High School Counseling Conversations®

Do you have friends at work? Having close relationships with colleagues can make such a big difference in your overall experience as a school counselor. Not only does it feel nice to have someone to sit with at staff meetings, enjoy lunch with, and call on when you need help, but it’s also great for your students.  As school counselors, putting effort into building teacher partnerships has so many...

This one’s for the veteran counselors needing a pick-me-up as this school year is getting started. Listen to this back-to-school high school counselor pep talk for some relatable realness… but then also some encouragement.   I’m not sure which is harder on a school counselor… the first few weeks or the last few weeks of school. These beginning days are TOUGH. You are a superhuman jack-of-all-trade...

Since my brain doesn’t naturally divide tasks into orderly or efficient systems, I’m forced to do a little work to make this part of my life manageable. Here are 3 tips to reset your systems for the new year if you’re looking to make some small changes that yield big results in your high school counseling world.   Find the Resources: Join the Reset for Success Challenge that starts in January by d...

Help reset your high school counseling team whether you’re the department head or a passionate team player. In this last episode of our month of “resets,” you’ll hear about reestablishing some helpful habits in the department and helping each team member feel seen and valued for their gifts, talents, and abilities.    Find the Resources: Join the Reset for Success Challenge that starts in January...

It’s time to clean up (or at least straighten up) your physical and mental high school counselor spaces as you head into 2022. Reset your surroundings and breathe easier once you do. Listen to Episode 5 for some tangible takeaways to update your spaces and start crushing all of your high school counselor tasks. I know you could use a cheering section to finish out this year, and I have just the (s...

In Episode 3 of High School Counseling Conversations, we talk about 3 practical ways to reset with your school administrators as you head into the new year. When school counselors and administrators (whether it be principals or assistant principals) work together, they can move mountains! As you continue a healthy, open dialogue with your administrators, you’ll find yourself growing professionally...

It can be hard to find the motivation to try new ideas, learn new ways of doing things, or change our perspectives on “how things  have always been done.” … or maybe you just don’t know where to start as you head into a new year. You must believe that what you do truly matters! Here are 3 ways to reset yourself as you enter into the new year or new semester. Give these 3 things a shot to help make...

We’re quickly approaching a new year, and I wanted to bring in some FUN as we begin to wrap up 2022. Today I’m sharing five favorite episodes from High School Counseling Conversations.  These are the most listened to episodes from 2022, with the exception of the number one most popular episode. I’ll be revealing that top episode in a couple of weeks when I re-air it on the podcast! In this episode...

Several weeks ago, I posted on Instagram about a colleague’s unique work space and quickly learned that you all wanted to learn more about her and her private practice! Today I'm giving you all that information and more. My guest is Lorraine Holeman, and guess what? We had the fun experience of sitting down to record this interview in person as she lives local to me. Lorraine was actually my depar...

Wahoo! We've hit 50 episodes on the High School Counseling Conversations podcast. I can't believe it! To celebrate this milestone, I'm doing a special 'ask me anything' episode. Several weeks ago I put a question sticker up on my Instagram stories where you could submit your questions. I let you know that you could literally ask me ANYTHING - high school counseling questions, personal questions, a...

You wear a lot of hats as a high school counselor, and 'social media strategist' probably isn't one of them...yet!  Whether you love it or hate it, social media strategy can be a powerful addition to your high school counseling program. It's a great way to get your announcements out to parents, share the latest research, earn credibility with your students, and advocate for your role. But where do...

When you hear the word 'research', do you get excited or want to run the other way as fast as you can? I think many school counselors are the latter, and if you're one of them, you're going to learn so much in this episode all about research in school counseling! We all want to create the most effective and comprehensive school counseling program possible, but it can be challenging to incorporate...

Let’s talk about a really common challenge that we face as high school counselors. It’s a challenge that often leaves us feeling defeated and put under a whole lot of (sometimes self-inflicted) pressure. Can you guess what it is? I’m talking about working with failing students. We all have these students on our caseloads. They are the students who are behind in their classes, short on the credits...

I asked you all to submit your SPOOKIEST counseling story: the one that makes you shudder to remember or makes you want to roll over in your grave of embarrassment. Maybe it was a horror story THEN but maybe you’re ready to laugh about it now.  It could be a story so legendary that we wouldn’t believe it ourselves… or maybe it’s just something you’re thankful hasn’t happened on more than one occas...

There are so many pros and cons to consider when laying out different caseload model possibilities for your school counseling program. There isn’t much research out there on this topic, so I thought this episode could be an exploration of a few different types of models out there. (This list is NOT exhaustive by any means!) This episode will help you examine how your caseload is currently laid out...

You’re in the right place if you’re looking for some short and sweet time management tips and a pep talk about your time management. These tips will be some of your baseline needs to get your head above water to quit drowning and get to a place where you can function and even get ahead to call the shots during your day! What if you could be more efficient in your workday and then, therefore, be mo...

Advisory programs are large-scale school interventions that lead students through social-emotional lessons. With this week's guest, Leslie of Informed Decisions , we hear the dos and don'ts of starting and running an advisory program in your high school. We talk about the importance of administrator, teacher, and student buy-in with strategies on how to combat even the toughest stakeholders. Lesli...

I’m going to use this episode to win you over to the side of at least CONSIDERING using data in your school counseling program. Even if you’re allergic to it. Or you consider yourself to be data averse… this one’s for you. Let’s talk about how to use data in your high school counseling program without overthinking it or making it too complicated. With these 3 simple ideas, you'll be able to start...

In its most simple terms, first generation students are the first in their families to attend college. According to the Center for First-Generation Student Success, “nearly 33% of students attending college or universities in the United States are first-generation.” High school counselors have an incredibly powerful role to fill to support and empower first generation students on their journeys to...

As high school counselors, we hope to prepare students for whatever their post-secondary plans are… from work, military, or college. Elementary and middle school counselors are laying the foundation for college and career-ready standards… but, as high school counselors, we’re meeting students where things are getting real.   Listen to Episode 40 to learn about the importance of sharing all of thei...

Running senior meetings helps to inform your students and parents while also building their confidence about what’s to come! Senior year can be a LOT! Planning, researching, applying, thinking about the next steps (whatever those may be). As high school counselors, we can help minimize overwhelm and provide a safe landing space for students to ask their questions and be OKAY not knowing what’s com...

Call it what you want- a counselor fly in, a counselor outreach program, a college fly in opportunity... you just have to hear about it! Counselor fly ins are a hidden treasure of the job of a high school counselor! In this episode, I share what a counselor fly in program is, how to get involved with or invited to one, and what happens once you get there. I share my experiences with the couple of...

This one’s for the veteran counselors needing a pick-me-up as this school year is getting started. Listen to this back-to-school high school counselor pep talk for some relatable realness… but then also some encouragement.   I’m not sure which is harder on a school counselor… the first few weeks or the last few weeks of school. These beginning days are TOUGH. You are a superhuman jack-of-all-trade...

In this episode, I’m giving you your high school counselor back-to-school “starter pack” broken into 3 categories: community support, podcast episodes, and resources. I’m diving into these back-to-school categories to help you figure out what you need (and what you don’t need) as you start this school year. I am here to help meet your high school counselor needs at any level that that may entail w...

Looking for new perspectives from other high school counselors? Look no further than this conversation with Chris, a public charter high school counselor from California!   In this episode, we talk about Chris’ background and specialty in mental health. She emphasizes how it has aided her as she’s transitioned into a role of a school counselor in her current virtual school setting.    We talk abou...