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Social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula are being increasingly implemented with young children; however, access to comprehensive programs can be prohibitive for programs limited by finances, time, or other factors. This article describes an exploratory case study that investigates the use of creative activity in the direct promotion of empathy and indirect promotion of other social-emotional skills for early elementary children in an urban-based after-school setting. A novel curriculum, Creating Compassion, which combines art engagement with explicit behavioral instruction, serves as a promising avenue for socialemotional skill development, and has particular importance for children from low-income households. Five children from racially minoritized backgrounds in grades kindergarten and first attended the Creating Compassion group intervention. Group-level data and individual data of direct behavior ratings suggested a modest increase in empathy development, responsible decisionmaking, and self-management skills and thereby provide a preliminary basis for further effectiveness investigation. Suggestions for future research in this area are discussed in addition to social justice implications.Keywords Social-emotional learning . Empathy . Creative arts . Social justice Research suggests that empathy, defined by Ishaq (2006) as "the ability to identify and express one's own emotions to read another's emotions correctly and comprehensively" (p. S26), offers protective benefits to children (Lenzi et al., 2014;López et al., 2008). Researchers have also found that empathy can be taught (Teding van Berkhout & Malouff, 2016). As such, empathy is a core component of many social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula, which are gaining popularity globally and across the USA (Clayton, 2017;Cristóvão et al., 2017;Torrente et al., 2016). Although empathy-focused education can take various forms, including role plays and games, lectures, and skill-building exercises (Teding van Berkhout & Malouff, 2016), art-based interventions, such as those researched by Darewych and Bowers (2017), represent one particularly promising method for delivering empathy training to children. Given findings on links between empathy and creativity (Alligood, 1991;Carlozzi et al., 1995;Grant & Berry, 2011) and the effectiveness of experience-based social skills training programs with children (January et al., 2011), a curriculum that combines these elements has the potential to be both engaging and effective. Furthermore, in today's increasingly multicultural classrooms, arts activities offer English language learners a valuable opportunity to actively participate and express themselves more fully (Brouillette, 2009). This article documents findings from an exploratory study using an arts-centered empathy curriculum implemented with kindergarten and first grade children in an urban afterschool setting.

Since the approval of fluoxetine in 1987, there have been contentious debates about whether antidepressants "work." A recent meta-analysis on the efficacy and tolerability of antidepressants reinvigorated debates about their effectiveness-debates that have important implications for both research and practice in humanistic psychology. This article briefly discusses the findings and identifies the limitations of this meta-analysis, and we show that using psychopharmacology as a routine first response is not evidence based and incongruent with the basic principles of humanistic psychology. Additionally, we argue that the question "do antidepressants work?" is reductive and undermines our responsibility to individuals who are suffering from emotional distress. Responding to the Cipriani et al. ( 2018) study from a humanistic lens (a) deepens our appreciation for the lived experience of individuals diagnosed with depression and our responsibility to them, (b) complicates assumptions about the ontological status of "depression," and (c) enhances collaborative, client-centered decision-making.

Positive school climate is a key determinant factor of students’ psychological well-being, safety, and academic achievement. Although researchers have examined the validity of school climate measures, there is a dearth of research investigating differences in student perceptions of school climate across race and ethnicity. This study evaluated the factor stability of a widely used school climate survey using factor analyses and measurement invariance techniques across racial/ethnic groups. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis indicated a five-factor structure for a school climate survey and weak measurement invariance was found across Hispanic, Black, and White student groups (ΔCFI = .008). According to paired t-tests, significant differences were found among racial/ethnic respondent groups across two factors: teacher and school effectiveness and sense of belonging and care. Validated school climate measures that are culturally and racially responsive to students’ experiences allow for accurate interpretations of school climate data. Discussion and implications are provided.