decisions.

Section I provides readers with an overview of the need and value of research in support of the counseling profession and as a basis for sound and successful practice decisions. In Section II, the fundamentals of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed designs are reviewed. Section III highlights specific designs and their value to the counselor as practitioner-researcher, including between group, within subject, action research, and case study designs. The text concludes with an extensive case illustration of counselor research and the steps necessary to developing a specific research plan.

The Counselor as Practitioner-Researcher assists those in training and those in practice to not only become informed consumers of research, but also doers of research as it guides their practice decisions, affords measures of accountability, and supports program evaluation.

Counselor Wellness: Caring for Self to Care for Others underscores the importance of self-care for counselors in order to maintain an ethical, life-giving practice and minimize the risks of burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma. The book provides valuable insight regarding the inherent risks and challenges that come with serving others. It contains timely research and practical strategies for reducing stress and preventing the deleterious effects that can derail personal and professional effectiveness.

Each chapter begins with a reflection from a counselor, setting the stage for robust discussions about the rigors of counseling practice and the personal challenges many counselors face. The chapters feature cutting-edge research and evidence-based approaches to recognizing, intervening, and preventing threats to emotional well-being. Case illustrations and guided exercises personalize the reading experience and help readers draw connections between the material and their everyday lives. Key topics addressed include the increasing complexity and severity of clients' issues, the cost of empathy, ethical issues, developing a personal wellness orientation, and resiliency.

Designed to help counselors prioritize self-care in order to support the successful care of others, Counselor Wellness is an exemplary resource for pre-service counselors, as well as those in practice.

Richard D. Parsons, Ph.D. is a professor of counselor education at West Chester University. He has over 40 years of university teaching experience and has had a private clinical practice for over 30 years. Dr. Parsons serves as a consultant to educational and mental health institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, book chapters, and professional articles. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Temple University.

Karen L. Dickinson, Ph.D. is an associate professor and graduate coordinator of counselor education at West Chester University. She has 13 years of university teaching experience and over 30 years of experience as a teacher and school counselor in the K-12 education system.

Bridget Asempapa, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of counselor education and the coordinator of the school counseling certification program at West Chester University. She has a dual license in professional school counseling and clinical mental health counseling.

Cognitive Therapy: Principles and Practice Applied in Professional and Personal Life is designed to help practicing clinicians employ cognitive therapy both with their clients and within their own lives to build self-awareness and foster happiness and emotional wellbeing. By taking ownership of the cognitive therapy model, the text posits that clinicians can better assist their patients in the treatment of severe emotional disturbances.

The book is divided into two sections. In Section I, readers learn the core concepts of cognitive therapy and strategies to help them explain the cognitive paradigm to clients. Subsequent chapters address the power and functionality of human emotion, the difficulty of changing irrational beliefs, and the need to recognize and reshape different types of distorted thinking. In Section II, practitioners learn how to help clients experiencing cognitive distortions due to stress, anxiety, shame, guilt, the need for approval, anger, and depression. Each chapter includes clear and effective Directives for Practitioners, exercises to encourage self-reflection and personal application, key takeaways, and a list of additional resources.

Approachable, personal, and highly applicable, Cognitive Therapy is an ideal text for courses on cognitive therapy and any clinician who wants to help clients better understand the innate power they hold over their own emotional wellbeing.

Richard Parsons is a professor of counselor education at West Chester University and has over 37 years of experience in teaching counselor preparation programs. He has had a private clinical practice for over 40 years, working with those experiencing debilitating anxiety, depression, and other challenges to emotional wellbeing. Dr. Parsons also serves as a consultant to educational and mental health institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, book chapters, and professional articles. Dr. Parsons earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Temple University.

Increased demands. Living with roommates. Exploring independence. New romantic relationships. Tons of opportunity. Academic life is full of new stressors--but stress doesn't have to be a bad thing

A Student's Guide to Stress Management provides you with strategies to not only manage stress, but transform stress into an asset that will help you succeed in your academic career. This guide will help you develop a deeper understanding of what stress is, it's positive and negative effects on physical and emotional health, and how it's a natural, and at times, helpful, part of the college experience.

