Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Milton's Secret The Power of Now

I know many counselors are teaching children about mindfulness. It is a great tool for students, especially the 1 in 8 students who are anxious. I use this book in small groups to teach the power of living in the here-and-now. It is a powerful lesson for all of us!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Evidence-Based School Counseling

I was fortunate enough that my PTA helped pay for me to go to the Fourth Annual Evidence-Based School Counseling National Conference last week in Georgia. The EBSC conference provide counselors with critical information about successful practice, evaluation, and relevant research to create dynamic and powerful school counseling programs.  The conference uses a unique format to incorporate both peer-reviewed research presentations and small group consultation with leaders in the field.It was my first time attending this conference even though I had followed it on the web the past few years. I have to say the sessions I went to were some of the best I have ever attended at counseling conventions and conferences in my 30 year career! Check them out yourself at http://EBSCConference/2016_presentations.html Since my return I have shared what I learned with my school psychologist, school counseling practicum student, and district level supervisor of counseling to disseminate some of the handouts to all the counselors in our district. One of my favorite session was led by some dotoral students who had us discuss a case using the Peeling the Onion: Developing a Problem Protocol from the National School Reform Faculty http://www.nsrfharmony.org/free-resources/protocols/a-z We are hoping to use this at our elementary counseling meetings in our district in case consultation. I think the location at the University of GA Conference Center was great and the size of this conference is very manageable.To get the perspective of a high school counselor on the conference go to http://forhighschoollessons-learned-from-evidence-based.html To learn more join Erin Mason for a Twitter Chat on March 8 at #scchat.