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 more to it. The good…
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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 a grownup, that we need…
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In grad school, we talked a little about human motivation and theories of change in our counseling theories class. We briefly discussed some models of consultation with teachers. That wasn’t quite enough, though. I was not prepared to function as a behavior specialist. And yet, that was very much a part of my job! This meant I was NOT great…
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I frequently hear teachers and school faculty talking about how their students lack responsibility. They wonder how to convey to students the importance of this lifelong skill. I use the word skill instead of trait because when we think of things like respect or responsibility or perseverance when related to a character trait, we’re saying you’ve got it or you…
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A couple of years ago, I moved out of my school counseling office and packed up all of the things I had bought with my own money over the previous seven years. Put all of my resources and a few fidgets on my shelves to work from home, and stashed the rest away in the garage. I keep meaning to…
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Many people who work with children are noticing a pattern of increased emotional dysregulation in children. I certainly did! The number of students that needed help with regulation when I started at a school counselor in 2012 has increased exponentially – it is now a huge focus for myself and other school counselors each year. Parents also seem a bit…
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