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Animal-Assisted School Counseling (AASC) is a hands-on resource that provides invaluable information for school counselors interested in partnering with a therapy animal on campus to help students meet social and emotional goals. This book presents a wealth of resources for school counselors and school-based mental health practitioners to incorporate animal partners on school campuses with individual students and groups and in classroom and schoolwide settings. Using the American School Counselor Association (ASCA)National Model framework, this book presents AASC interventions that can be implemented as part of the multitiered system of support to address students'mental health needs. The text also meets the important demand for accountability in school counseling by providing resources for assessing the effectiveness of AASC interventions for meeting student and school outcome goals. Addressing such issues as getting school district buy-in, choosing an animal partner, preparing the school for an animal partner, theoretical applications of AASC, and student-affirming AASC services, the book is organized such that each chapter builds upon the next so school counselors understand what steps to take to become an effective AASC team. Ideal for the school counselor, social worker, or psychologist who may not have specific training in AASC, this book will encourage school mental health practitioners to seek out training programs to become an AASC team.

Solution-Focused Play Therapy is an essential text that blends the process of play therapy with solution-focused therapy.With a focus on child strengths and resources, this book identifies key concepts and principles in solution-focused play therapy (SFPT). The author provides neurobiological and developmental support for SFPT and guidance on how practitioners can transition from using a non-directive approach to a more directive and activity-based approach based on the developmental needs of the child. Chapters describe the 12 basic skills needed for employing this approach with children of all ages and their families. Harnessing a strengths-oriented approach, the author presents expressive ways to use key SFPT techniques, including the miracle question, scaling, finding exceptions, and end-of-session feedback.Clinicians will come away from the book with a suite of interventions, strategies, handouts, and forms that can be employed with children of all ages and their families, from strength-based assessment and treatment planning to the final celebration session.

Covering principles of therapy dog team training, assessment, skills, and ongoing monitoring, Canine-Assisted Interventions provides guidance on the most evidence-based methods for therapy dog team welfare, training, and assessment. The authors offer a linear approach to understanding all aspects of the screening, assessment, and selection of dog-handler teams by exploring the journey of dog therapy teams from assessment of canines and handlers to the importance of ongoing monitoring, recredentialing, and retirement. In addition to reviewing key findings within the field of human-animal interactions, each chapter emphasizes skills on both the human and dog ends of the leash and makes recommendations for research-informed best practices. To support readers, the book culminates with checklists and training resources to serve as a quick reference for readers. This book will be of great interest for practitioners, in-service professionals, and researchers in the fields of canine-assisted interventions and counseling.