School Counselor Blog

Oftentimes school counselors get "angry" kids referred to them and instead of trying to figure out what is behind that anger, we put them in a group to teach them how to manage it.   Anger management groups can be a great way to teach students that anger is a normal emotion. Talking about anger can teach students that they have power over their anger and how they handle it. However, if you want to move beyond anger management , it is important to figure out what is behind the anger. Anger management concerns are often masking a bigger and/or different issue. While facilitating anger management groups last year I realized that the majority of students in my groups had or were currently experiencing the incarceration of a loved one . I was interviewed by Counseling Today and mentioned this in the article . This realization made me much more purposeful about the activities we did in our group.  It also helped me to recruit students for future groups focusing on specific ...

There are many resources you can use that gives power back into the students' hands and helps them recognize that anger is a normal feeling. At the request of a School Counselor Blog Facebook fan , I have compiled some resources you can utilize in individual sessions, group sessions, and even classroom lessons with students. Seeing Red I have written about Seeing Red: An Anger Management and Peacemaking Curriculum for Kids  a number of times and I can't express enough how much I love this book. I use Seeing Red   with fourth through sixth graders. My colleague uses  Seeing Red , with first through fourth grade.  Each session has activities for younger elementary grades and older elementary grades. Seeing Red   really focuses on what is behind the anger, how you have power over your reaction to angry feelings, and ways that you can cope with that anger.  I really love the  Seeing Red  curriculum and I use some of the icebreaker activities in the...

I am currently receiving supervision hours toward licensure as a Licenced Professional Counselor (LPC). My supervisor has been instrumental in helping me acknowledge the impact my relationship has with students. I have a few examples of interactions with students that demonstrate the power a relationship can have.  A Fresh Start At the beginning of the school year, our district had a massive realignment. Schools were shut down and others were consolidated. Our school received an influx of students from other schools in the city. One student was referred to me right at the beginning of the year. At her old school she was "disruptive, got into fights all the time, and bullied other students." I wanted to try to reach this student before she could demonstrate her previous behavior. I picked her up from her class and introduced myself to her. I made sure to iterate to her from the beginning that seeing me did not mean that she was in trouble. I told her that I wanted to get to...

Are you looking for a super fun and engaging way to increase career awareness and exposure at your school? Career Café may be exactly what you are searching for! This year, one of my goals was to create greater awareness and exposure to careers at my school. When planning at the beginning of the school year, the other school counselor I work with and I sought out ideas for ways we could infuse career into our curriculum. We met with a school counselor at a neighboring district who gave us the idea to start a weekly career program at our school, called Career Café.  We started Career Café at the beginning of the school year and it has been instrumental in building excitement around careers at our school! Bulletin board/display advertising Career Café to students. What is Career Café? Career Café is an opportunity for students to meet individuals from their community and learn about their career journeys. At our school, we invite students in fifth through eighth grade...