National School Psychology Week is almost here! Are you ready??? It’s November 6th-10th, 2023, and this year’s theme is “Let’s Grow Together.” I love this theme. For those of you who don’t know me yet, I’m Dr. Rebecca Branstetter, school psychologist and co-founder of Thriving Students Collective. Since 2011, I’ve dedicated my career to helping school psychologists grow both personally and professionally, so they are engaged, joyful and in a vibrant and resilient community of other school psychologists. This joy and positivity radiates out to reach students, families, and school com ..read more

The Road to Being a School Psychologist… I have a confession. When I was little, I loved school so much, I played “school” on the weekends. For the record, I also had friends! And…I would rope them into playing school with me (along with my childhood bestie, Grizzlette the teddy bear–she was an excellent listener). And real talk? I gotta admit… I still reeeeeeeally love “playing” school all day long for my career, as a school psychologist. My journey began out of a love of learning and continues to date with my love of helping students as a school psychologist.  It’s my mission to support ..read more

  When you hear a student say, “School is boring!” how do you respond? As a school psychologist, I tend to hear one of two reactions from adults: Reaction #1: Pinkie Pie-ing the Situation We jump in, optimistic Pinkie Pie Style, and try to convince kids that school is sooooo much fun!!! This is a common reaction for those like me who loved school growing up (I loved school so much, I even played “school” on the weekends! ). In fact, here is actual footage of me, projecting my experience of school being fun onto kids who have just told me it’s boring:   Reaction #2: Normalizing Bor ..read more

I  laughed. I cried. I did a Tik Tok dance for you. Back to school pix are starting to hop in my feed, so here’s mine. I can’t help it. I love the first day back to school! #nerdalert Lifelong learners, you feel me…but um…don’t crunch the numbers though. Real Talk Though… If that back to school excitement dissipates when get your mile-long caseload list, or you find yourself back-burnering all those great hobbies and self-care activities you did over the summer by October, this episode of Tea and Thriving I just dropped is for you. Catch the replay of my fourth “Tea and Thriving ..read more

Pinkies Up, Getting Down to Serious School Psych Business… I’ve been loving connecting with other school psychs live on my Tea and Thriving book club sessions on Instagram. You know why? Because nobody gets school psychs like other school psychs!  Unfortunately, unlike teachers, we can’t just pop down the hall for advice or a cuppa comfort after a hideously tense IEP meeting with another school psych who will GET IT. If you ever feel isolated from other school psychs and want creative ways to connect, catch the replay of my third “Tea and Thriving” book club on Instagram Li ..read more

When you think of someone who is burned out, it conjures up images of someone who is “phoning it in” —  disengaged, uninterested, and hating their work. That’s not what burnout often looks like for school psychologists and others in the helping professions. When school psychologists get burned out, they still love their job and their students, but they may feel trapped in a role that only scratches the surface of what they can do to help kids. They often feel demoralized at the state of educational systems in general and feel powerless to make changes. Burnout for school psychologists rar ..read more

Hayyyy school psych friends! One of my fave school psych mentors once told me, “The time to learn to swim is not when you’re drowning” and I feel like this really applies to school psychs building out organizational systems before we head back to school. If you’re worried that the floodgates of referrals are going to open up after SEVENTEEN months of pandemic learning and you’ll be drowning in assessments and report writing, this message is for you…   Want to know what I’ve learned about organization and time management from my zillion years as a school psych (and from working with over ..read more

Pinkies Up, Getting Down to Serious School Psych Business If you haven’t heard the news, I’ve started an ongoing virtual book club for school psychs where we will be talking about my newest book, The Thriving School Psychologist (which you can get for FREE here!).⁠ Come geek out with us for about 20-ish minutes at a time on live workshops on my Instagram Live, so you can turn the ideas from the book into action. ⁠ ⁠ It’s easy to join us! Just follow me on Instagram and you’ll get announcements when the next one is being held! Easy Peasy!   Serving Up Your Se ..read more

Want a low-key way to return to work in the fall rested, relaxed, AND ready? Need a cuppa inspiration this summer that will help you feel energized to tackle whatever situation you might be walking into in the fall (and maybe a soothing cuppa tea and company to go with it, too?) If you haven’t heard the news, I’ve started an ongoing virtual book club for school psychs where we will be talking about my newest book, The Thriving School Psychologist (which you can get for FREE here!).⁠ Come geek out with us for about 15-20 minutes at a time on live workshops on my Instagram Live, so you can turn ..read more

School Psychologist Burnout…It’s Not What You Think it Is When you think of someone who is burned out, it conjures up images of someone who is just kinda phoning it in–disengaged, uninterested, and hating their work. That’s not what burnout often looks like for school psychologists and others in the helping professions. When school psychs get burned out, they still love their job and their students, but they may feel trapped in a role that only scratches the surface of what they can do to help kids. They are often demoralized at the state of educational systems in general and feel powerless t ..read more