Accessible yet comprehensive, this guide will prepare you to navigate the stressors of academic life like a pro, transforming stressful situations into opportunities for growth and success.

A Student's Guide to Stress Management is part of the Cognella Series on Student Success, a collection of books designed to help students develop the essential life and learning skills needed to support a happy, healthy, and productive higher education experience.

Richard Parsons is a professor of counselor education at West Chester University and has over 37 years of experience in teaching counselor preparation programs. He has authored or co-authored over 80 professional articles and book chapters, and serves as the editor for the Cognella Series on Student Success. Dr. Parsons earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Temple University.

Karen Dickinson is an associate professor of counselor education at West Chester University. She is a certified school counselor with more than 20 years of experience serving as a counselor and elementary and special education instructor. Dr. Dickinson earned her master's degree in elementary school counseling from West Chester University and her doctorate degree in individual and family studies from the University of Delaware.

Written for students in training and those new to the helping profession, Intentional Counseling: Practice Guided by Theory blends theory, practice, and guided personalized application to help readers move from simply gathering and receiving information to using information effectively to help their clients.

The book discusses the importance of acquiring the necessary cognitive skills to think like a counselor. Case illustrations, presentations, and analyses in combination with directed activities, provide opportunities for both practice and feedback. Each chapter includes a description of the theoretical constructs presented in the chapter, supporting research, clinical illustrations of the concepts and constructs, and guided practice.

Designed to help those new to the field, Intentional Counseling moves beyond the traditional discussion of counseling theories to demonstrate their values in guiding practice decisions. Intentional Counseling helps the reader employ organizing schema to data reception, storage, and utilization, all in service of procedural knowledge. Illustrated through application of solution-based, cognitive, behavioral, reality therapy/choice theory, and feminist counseling theories, the book trains readers to think like experts, and then act accordingly.

Dr. Richard Parsons has been a private practitioner for over thirty years, and serves as a consultant to mental health service organizations throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He is also a professor in the Counselor Education Department at West Chester University, and the author of over 80 books, chapters, and articles.

Dr. Cheryl Neale-McFall is an assistant professor at West Chester University, a nationally board-certified counselor, and a licensed professional counselor who has worked with clients at every point in the lifespan. Her research interests include counselor-educator-mothers' work/life enrichment, counseling supervision, and counselor identity formation.

For those in the mental health professions, understanding the nature and dynamics of groups goes well beyond simple curiosity. Groups provide a platform, a medium, and a mode for facilitating growth and development and alleviating and resolving life problems.

Understanding and Facilitating Group Process provides readers with the foundational skills they need to competently and confidently engage in and lead group work. The material reflects the knowledge identified as fundamental to professional practice according to 2016 CACREP standards.

The content and exercises within the text provide readers with an understanding of the theoretical foundations of group work; the dynamics of group process and development; therapeutic factors; and the characteristics of effective group leaders. Readers learn about types of groups and other considerations that affect conducting groups in various settings. Finally, the text presents ethical and culturally relevant strategies for designing and facilitating a group. Throughout, learning exercises clarify concepts and engage the reader, and Takeaway for Counselors features provide readers with reflections to guide professional practice.

Illuminating and essential, Understanding and Facilitating Group Process is an ideal textbook for courses and programs in mental health counseling.

Preparing for Your Licensing Exam: NCE and NCMHCE well prepares future counselors to sit for their National Counselors Examination and National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination. The book not only helps readers cultivate physical and mental states optimal for testing, it also reviews core concepts and competencies that are likely to appear on the exams.

