The purpose of this qualitative study was to hear from a group of African American parents who were living in poverty about their experience participating in a short-term, intensive child-parent relationship therapy intervention (CPRT). The parents who participated were recruited from a parent enrichment program for parents of preschoolers and were interviewed about the parent-child relationship before and after the group sessions. In addition, parents reported on barriers to utilizing counseling services related to their parenting needs. Following an intensive 4-week CPRT group intervention, the parents described their experiences about participating in the group sessions and how it impacted their parent-child relationship. Parents discussed changes in their perceptions of parenting, child's play, and CPRT group process. Implications are discussed.

Graduate students in a school-based introductory play-therapy course participated in providing 5–6 play sessions with kindergarten and first-grade students. A qualitative examination of reflection papers written by the students was conducted to determine the impact of the en vivo experience on student counselors' play-therapy preparation and experience. Results suggested that the en vivo experience impacted graduate students' perceptions of their knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward using play in counseling children. Implications for school-based, play-therapy preparation are provided.