In today's episode, I chat with Laura Filtness about anxiety strategies. Laura talks through the importance of setting professional boundaries and using therapy dogs in counseling programs. We discuss practical applications for managing anxiety in students and school counselors, including mindful moments, expanding the window of tolerance, and using cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques. Laura also shares her passion for using picture books in counseling and her involvement in mentoring new counselors. Laura is a school counselor with more than 15 years of experience. In 2017, she was ..read more

Anxiety remains our focus this week as we have gotten such an overwhleming response and need to continue to cover this topic. Today, Jessica, from Counseling Adventures, joins the conversation to share valuable insights and practical strategies for addressing anxiety among students. Drawing from her 10 years of experience, Jessica offers tips for parents, teachers, and fellow counselors, emphasizing the importance of understanding and managing different types of anxiety in the school setting.  Gain a deeper understanding of common anxiety triggers among middle schoolers and learn effectiv ..read more

Bonus annoucement! I am hosting a free back to school workshop next week and believe me you don't want to miss this!  I'll be sharing how to use a meet the counselor activity to engage students and advocate for your role! Everyone who attends live gets a FREE meet the counselor lesson! In this training, you'll learn: 1. The ins and outs of my favorite meet the counselor activity Learn how to organize, set up, and deliver a perfect meet the counselor lesson  2. How to use a meet the counselor lesson to ensure that you impact more students By explaining exactly what your role is, an ..read more

Cue the confetti because I have such an exciting announcement to share with you! Impact 2.0 is here! This episode is a replay of the live launch party I held to unveil all the new features of Impact.       I know what it's like to have the heart and desire to want to help as many kiddos as possible as a school counselor. But here’s the problem. You end up overwhelmed and winging it more than you'd probably like to admit, because it takes so much time to create and implement quality curriculum. There’s only so many hours in the day!       Enter Impact 2.0! When you ..read more

Cue the confetti because I have such an exciting announcement to share with you! Impact 2.0 is here! This episode is a replay of the live launch party I held to unveil all the new features of Impact.       I know what it's like to have the heart and desire to want to help as many kiddos as possible as a school counselor. But here’s the problem. You end up overwhelmed and winging it more than you'd probably like to admit, because it takes so much time to create and implement quality curriculum. There’s only so many hours in the day!       Enter Impact 2.0! When you ..read more

Cue the confetti because I have such an exciting announcement to share with you! Impact 2.0 is here! This episode is a replay of the live launch party I held to unveil all the new features of Impact.       I know what it's like to have the heart and desire to want to help as many kiddos as possible as a school counselor. But here’s the problem. You end up overwhelmed and winging it more than you'd probably like to admit, because it takes so much time to create and implement quality curriculum. There’s only so many hours in the day!       Enter Impact 2.0! When you ..read more

Join me LIVE TONIGHT, January 10, 2023 at 6:00pm EST for a huge announcement! I cannot wait to share this with you! We are launching something BIG and I am so excited to finally give you the details. We will be giving away gift cards, door prizes, and 3 people who are there live will receive unlimited access to all of my counseling resources for 1 month!         Sign up at stressfreeschoolcounseling.com/newyear to join me live TONIGHT!       *       Resources Mentioned:       Enroll in the Stress Free School Counseling Course:&nb ..read more

Happy New Year! I hope that 2023 is off to a great start for you! I am feeling super optimistic for this year and want to help you have the best start to 2023 when you return to school. I am sharing three goals for school counselors for the new year. We all want to make our school counseling programs the best that they can be. We want to make an impact on our students and I have some ideas for simple ways you can increase your impact in 2023. In this episode, I am sharing how to use ASCA aligned objectives to measure student progress, why you should be collaborating with stakeholders, and the ..read more

Do you set goals for yourself and your program at the start of every year or have New Year’s goals not really been your thing in the past? I know doing “New Year, New Goals” is a bit overdone but I feel like it’s a good chance to encourage ourselves to improve personally and professionally. If you aren’t sure where to start with your goals, I have five goals you can set to help improve your counseling program this year.           We’re about half way through the school year so it’s a great time to look at what we’ve done and where our program is. It’s also a great time ..read more

Whether you're resting and relaxing or getting in as many social gatherings as possible, I hope you are having an AMAZING, well-deserved break! At this point in the school year, self-care is especially important. So today, I am sharing four self-care tips to help you get the most out of your holiday break!          We often get so busy with our to-do list, obligations, and feeling like we need to do everything that we forget to take care of ourselves. Whether it’s at school or on a break, self-care is so important! In this episode, we’re looking at four self-care tips ..read more