You’re stressed. I get it. Me too. And that means you want to scroll down to the 7 Practical Strategies for Reducing your Stress instead of reading all of the “blah, blah, blah” that comes before the part you really care about. But thankfully, I’m not a fan of the “blah, blah” either, so I’ll save you some scroll time. Here's the gist: Stress sucks. These strategies work for me. I hope they work for you too. Block your schedule. [...]
I was 24 years old, in a Master’s of Mental Health Counseling program, and facilitating one of my first group sessions. It was an interpersonal relationship process group- you know- one of the groups used to train newbie therapists how to be in the here-and-now and learn about their quirks through interactions with others in the group? Pretty low key. At least most of the time. I loved group facilitation and especially relished in the moments when I would say something (I thought was) profound; earning myself the respect and admiration of those who were participants. I felt admired by my colleagues, supported by my professors, and would do anything I could to continue the persona of master therapist; wise beyond my years.
The need to recognize and support students of concern didn’t simply stop when Coronavirus affected our schools. In fact, for many, the number of student’s needing support increased while options for supporting them, decreased. Now that almost all of our country's institutions and districts have gone to some form of virtual instruction and remote ways of supporting students, Case Managers, School Psychologists, and Behavioral Intervention Team (BIT) leaders have taken on a new task—identifying creative ways to check in on [...]
The date was April 16, 2007. I think it was a Monday. I know it was a day that changed the landscape of student support on college campuses, forever. On this day an undergraduate student opened fire, shot, and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on the campus of Virginia Tech. The nation was stunned. If this could happen on a college campus—where smart and capable students were focusing on bettering themselves and their futures—it could happen anywhere. In [...]
Can you see me? I’m standing in my kitchen with a half-eaten pear in one hand, my mouth full, and the other hand ‘air-pumping’ up and down in celebration of the great news: Florida will now require mental health classes in public schools. Florida students (joining their peers from New York, Texas and Virginia) in grades 6-12 will now be required to take courses that help them identify: The signs and symptoms of mental health disorders, How to get help [...]
