Welcome to Volume 18, Issue 2 of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health (JCMH). We are very sad as we write this first letter from the editor following the untimely death of our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Thelma Duffey. Before her death, Thelma asked us to succeed her as editors of JCMH, and we are proud to continue her legacy in this way. JCMH is the official journal for the Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC). This journal is designed to bring our readership cutting-edge scholarship that promotes growth-fostering relationships and enhances relational development within a diverse society. ACC was established for professionals and students interested in creative and complementary approaches to counseling practice and counselor education. Authors represent the diverse mental health disciplines of counseling, psychology, expressive therapies, psychiatry, and social work. JCMH is particularly interested in receiving submissions that discuss creative ways to facilitate growth-fostering connections and relational development. JCMH also encourages further understanding of diversity in professional practice. These interventions may include music, literature, theater, drama, art, dance, energy psychologies, and other complementary and alternative therapies.
The following articles are included in this issue, offering a wide variety of innovative topics: “Prompting Change: Utilizing the Transtheoretical Model in Sandtray,” “Positive Expressive Writing as a Stress Management Strategy for Japanese Students: Willingness to Engage in Expressive Writing,” “Raising Awareness of the Impact of Guilt and Shame on Counselor Education Students,” “The Supervision House: A Developmental Tool for Counselor Supervision,” “Integrating Trauma-Informed Yoga into Addiction Treatment,” and “The Effects of Group Counseling Utilizing Narrative Therapy on Self-esteem, Stress Response, and Insight for Individuals with Alcohol Dependency.” Creating Space for Connection: Creative Interventions in Counseling: “The Button Method: A Model for Collaboration with Creative Arts Therapies,” “The Power of Kawa: Metaphor in Counseling Supervision, and “The Power of Vulnerability: Connecting Families Using Spider-Man into the Spider-verse.” Creating Space for Connection: Creativity in the Classroom: “I-Poetry as an Instructional Tool in Counselor Education.” It is our hope that you find this issue enlightening and helpful to your work.