As a teacher, if you can help students manage anxiety, you are also helping them to better learn. You probably know first hand that when a student experiences chronic or overwhelming anxiety, it can impact his or her ability to succeed in school. On top of that, many different kinds of outward behaviors which look like anger, apathy, defiance, hyperactivity, or distraction are actually rooted in anxiety. In other words, children and teens express anxiety in more ways than just excessive worrying. And once you realize this, chances are you’ll have a few Aha moments. You might realize th ..read more

Whether you’re stepping foot into your freshly painted, linoleum-floored, window-filled office for the first time or moving to a new building, I’ve got a few stories to share and some valuable insights to help you avoid a few mistakes when setting up your comprehensive school counseling program for the school year. 1. Not Establishing a Referral System For a smooth transition and to avoid having to undo structures you built unintentionally, make sure you have a referral system in place. Trust me, if you don’t, the students, teachers, and even the admin will create one for you. And t ..read more

Elementary school counselors end up spending quite a bit of time in the classroom. But here’s the thing – not many of us received proper training on how to actually manage a class! Even though I had been a teacher for a very short period of time, I still struggled big time with classroom management. During my first 1-2 years as a school counselor, I felt like a fish out of water.  I relied on memories of what teachers did when I was a student so very, very long ago and on the few minutes I observed teachers before taking over their class. Even a few years into it, there were plent ..read more

Maximize Classroom Focus Let’s dive into a topic that concerns anyone working in the schools and even doing homeschooling: how to best support students in maintaining focus during classroom activities. We’ve all experienced those moments when we pour our hearts into crafting amazing lesson plans, only to find our class drifting away in a sea of distractions. But don’t give up! Read on and see if any of the following strategies I tried throughout the years might help your students stay focused.  These gems are not just for school counselors but also for teachers, administrators ..read more

Parenting a Child with Anxiety  I know what it’s like to have a child struggle with anxiety. It’s so hard to witness your child suffer from all the discomfort and what-ifs that come from feeling anxious. In fact, it’s what inspired me to focus so much of my work on coping tools, in effort to help children manage anxiety.  If I had a penny for all the times I wished I could take away my child’s fears and replace them with feelings of safety and security, I’d have a million plus more dollars.  And of course, having my own relationship with anxiety myself (surpris ..read more

A Smart Way to Teach Goal Setting Lessons As a former school counselor, I’ve had my fair share of experience teaching goal setting lessons to elementary students. If you’ve had to teach about setting goals to kiddos, you would probably agree it can be a challenge to keep their attention.  How do you make it fun, relatable, and engaging for students who may not yet fully understand what can seem like an abstract concept, such as setting goals?  The approach that worked wonders for my students? Humor.  When I used funny examples to teach them about SMART goals, I found that ..read more

A Shout-Out for Solution Focused Counseling in Schools My all time favorite counseling theory has always been Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT).   It was definitely my go-to during my years as a school counselor. I found it to be the most “get out your hammer, nails and shovel and start building…And remember when you feel like giving up, that you’ve got the muscles to do the hard work…and if you don’t have the muscles, you will build them along the way” kind of hands-on, hopeful, and practical of counseling techniques.  Writing this makes me realize that not only did ..read more