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An introduction is presented which discusses articles in the issue on topics including, creative ways to facilitate growth-fostering connections and relational development; and cutting-edge scholarship that promotes growth-fostering relational development within a diverse society.

One feature that distinguishes professional counseling from other mental health and illness disciplines is its developmental, strength-based, contextually-focused, and wellness perspective. Given the multicultural paradigm that the counseling field emphasizes, it is increasingly important to identify models like relational-cultural theory (RCT) that support these principles. This article includes an overview of the basic tenets of RCT and applications to mental health counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the activity of making paper bag books as a creative intervention for elementary school children experiencing high-conflict parental divorce. Research shows that school-based interventions for children can help counter the adverse effects of divorce. It states that the paper bag book activity aims to offer a compassionate environment for meaningful connections and perceived commonality among students with similar traumatic experiences. Furthermore, the child-made paper bag books can help empower the child to express his or her innermost feelings.