Grief is a universal experience, but it looks different for everyone, depending on their situation, coping style, and the type of loss they’ve faced. As school counselors, it can be tough to know exactly how to support students with grief and loss, especially because grief is not something we can just “fix” (no matter how […]
Play-Based Counseling Activities Using 4 Props You Probably Already Have
We have talked about the physical tools we might use in classroom lessons or individual counseling, we can also use basic props as counseling tools, too, to integrate more play! While “play therapy” typically refers to child-centered play therapy (which is a great, evidence-based approach you can read a little bit more about in this post), this post will focus on different play-based […]
Digital Citizenship Activities
Our students are online. In today’s world, time online is nearly inevitable. Whether kids are using the internet to do homework, socialize, play games, learn new hobbies, or be entertained, most are interacting in some way shape or form with the digital world. In fact, as of 2020, 80% of parents reported children between the […]
Group Counseling Referrals
Small group counseling is one of a school counselor’s most used tier 2 interventions (learn more about school counselors and MTSS here). That is because they allow us to provide high-impact support for multiple students at one time. But, how do we know which students to include? Whether you have always done groups, are committed to […]
Solution Focused Counseling Activities for School Counselors
Solution-focused counseling (SFC) is a super useful tool for school counselors to have at their disposal. That is because SFC is a time-efficient approach that is known to be effective cross-culturally, is trauma sensitive and empowering for students, and research supports its positive effect on externalizing behaviors. There is less research on the effectiveness of SFC on internalizing concerns, but it looks promising (especially as […]
12 Must – Have School Counseling Books
Books have this magical quality about them that keeps students engaged, helps them look at things from new perspectives, see themselves in stories, apply what they learn to their own lives, and learn from the character’s experiences. For these reasons, and many others, they are a great tool for school counselors to use. They are […]
Curriculum Mapping for School Counselors
A curriculum map or pacing calendar or scope and sequence or whatever you prefer to call it is a comprehensive outline of both the content you are teaching and in what order. It is the visual representation of your school counseling core curriculum. Creating (and evaluating and updating!) your map is a hugely important part of building an effective, […]
Tools for SEL Class Lessons
As school counselors, we use a lot of “stuff.” Items that you’ll use in individual counseling might be different from what you’ll use in classroom lessons which might be different from what you’ll use in a group, so on and so forth. Below, you’re going to find a list of tools for SEL class lessons that can be incredibly helpful supplies […]
Favorite Games for School Counselors
As a school counselor, there are certain “must-haves” and a few games are certainly at the top of that list. While games are fun, they also help to build an authentic relationship between us and the student and can contribute to important skill development like taking turns, respecting others, graciously losing, OR winning, problem-solving, patience, […]
