Becoming Centered

Today's episode, which is the fourth on the Unit Supervisory Learning Pathway, focuses on a model for how to structure the typical supervision session. In the context of working on a residential treatment unit for children and youth, there are many sub-roles that define an effective relationship between a supervisor and their supervisees.  A Supervisor encompasses the roles of Counselor, Teacher,...

This episode, the third in the Unit Supervisor Pathway, focuses on the essential managerial skills of effectively delegating tasks and projects and keeping organized.  I'm hoping that you've already followed advice in previous episodes and created clearly defined Unit Coordinator roles for all the residential staff on the unit.  Residential treatment is a team sport; and you need every member of y...

Episode 46 of the Becoming Centered Podcast focuses on the essential managerial and coaching skill of giving feedback to others.  Individual supervision and individual coaching is, by far, the most effective way to inspire and guide the professional development of direct care child care counselors.  This individual attention is much more powerful than in-service training, articles, podcasts, or ot...

In residential treatment programs by far the most effective way to train direct-care staff in how to effectively care for the kids and to provide counseling is through on-the-job coaching and individual supervision.  However, there's a lot of very real barriers to providing quality supervision. The nature of the work, especially at more intensive programs, means that there is a high frequency of b...

Episode 44 of the Becoming Centered podcast presents the third installment of the Processing Pathway, covering the technique known as "chaining."  Chaining is a great way to add a visual element to cognitive processing.  It lays out a series of links representing a chain of behaviors and feelings that led to a child or youth having to be separated from their peers.  Once the sequence of links has...

Episode 43 of The Becoming Centered Podcast is the second episode in the Processing Pathway series.  This episode introduces a 4-question outline for formal cognitive processing.  Basically, the four parts include helping the child or youth to take responsibility for the behaviors that resulted in their being separated from their peers; identify at least some of the feelings that drove the probelm...

Episode 42 of the Becoming Centered Podcast is the first episode on the Processing Pathway.  Processing involves a structured approach to helping children and youth to mentally process their incidents of problem-behaviors.  This episode introduces the concept of there being different ways that different parts of the brain process sensory data, personal experience, and the communications received f...

Episode 41 of the Becoming Centered Podcast kicks off season 2 of this effort to spread knowledge about professional residential treatment of children and youth.  This season is organized into two different educational pathways, mirroring consulting work being done. The Processing pathway is all about how to help kids process their own use of problem-behaviors.  Typically, their own incidents and...

Psychological Debriefing is a technique for reducing the impact of traumatic stress after a neurologically intense experience.   On a neuropsychological level that experience could be anything that triggers a release of certain hormones such as cortisol (known as "the stress hormone") and adrenaline.   On a behavioral level that typically includes situations such as being involved in a physical in...

Coping Activities Diversions – any hobby or activity that engages your attention .        Writing, drawing, painting, crafts        Listening to music, playing an instrument, singing, dancing, acting        Gardening        Taking a walk, or going for a drive        Watching television or a movie        Guided Imagery Meditations        Playing a game        Shopping        Reading       Taking a...

The Aspect Compass, part of the Meta-Compass Model, divides areas of the brain and aspects of the psyche into four parts called:   The Artist, The Scout, The Warrior, and The Chief. The Artist represents those parts of the brain and psyche that understand the world in terms of emotions.   The Artist communicates, in terms of feelings and moods, to the rest of the brain.   Helping The Artist feel c...

Executive Skills are abilities that part of the brain can develop that used to regulate other parts of the brain.   There's two Executive Skills that describe ways that the emotional parts of the brain are regulated. Reaction Inhibition is the ability to stop yourself from automatically reacting.   More specifically, it's the ability to stop the action-focused parts of the brain, what I call the i...

Posture:   The parts of the brain that control the physical body (the inner Warrior) and the parts of the brain that operate in terms of emotions (the inner Artist) are tightly linked in the brain.   Changes in one automatically trigger changes in the other.   So, getting kids to become more aware of their posture, and to habitually adopt good posture, supports being in a positive emotionally stat...

The vertical axis of the Seven-Directions Meta-Compass Model, represents the core functions involved in caring for children who are literally placed in the care of a residential treatment program.   The Upward direction (Relationships) involves all the activities a Residential Counselor does to care for the kids.   These are things that have to happen simply because the clients are children, regar...

The Role of a Residential Counselor:   Care and Treatment CARE: Relationships :   A core responsibility is to attend to the care, well-being, and safety of the clients.   This requires caring and respectful relationships between staff and clients. Self :   In order to take care of the clients, you have to be able to take care of yourself.   This work is very stressful and your ability to become ce...

Effective residential treatment for troubled children and youth depends upon teamwork among both staff and residents. The goal is to transform a group of struggling kids into a supportive team. Many kids in these programs crave friendship, which is often lacking due to their life challenges and the displacement of residential treatment. A major goal in treatment programs is to help the child and y...

This podcast mini-series aims to aid residential staff who find themselves supervising shifts and providing individual supervision for residential counselors. It explores various aspects of these roles through the Seven-Directions Meta-Compass Model. Each episode focuses on a cardinal direction, representing different perspectives. Episode one emphasized supportive supervision (East) and the role...

In this podcast episode, looking at the role of the Residential Supervisor shifts to the perspective of the West cardinal direction in the Meta-Compass Model.   The West is the direction of behaviors, physiology, and for this podcast, especially is concerned with setting behavioral goals for supervisees.   It's suggested that setting behavioral goals be based on encouraging Residential Counselors...

This podcast aims to guide residential staff taking on the role of supervising a shift, emphasizing the complexities involved in managing a group of kids and supporting a team of direct care staff. The role of a Residential Supervisor involves overseeing shifts, and in some agencies includes providing one-on-one office-based supervision, which includes conducting performance appraisals, managing p...

This podcast episode presents a system for managing behavior problems, utilizing a variety of interconnected tools and techniques.   The concept of contagion is introduced, explaining how behaviors, feelings, and thoughts can spread among individuals. The importance of interrupting behavioral patterns is highlighted, particularly using a technique known as "pattern interrupts." These interrupts ai...

This episode focuses on Beliefs as a powerful regulatory mechanism. Beliefs act as filters through which individuals perceive reality, and the host emphasizes the importance of consciously choosing beliefs. The key idea is that beliefs need not be evaluated based on their imagined truth, but on their usefulness and how well they serve an individual. Empowering and healthy beliefs can be consciousl...

This podcast episode is intended to increase your awareness of Self-Talk and how you can coach your clients to use more effective and healthier Self-Talk.   It uses the Aspect Compass (part of the Meta-Compass Model) to present different qualities of Self-Talk that appeal to the four cardinal aspects of your psyche called The Artist, The Scout, The Warrior, and The Chief. Using the Aspect Compass...

In this podcast episode, the focus is on aiding children and youth in residential treatment to develop executive skills, which are crucial for regulating emotions, thinking, and behavior. Developing residents executive skills is essential because it's their deficits in being able to regulate their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that accounts for why they need to live at a treatment program...

This podcast presents a system of eight values and fits them within the Meta-Compass Model.   This podcast explores the interplay between executive functions, values, and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health, offering a practical framework for understanding and fostering these aspects in individuals, particularly children and youth. Values, separate from Executive Skills, serve as a mechani...

This podcast builds off of the concept that, overall, our brains understand the totality of our life experiences as a story.   It's crucial for our mental health, and overall sense of becoming centered, to see ourselves as the hero of our own life-story.   This is the situation for children and youth in residential treatment.   Upon entering residential treatment, kids often feel at a low point, v...