show episodes
 
School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.
  continue reading
 
Artwork

1
Play Therapy Community

Jackie Flynn, EMDRIA Approved Consultant

Unsubscribe
Unsubscribe
Monthly
 
This podcast was created to help parents around the world with the “biggies” of family life. Play Therapy Community will present a fresh, insightful episode once a week, usually on Thursday mornings. On this podcast, we will cover topics such as picky eaters, struggles in school, behavioral issues, grief and loss, and so much more. We’ll also delve into specific diagnosis such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disabilities, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, etc. Difficult top ...
  continue reading
 
Loading …
show series
 
In today's episode, I chat with Ashley Lutz. who shares strategies and advice for school counselors on working with special education students and collaborating with special education teachers. Ashley has been working in Special Education for 12 years. She was a middle school self-contained teacher for 7 years working with students with intellectua…
  continue reading
 
In Today's episode I chat with Bradford Goodridge,an elementary school counselor in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He discusses his approach to comprehensive school counseling lessons, including his "paws" program that aligns with his school's lion mascot. He shares tips for creating lessons from scratch, integrating school values, and supporting students…
  continue reading
 
In this episode, Jocelyn Hubbard shares strategies for creating equitable learning spaces for students. Jocelyn discusses the importance of defining equity, getting to know students beyond surface-level information, and co-creating learning experiences with students. Jocelynn Hubbard helps teachers spark joy during the learning experience by creati…
  continue reading
 
In this episode I welcome Lindsay Jannaman, Director of SEL Content at Quaver Ed, discussing strategies for embedding social-emotional learning school-wide with the support of teachers, parents, and administrators. Lindsey has 12 years of experience as a school counselor and teaching vocal/general music at the elementary and middle school levels. L…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode, I chat with Patti Sutherland and discuss the benefits of incorporating play therapy in school counseling programs, emphasizing its accessibility and effectiveness in addressing trauma and loss in children. Patti has a Masters in Social Work and has been a social worker for over 30 years. She has worked with children in women's s…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode I am chatting with Executive Function and ADHD coach Sarah Lovell about practical strategies school counselors can use to improve their own executive functioning skills and help students. Sarah Lovell (she/her) is an executive function & ADHD coach for ambitious professionals, college students, creatives, and perfectionists. With…
  continue reading
 
In Today's episode I am welcoming back Joyce Harduvel, (who will also be at this year's IMPACT Summer Summit), to give her insight on supporting students in Crisis. Joyce is a licensed clinical social worker and a certified school social work specialist. After seven years in the field of school social work working with students from preschool to hi…
  continue reading
 
In this episode, I'm covering all things counselor interviews. Remember when you were interviewing for counseling positions or maybe you're interviewing right now? I know that it was an emotional roller coaster preparing, interviewing and dealing with rejection. It took me quite a few interviews before landing my dream job. That's why I love to tal…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode, I am sharing all my strategies to help school counselors to tie up loose ends at the end of the school year and support students' mental health over the summer months. Some Highlights: Implementing Termination strategies for school counseling groups Creating an End-of-year report and data wall for advocating counselor role Getti…
  continue reading
 
In Today's episode I chat with Lauren Tingle. We are diving into all things school counselor interviews. The do's don'ts, interview preparation and our experiences, we will be sharing advice and tips for common scenarios we have seen! Lauren is a former high school counselor turned content creator and curriculum writer. She is the high school couns…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode I chat with Malisa Hepner, an elementary school counselor and published children's book author. She discusses her background and strategies for building relationships with students and staff. She also shares tips for wrapping up the school year. Here are some things we covered: How Malisa supports students and staff through inten…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode we discuss anxiety strategies for school counselors with expert Courtney Bennett. Courtney is a passionate school counselor and mom of three. She loves to learn, so you will most often find her with a book in hand. She has spent the last several years studying about anxiety, trauma, and executive functioning and enjoys the challe…
  continue reading
 
On today's episode, we explored a variety of strategies for managing student anxiety with special guest Casey O’Brien Martin. Casey shared her wealth of experience working as both an art therapist and school counselor. Casey O’Brien Martin is a Mom of two boys and a mini schnuazer named Hurley. She is the author of the book Skills for Big Feelings:…
  continue reading
 
In this episode of School Counseling Simplified, your host, Rachel, shares powerful mindfulness strategies for managing student anxiety and executive functioning. Here are some highlights: Mindfulness activates the prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, areas of the brain linked to attention, executive functions, and learning. A study found studen…
  continue reading
 
In today's episode, I chat with Laura Filtness about anxiety strategies. Laura talks through the importance of setting professional boundaries and using therapy dogs in counseling programs. We discuss practical applications for managing anxiety in students and school counselors, including mindful moments, expanding the window of tolerance, and usin…
  continue reading
 