The opening chapter provides readers with a set of strategies and techniques to help them review all they have learned and also facilitate the ability to retrieve that information during testing. The following chapters address key topics within the profession, including professional orientation and ethics, lifespan development, social and cultural diversity, career development theory and practice, theories and techniques, group work and group counseling, assessment, research and program evaluation, and professional development, identity, and supervision. Each chapter features an introduction that identifies competencies assigned by CACREP, NBCC, and NCMHCE and related to the specific content area; descriptions of key theories, concepts, and constructs; sample test questions for self-assessment; and additional resources for further review. All chapters and testing materials included in this text have been prepared by university faculty who specialize in the topics covered in their chapter.

Preparing for Your Licensing Exam is an essential resource for any future counselor preparing to take the NCE or NCMHCE.

The number of issues that challenge the well-being of the human condition in our contemporary society are nearly infinite. And while it's easy to focus discretely on challenges and limitations, there is a way to both understand significant issues while also recognizing and uplifting human strength, resilience, and all we have to offer.

Positive Psychology: Science and Applications of Psycho-Emotional Health and Well-Being provides psychologists, counselors, and mental health specialists with a research-based framework that can help them assist clients through the lenses of positivity, growth, and strength. Opening chapters explore positive perspectives of the human condition, what is and isn't positive psychology, the nature of subjective well-being, and the concept of flourishing. Additional chapters cover the neurological connection between the brain and emotions, the pursuit of happiness, the idea of goodness regarding virtues, values, and character strengths, and the importance of savoring the moment. The power of hope and optimism, interventions promoting resiliency, the dynamics of relationships in personal well-being, and the concept of deep connection are covered. The closing chapter considers the future of positive psychology and its application to practice. Each chapter is firmly rooted in research and theory, provides real-world illustrations of the concepts in application, and offers readers a variety of exercises to bring the material to life.

Developed to provide professionals with the knowledge and skillsets they need to help their clients live into their true potential, Positive Psychology is an ideal resource for courses and programs in psychology and counseling.

Careers in Psychology: Opportunities for Research and Practice reveals the nearly limitless professional paths and prospects available to those who study psychology. Readers learn how those with knowledge in the field can find themselves engaged in the laboratory study of animal behaviors, in a research facility engaged with brain imaging, working with clients in private practice, working in hospitals, schools, sales and marketing companies, and government agencies, to name just a few opportunities. The book demonstrates the depth and breadth of the discipline and helps readers determine ways to tap into their innate strengths and nourish their professional growth.

Part I of the textbook includes chapters that introduce the history of psychology and the expanse of roles and functions served by psychologists in modern society. In Part II, chapters review specific areas of applied psychology, including psychologists in mental health services, in schools, psychology and the law, sport psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and neuropsychology. Part III emphasizes careers within the various areas of psychological research. The final part helps students better understand the process of career decision-making and underscores the importance of knowing themselves, the types of experiences that are nurturing, and prioritizing self-care throughout their career development journey.

Developed to help readers understand the vast possibilities in the field, Careers in Psychology is an ideal resource for students of psychology at all levels.

Are you ready to log on and learn in the online classroom? You may have comfortable clothes and a snack prepared, but have you created a plan for how you'll participate, considered how you'll troubleshoot potential technical issues, and thought through other challenges and opportunities?

A Student's Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Online Classes provides you with practical, research-based suggestions to prepare you for success in online educational experiences. With this guide, you'll reframe your concept of the classroom and reflect on your personal learning style in relation to online learning. You'll learn how to adapt critical study habits and learning skills, including self-regulation, personal motivation, goal setting, and time and task management, to virtual settings.

A timely and vital resource, this guide will help you develop the mindset and skillsets required for you to thrive in your online courses.

A Student's Guide to Surviving and Thriving in Online Classes is part of the Cognella Series on Student Success, a collection of books designed to help students develop the essential life and learning skills needed to support a happy, healthy, and productive higher education experience.

Richard D. Parsons, Ph.D. is a professor of counselor education at West Chester University. He has over 40 years of university teaching experience and has had a private clinical practice for over 30 years. Dr. Parsons serves as a consultant to educational and mental health institutions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. He has authored or co-authored over 90 books, book chapters, and professional articles. He earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Temple University.