Dear new counselor, You will tell the kids “you can do hard things” until you’re blue in the face. Tell it to yourself. YOU can do hard things. And there will be so many hard things, hard things you’ve never even imagined. But you’ve got this. In my experience, first year teachers are well supported and wrapped around by a…
Read More

Even the best counselor prep programs don’t always include training for how to actually counsel children – it’s often times something that we figure out once we’re already working. Talking to mentor counselors, reading books, googling…and just plain old trial and error. I was lucky that my first position was actually as a school-based therapist and so I had a…
Read More

Several years ago, school districts across the country adopted Response to Intervention (RTI) protocols for academics. Now schools are working to develop RTI-B; a systematic tiered approach to student behavior problems. One component of this that many schools are incorporating is a universal screener (just like is used with academics!) for emotional/behavioral concerns. I was at one of 15ish schools…
Read More

For the last few years, I would say that the majority of my faculty on fully on board with the importance of social emotional learning for their students, and support my role and work. That said, it wasn’t always like that. When I first started, the teachers had some strong and incorrect ideas about what school counseling and the worth…
Read More

Every classroom has students quick to anger, students with anxiety, and students extra sensitive to the ways of the world. One of the most effective ways to help students self-regulate at school is through the use of peace corners. They are trauma-informed and truly benefit individual students as well as overall class culture. I’ve written before about how I rolled…
Read More

This year, my school is part of a pilot program with our multi-tiered systems of supports for behavior.  This meant I was able to attend some additional behavior-focused trainings, including one focused specifically on Check In/Check Out (CICO). For years, I’ve used some sort of daily behavior point sheet with some of my students struggling with behavior. I had a bit of…
Read More