Anxiety remains our focus this week as we have gotten such an overwhleming response and need to continue to cover this topic. Today, Jessica, from Counseling Adventures, joins the conversation to share valuable insights and practical strategies for addressing anxiety among students. Drawing from her 10 years of experience, Jessica offers tips for p…
  continue reading
 
Separation anxiety has always impacted kids but it seems to be much more prevalent in the past few years since the pandemic. We see it in students crying as they are exiting their cars in the morning, refusing to come to school, and feeling sick in the nurse’s office. We all want to help these students cope with this anxiety as best as possible so …
  continue reading
 
Anxiety does not just impact older students and adults. There are many elementary students who struggle with anxiety as well! As a school counselor, it can be challenging to determine the root of that anxiety and figure out what strategies may be beneficial for your student. I know we all want to support our students as best as possible so I am so …
  continue reading
 
I think all of us can agree that kids are more anxious now than ever. And as school counselors, trying to find effective tools and strategies to figure out why our students are so anxious and help our students calm down can be challenging. So how can we help these students? I completely understand how difficult it can be to come up with strategies …
  continue reading
 
Students of all ages can suffer from anxiety or feel anxious about certain situations. Teaching them effective coping strategies for managing their anxiety is so empowering for them and can help them feel more calm in stressful situations. I always love to hear tips and strategies from other school counselors and I am so excited to have Mallory Zol…
  continue reading
 
We are wrapping up our series on school counselor competencies with my favorite topics: assessing and data! Showcasing assessments and data is such an incredible way to advocate for your role and show your program’s progress to stakeholders. In addition to it being an amazing way to advocate for your role, assessing and reporting program results is…
  continue reading
 
Have you looked at the ASCA school counselor competencies and been totally overwhelmed? This whole month, I am focusing on simplifying these standards and making them easy to understand and easy to implement. We’ve previously covered direct and indirect student services and now it’s time for one of my absolute favorite topics, planning. If you’re a…
  continue reading
 
Direct student services may not sound super interesting but this is the good stuff! It’s the things we all enjoy doing and the reasons we became school counselors. Direct student services are when we are working with students in one on one settings, small groups, and class lessons. We all know that providing these services are the key parts of our …
  continue reading
 
What are indirect student services? We all know there is so much that goes into school counseling besides just the class lessons, small groups, and individual sessions. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. These indirect student services are so important to making the biggest impact possible on all of our students. If you’re looking thr…
  continue reading
 
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for new ways to increase your productivity. As busy school counselors, we need to save every minute we can by finding more efficient ways to do things that work for our personalities and busy schedules. As we wrap up our productivity series, I want to share some of my favorite ways to more efficiently docume…
  continue reading
 
We are all about productivity this month because I love helping school counselors make the most of their time to make the biggest impact they can! We talked last week about using a time audit to figure out where you are spending your time and how to cut out things that you don’t need to be doing, but how else can you make the most of your time? Bat…
  continue reading
 
It’s January, the start of a new year and what better way to kick off your year than with a time audit! You know I love time audits because they are so incredibly helpful for making the most of your time and helping you make the biggest impact you can. I know, you might be thinking that adding another thing to your to-do list just isn’t possible. B…
  continue reading
 
I absolutely love hearing from other school counselors and getting an inside look at what their role looks like. Every counselor’s position is unique based on so many different factors - their background, their caseload size, if there are other counselors on their team, etc. That’s why I am so excited to chat with our guest today! Sheyenne Hernande…
  continue reading
 
Happy New Year! We made it to 2024 and I am so excited to kick off a new year with you and see what 2024 holds for us! I always love to kick off the year with some new goals, selecting a word of the year, and a fresh start and I thought it would be perfect to share that with you! I think we all like to go into a new year with a fresh perspective an…
  continue reading
 
I hope you are enjoying your much needed and well deserved break! We are wrapping up 2023 with a look back at some of the best episodes from School Counseling Simplified this year to help you easily find what you may want to go back and listen to. This year has been so fun and I am so grateful for each and every one of you for tuning in and sharing…
  continue reading
 
Are you currently using a calendar to keep track of what students you are seeing, what you are seeing them for, and what tasks you are spending your time on? Let me tell you, if you are not, hearing from our guest, Lauren Tingle, is going to make you realize how helpful collecting data using a calendar truly is! Lauren is a former high school couns…
  continue reading
 
Have you seen some of your kiddos really struggling with stress, worry, or other challenging emotions? Teaching these students some helpful coping skills they can do at school when these emotions come up can be a game changer for them! But how can we as school counselors help them and what types of strategies can we teach them to help them manage t…
  continue reading
 
Happy December! Holiday season is in full swing which means it’s a great time to pull some holiday and winter themed activities into your counseling sessions. This is a great opportunity to mix things up a bit, keep students excited to see you, and practice some important skills your students need! One winter activity idea I absolutely love is a se…
  continue reading
 
