Coker, J: Lifespan Development

Kelly Coker, PhD, LCMHC, NCC, BC-TMH, is a cis-gender white female in midlife. She is a professor and associate chair of the counseling program at Palo Alto University. She is also a fierce and loyal wife, mother, sister, daughter, and aunt. Kelly has been a counselor educator for more years than she can count, and as part of this work has published and presented a lot. She loves nothing more than training emerging counselors how to be their best selves, how to work with humility and compassion, and how to always strive to meet their clients where they are. As a licensed clinical mental health counselor (LCMHC) and Board-certified Tele-Mental health counselor, Kelly works with a small handful of clients in a tele-mental health private practice. She is amazed by how often consideration of phases of life enters into her work. It is for this reason that Kelly wanted to engage in this exciting project with three other warrior women. She would love to hear from you, students and educators, about how this book informs your learning, your clinical work, and your understanding of self.

"As the authors of this textbook represent women of different ages, cultural backgrounds, professional identities, and experiences as clinicians and professional educators, we felt that we could work together to try to bring to life, in new ways, the theories and models of lifespan development to benefit you, the future mental health professional, in applying them to your real-world work with future clients. Whether you are training to become a professional counselor, psychologist, social worker, marriage and family therapist, or other mental health professional, you will engage with clients/patients across the lifespan. As humans navigate the different ages of life, they pass through different stages of development. Mental health professionals rely on various theories, treatment modalities, and ongoing research to inform their best practice; we hope this text will support you to do so in a culturally-responsive, humble, self-reflective way, in order that your clients will be ethically and effectively served across the lifespan"--

About the Authors