A qualitative investigation illuminating the perceptions of eight African American caregivers of elementary school-age children. In particular, this study explored questions that pertained to African American parents' (a) thoughts about counseling, (b) beliefs about the purpose of play, and (c) perceptions about play as a therapeutic agent in counseling. Analysis of African American caregivers' responses to interview questions revealed information about two main themes: (a) value of play and (b) receptivity to counseling. Participants identified developmental learning and energy release as two of the main values surrounding play. They also indicated that receptivity to counseling was directly related to specific facilitative factors, or lack thereof. Implications for play therapists' work with parents and directions for future research are explored.

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature regarding parent consultation and to address special considerations when working across cultures and ethnicities. Understanding privacy expectations and how to meet the needs of families, without discouraging the caregivers or unintentionally breaking cultural guidelines, will be explored. This chapter is extremely important because mental health professionals must adhere to the diversity guidelines and ethical standards of practice in complex cases, with many involved caregivers at times. When consulting with caregivers from culturally diverse backgrounds, consultants need to consider the impact of culture on the caregiver, the child client, and on the consultation process.

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature regarding parent consultation and to address special considerations when working across cultures and ethnicities. Understanding privacy expectations and how to meet the needs of families, without discouraging the caregivers or unintentionally breaking cultural guidelines, will be explored. This chapter is extremely important because mental health professionals must adhere to the diversity guidelines and ethical standards of practice in complex cases, with many involved caregivers at times. When consulting with caregivers from culturally diverse backgrounds, consultants need to consider the impact of culture on the caregiver, the child client, and on the consultation process.

Oftentimes individuals providing counseling for child clients struggle with how to effectively incorporate parents in the process. This is particularly important in Child Centered Play Therapy when the parent or caregiver is not in the room for the intervention. In this chapter, the author addresses the current best practices for supporting parents/caregivers including cultural considerations and issues related to practice settings. Specific resources this clinician offers parents and interventions utilized in the consultation, counseling, and teaching process are reviewed. Finally, the chapter addresses strategies for supporting supervisees in the process of parent and caregiver consultation.