School for School Counselors Podcast

As school counselors, we often carry the weight of our students' problems and it's a struggle to not bring those concerns home. So how do we transition from the heavy role of school counseling to being fully present in our personal lives? This episode tackles that very question, providing you with practical strategies and introducing the concept of a transition ritual - a game changer in...

***JOIN OUR FREE "BEST YEAR EVER!' EVENT!*** Check out the details at https://www.schoolforschoolcounselors.com/bestyearever Ever felt queasy at the thought of addressing a room full of people? Considered calling in sick instead of presenting to campus staff? Or does imposter syndrome have you feeling worried about being judged when speaking during professional development? This episode...

Can you believe it's been a year since the School for School Counselors podcast began? We owe our incredible success to you, our amazing school counselor colleagues. To celebrate this milestone, my right-hand and other half of my brain, Brooke, joins me for a special episode. Together, we reminisce about our journey, discuss our experience with the podcast, and share future plans. Join us as...

Are you ready to level up your counseling room for the upcoming school year? We've got you covered with this week's episode, where we reveal the must-have items and resources recommended after polling over 8,000 members of our Facebook group! From technology tools and books to games and snacks, we dive into the essential elements that will create a welcoming and effective space for your...

Does this sound familiar? You've been told to practice summer self-care in order to recharge and prepare for the upcoming school year. But despite taking time off and engaging in self-care activities, you still feel burnt out and emotionally drained. It's frustrating and disheartening. The good news is- there is an alternative approach that can actually utilize to improve your emotional...

Do you ever feel like your interventions for students with ADHD are just not working as you expected? Join me, Steph Johnson, as we unravel some of the complexities of ADHD and focus on the concept of positive and negative urgency—an essential factor in understanding and supporting students with ADHD. Through a relatable example of a student shutting down in class, I'll walk you through the t...

Are your students struggling with emotional dysregulation, self-harm, or impulsive behaviors? Discover the incredible benefits of integrating Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) approaches into school counseling! With mental health concerns on the rise in schools, DBT can provide essential life skills and support for students facing various challenges. In this episode, we dive deep into DBT resourc...

In this episode, I've got a little trick that's going to ensure that you next-level your school counseling game for next year. What would it be like to walk away at the end of the school year and not even think about school again until it's time to go back on duty? What would it be like to know for sure that you're going to be up-leveling your game come fall?  What if you had y...

What's happening in school counseling right now? Everybody's EXHAUSTED. Right? Just absolutely exhausted. In this episode, I offer my thoughts and ways to maintain perspective in this overwhelming and busy time of year. Mentioned in this Episode: ** FREE DOWNLOAD- Student Summer/Safety Plan ** School for School Counselors Mastermind "Get the Job!" Interview Prep Program *******...

Summer plans are something that you can help students develop to help hold off any "summer slide" of social emotional skills they've built during the school year. They can also be used to support students who may be living in tenuous circumstances or for other social-emotional concerns. But how to write them? What do we include? And how can we know that students will even utilize th...

School counselors often fall into a gray area on campus, not quite fitting into the "administrator" or "teacher" category. This can result in ambiguity around our job roles and expectations. With Teacher Appreciation Week approaching, it's common for school counselors to be included in celebrations despite our jobs being vastly different from classroom teachers. Continuing...

The debate regarding the implementation of character education versus social-emotional learning (SEL) has been reignited recently in light of Florida's new Resiliency Education Standards.  Character education emphasizes the development of specific virtues, such as respect, responsibility, and citizenship. Proponents of character education argue that these virtues can be taught in a structured...

In this episode, I HOPE I AM WRONG about what appears to be a systematic dismantling of school counselors in Florida. Less than a month ago, the Florida First Lady announced an initiative to "reframe mental health education with a focus on resiliency" and teach students to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. As part of this initiative, Florida is inviting literally anyone off the str...

Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a term that we hear people toss around in schools all the time.  It just seems to be the world we're living in right now: if you don't know what to do with "that kid," if they get persnickety,  if they're argumentative, if they don't cooperate, they refuse to complete work, threaten others, etc., etc... everyone seems to feel free to s...

It seems we're always talking about, "Before COVID... Since COVID... Now that COVID has happened...." I wanted to bring you an episode about what REALLY happened for students and families during the height of the COVID pandemic. Although a lot of the research is still yet to be released, what we do have so far has given us some really interesting insights as to where students stood...

When tragedy strikes, it's hard to know what the next best steps are as school counselors. For so many people, the world feels like a disorienting mess right now. So what do we do in times like these? I'm offering some thoughts from our recent School for School Counselors open support & consultation chat. Because when I learned that many of you were hurting, I immediately dropped all...

Our goal at School for School Counselors is to help school counselors stay on fire, make huge impacts for students, and catalyze change for our roles through grassroots advocacy and collaboration. Listen to get to know more about us and our mission, feel empowered and inspired, and set yourself up for success in the wonderful world of school counseling. Mentioned in this Episode: School for School...

We get lots of questions from our "Get the Job!" prep program each year, and one of the most popular is, "What do I wear?" In this episode of the podcast, we'll  jump into color choice: how are the colors of your interview attire perceived, and what does the research really say?  We'll walk through the research about your color choices, how they may be interpreted, an...

It's time to focus on something that is really overlooked in our field and  that we should be talking more about: it could be the single most important skill that you can develop to not only survive- but thrive!- in your career as a school counselor. Can you guess what it might be? Self-compassion may seem like kind of a silly thing to be talking about when we think about all of the really bi...

Let's talk universal screeners. They are a huge topic of interest in school counseling right now, with lots and lots of "buzz": which are the best, which best capture particular trends on campuses, which are evidence-based... on and on and on and on. Everyone wants to talk about universal screeners.  There are, however, a few important caveats that aren't as readily discussed....

So often, finding common ground with your administrator feels difficult. You can't see eye to eye. You feel like they just don't understand where you're coming from and no matter how much you talk, no matter how much you try to convince, no matter how much you try to advocate, your efforts fall on deaf ears. In this episode, we'll walk through the essentials of establishing com...

You don't need any tips or tricks, and you don't need any tools of the trade this week. You need something appropriate for National School Counseling Week. In this episode, I'm talking off the cuff: no outline, no preconceived thoughts, and no edits. Straight from the heart. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate what you do each and every day. ****************** Our goal at...

The biggest source of division in the school counseling world rears its ugly head this time of year in the form of National School Counseling Week. Why is it divisive? Why should you care? Listen to discover the real culprits and what school counselors can do to change the direction of contentious conversations. Mentioned in this episode: School for School Counselors "Get the Job!" Schoo...

Many of you are getting started in your spring semester internships, or you may have aspiring school counselors on your campus that could use a little bit of help and- guidance. In this episode, we'll walk through what I see as the four most IMPORTANT components to a successful school counseling internship. And what you hear may surprise you... Mentioned in this episode: School for School Cou...

About this time of year, you will start seeing lots of folks talking about job interview advice. It will be everywhere. There will be people popping out of the woodwork from this way and that, telling you all the best ways they think you should interview, all the things you should do with your resume... all of the things... based purely on their own personal (and often limited) interviewing experi...