Starting counseling sessions with a check-in is something I’ve been doing since my internship in 2011. For a long time, I used Kimochis (you know those little stuffie feelings characters?). I then started using feelings posters, sometimes my feelings/problems size scale, and then for individual sessions I started using this check-in folder almost every time. […]
6 Questions to Ask Before You Conduct a School Counseling Needs Assessment
I’m a huge proponent of using a school counseling needs assessment. Any time you can get information to guide your program and make it more intentional is wonderful! A needs assessment shouldn’t just be something to check the box for, though. If you want it to be as helpful as can be, you’ll need to […]
School Counseling Office Tour (Round 3)
This past school year, I was in my third* school counseling office. I personally really benefit from visual inspiration and examples (for everything!) so I want to share some pictures from it as a sort of school counseling office tour in case it’s helpful for some of you, too! *My first school counseling office was […]
5 Group Counseling Mistakes School Counselors Make
I wish I could go back in time to 2012 and give myself some tips on school counseling groups because I made a lot of mistakes. But mistakes are for learning, right? So I’m sharing five of my group counseling mistakes with you – so you can learn from them, too! 1. Not Enough Group […]
4 Ways to Teach Self-Control to Children
Something I’ve heard teachers talk about over and over is the need for students to learn about self-control. I agree that self-control is a super important life skill. That said, it’s not a one-and-done type of thing. It’s a skill that also requires a lot of modeling and reinforcement to develop over time. It’s worth […]
Children’s Books About Self-Control
There are lots of ways to teach kids about controlling their impulses or making good choices and one is, of course, through picture books! Below are some of my favorite children’s books about self-control plus what I like about them and how they would best be used. (Looking for activities for teaching kids self-control? I […]
No-Prep Fun Counseling Lesson Activities
Before and after big school schedule transitions (such as breaks), excitement and anxiety are flowing more than usual through schools. There’s also usually all sorts of “extra” stuff going on, both at school and in our own lives. This combo calls for no-prep counseling lesson activities that are more ‘fun’ than usual. I’ve tried a […]
CBT Interventions for Kids That Don’t Require Metacognition
When I hear or read “cognitive behavioral theory” or CBT, my brain immediately goes to cognitive distortions and thought changing. And that is absolutely a huge part of it, and maybe my favorite part. But…that’s only a piece of cognitive behavioral counseling! When we look at the theoretical model as a whole, there’s a lot […]
Free SEL Activities and Videos for Counselors and Teachers
I am lucky to have partnered with Discovery Education for this post about their new, amazing, free SEL activities. All opinions are my own. If you’re here, it’s because you know how important social-emotional learning is. You know that there’s significant evidence that SEL positively impacts students’ academic achievement and behavior. And, you know as […]