As a school counselor, you’ve likely worked with a student who needed a little sensory support. But how can we help to support these students with sensory issues? Today I am joined by therapist and brain science expert Jessica Sinarski, who is giving us some wonderful insight into the eight senses and helping our students who benefit from various t…
  continue reading
 
You know I am all about showcasing your work and impact as a school counselor! And midyear is the perfect time to do just that. One way I love to show the impact that school counselors make is by including student progress data on a data wall that shows how much students have improved because of counseling services. Now, this may sound a little int…
  continue reading
 
You know I love having other school counselors join me to share their experiences and insight with you! And I thought it would be fun to share my experiences as a school counselor so you can hear a little more about my background and how I got started. Today, I am giving you a glimpse into my path to becoming a school counselor and what my role loo…
  continue reading
 
Can you believe we are getting close to the end of the semester already? As we approach the midpoint of the school year, this is the perfect time to showcase your amazing work! I absolutely love creating a data wall to show parents, admin, and other stakeholders just how much of an impact school counselors have on the students. Putting a school cou…
  continue reading
 
When it comes to supporting our kiddos with special needs, there are some things to consider that you may not have thought about. We know these students may need extra support and working collaboratively with the special education teachers can help us understand how to provide this support and ways we can help our students get the most out of our l…
  continue reading
 
At this point in the school year, you are likely seeing lots of referrals coming in for social skills. But, teaching social skills can be beneficial for all students, not just the ones being referred to you. I actually LOVE teaching social skills preventatively as a class lesson and then as needed in small group and individual lessons. Now, you may…
  continue reading
 
Teaching small groups doesn’t have to be scary! When you have a consistent routine and amazing activities planned, small groups can be super fun to teach. But don’t worry, you don’t need to figure it all out on your own. In today’s episode, I am explaining how you can spice up your group counseling sessions so you can engage your students and make …
  continue reading
 
October is Bully Prevention Month and unfortunately we all know that bullying is everywhere. Regardless of the socio economic status of the school, population, or even the country of the school, there is likely bullying happening. The good news is that we, as school counselors, can address this issue with our students and help to bring awareness to…
  continue reading
 
It’s spooky season which means it’s the perfect time to bring some Halloween and fall fun into your counseling lessons! Our kiddos absolutely love when we bring in props and tie the seasons into our lessons. Plus, it makes our lessons more memorable and engaging. And the best part is it doesn’t need to be complicated or take lots of time to prepare…
  continue reading
 
We’ve all heard about how important it is for educators to practice self-care, especially in the past few years. But oftentimes when we hear “self-care” we think of it as indulgent or selfish. What we as school counselors really need is true, radical self-care that will help us prevent burnout. Brittany Blackwell is joining me today to share some i…
  continue reading
 
Is it really possible to meet with EVERY student in your school? We know it’s important to check in with students to see how they are doing but how could you possibly sit down and talk with every single student? Our guest today, Dr. Heidi MacDonald is a school psychologist who uses “minute meetings” to talk to every student in her school and is sha…
  continue reading
 
You know I absolutely LOVE using data as a school counselor! But why is having a data driven school counseling program so important? Well, first it allows us to see if what we are doing is actually working and helps us tweak things when needed. Second, it’s an amazing way to advocate for our role as school counselors. And I know it’s early in the s…
  continue reading
 
Do you feel overwhelmed when it comes to teaching class lessons? You are not alone! One of the things I hear most often is that school counselors want to feel more prepared and competent when it comes to teaching class lessons. I want to help you to love teaching class lessons so I am sharing how I became obsessed with teaching class lessons! You m…
  continue reading
 
I made a lot of mistakes when I first began as a school counselor. But, everyone makes mistakes and mistakes are amazing learning opportunities. Obviously, if mistakes can be avoided, we’d all prefer to avoid them, right? So to help you avoid the same mistakes I made, I am sharing four mistakes I made when teaching classroom lessons and what I lear…
  continue reading
 
How can you easily gather data during class lessons? We know how important it is to collect data during our small group and individual sessions, but it is also important that we gather data from our class lessons as well. The good news is, collecting data from a whole class doesn’t need to be time consuming or complicated! An easy way to collect da…
  continue reading
 
Teaching class lessons can be nerve wracking and stressful if you aren’t confident in your ability to teach a whole class. But, just because you may not have been a teacher before, doesn’t mean that you need to dread teaching classroom lessons! I am sharing my favorite tips for feeling more confident when teaching class lessons. When you have a bet…
  continue reading
 
Have you struggled to keep students engaged during class lessons? Over the years, I have tried out many games, activities, and strategies to keep students engaged. Through this, I have found a framework for creating class lessons that are engaging and are also rich in content! Creating engaging class lessons for your students doesn’t need to be dif…
  continue reading
 
Loading …

Quick Reference Guide