Blog
KEEPERS: Seven Tips for Strengthening Relationships with Students
When it comes to any type of counseling, the strength of the therapeutic relationship is the number one factor that contributes to positive counseling outcomes. Without establishing rapport and a solid working alliance with students, no intervention will ever really amount to much.
Relationship-building is truly the bedrock of the school counseling profession. As we embark on 2025, here’s a handy little acrostic (KEEPERS) comprised of seven tips to help school counselors build stronger re
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Feb 10th 2025
Teaching Kids How to Be a Great Friend and Have Great Friends
“In order to get a friend, you have to be a friend. Be ready to be a friend.”
This insightful quote from Maya Angelou highlights a valuable truism: The first step to having meaningful and rewarding friendships requires becoming a good friend and being friendly to others.
With that in mind, what are the best strategies and tips we can share with our kids to help them be a better friend and enjoy healthier friendships? Here are several that can make a real difference:
Use active list
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Feb 5th 2025
The Treasures You Seek
The week before Christmas, my husband and I filled up our travel mugs with coffee and ventured forth into the dark of night. The classic holiday tunes on the radio, with a little help from our car’s heater, kept us warm as we made our annual trek around town to view all the holiday décor. We were armed with our official 2024 Scavenger Hunt checklist. The list included items we look forward to every year. The old favorites that keep us grounded, but with a hoped-for surprise or two.
Some items
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Jan 7th 2025
Cheers to a Fresh Start: Embracing Progress Over Perfection in the New Year
“I’ll start my diet on Monday. I’ll start my
diet this summer. I’ll start my diet in 2025…” Sound familiar?
The start of
a new year is always buzzing with excitement, full of promises of new
beginnings. It's that time when we give ourselves permission to start fresh,
set big goals, and dive into resolutions with a “clean slate.”
We tell
ourselves this will finally be the year we check off all those things we’ve
been putting off: reading that book, organizing the garage, clearing out the
junk
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Jan 7th 2025
Calling All Members of The Tortured Poets Department: The Rise of Mental Health Concerns in Young People (Part 3)
Our
previous posts identified factors related to the current mental health crisis
and hinderances to receiving proper treatment. In this final segment of our
series, we will discuss potential steps to support the young people in our own
circles.“’Cause you lured me, and you
hurt me, and you taught me. You caged me, and then you called me crazy. I am
what I am ‘cause you trained me.”-Taylor
Swift, Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?Untrain
self-defeating thoughts and behaviors, while simultane
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Nov 19th 2024
Calling All Members of The Tortured Poets Department: The Rise of Mental Health Concerns in Young People (Part 2)
In
the first segment of our series, we identified factors that have impacted the mental
health of young people. Next, we will discuss hinderances to mental health
support for our youth.
As
previously mentioned, Taylor Swift’s lyrics are captivating and relatable. Her
words seem to clarify complicated emotions and illuminate otherwise obscure
innerworkings for many of her fans. In addition to this unique ability to
connect listeners with their inner selves, the community that has
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Oct 25th 2024
Calling All Members of The Tortured Poets Department: The Rise of Mental Health Concerns in Young People (Part 1)
The
topic of Taylor Swift’s artistic merit seems to be as divisive as the great cilantro
debate (a flavor to be savored, or a soapy abomination to the herb world?), yet
critics and fans alike have praised the inspired verses of her latest album
“The Tortured Poets Department” (TTPD).Celebrated
for their vulnerability and relatability, her latest lyrics, capture many of
the current mental health struggles felt by today’s youth. Her words speak to
numerous and seemingly unrelated struggles
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Oct 25th 2024
Revving Up for a Positive Start to the School Year
Preparing for a recent vacation, I had a complete checklist.Outfits for all weather? Check. Toiletries? Check. Shoes for
different activities? Check. Cash and cards? Check. I was covered. Nothing was
left to chance.So, imagine my surprise when, not five miles into my
road trip, my low fuel light came on. I’d spent all this time preparing,
but the one major element I needed—the most critical one—I had forgotten.Although it was a simple hiccup in an otherwise fantastic
start to vacation, it g
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Aug 6th 2024
Make Sleep Work for You
Sleep. Did you know getting
the recommended amount of sleep can increase your attention span and memory? It
can support your immune system and improve your health. It can lower your risk
for health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Sleep can also help manage
your weight. Not only that, sleep can help lower your anxiety and depression.
It can help you get along better with family, friends, and coworkers.The same is true for
children. Getting the recommended amount of sleep has many
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Jul 10th 2024
The Impact of Reading Aloud with Your Children: Investing 15 Minutes a Day
Like many families when the pandemic shut down schools, I
had young children at home. While juggling a new puppy, a potty-training
toddler, a preschooler, a second-grader, and my own newly-remote school counseling position, I
embraced the opportunity to spend quality time together while trying to
maintain their love of books.For us, books and
root beer floats became our new tradition. While
I assembled the floats, my oldest grabbed copies of our favorite wizarding
series, and we met outsi
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Jun 11th 2024