In today's episode we discuss anxiety strategies for school counselors with expert Courtney Bennett.

Courtney is a passionate school counselor and mom of three. She loves to learn, so you will most often find her with a book in hand. She has spent the last several years studying about anxiety, trauma, and executive functioning and enjoys the challenge of putting this expertise to the test with real kids.. Courtney shares personal experience with anxiety and strategies for managing it with students. Strategies include externalizing worries, naming emotions, and reframing mindsets about stress.

Listen in for more highlights including:

• Externalizing techniques to help students distance from overwhelming feelings
• Educating the whole school community using consistent language and care plans
• Teaching positive mindset interventions about stress responses
• Considering bottom-up or top-down anxiety interventions for each student
• Learning clinical approaches to anxiety from experts like Lynn Lyons
  
  
  

  Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

• Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

On today's episode, we explored a variety of strategies for managing student anxiety with special guest Casey O’Brien Martin. Casey shared her wealth of experience working as both an art therapist and school counselor.

Casey O’Brien Martin is a Mom of two boys and a mini schnuazer named Hurley. She is the author of the book Skills for Big Feelings: A Guide for Teaching Kids Relaxation, Regulation, and Coping Techniques. She works as a school adjustment counselor in Massachusetts and runs Whole Child Counseling. She is also a licensed mental health counselor, a registered nurse, and a registered expressive arts therapist.

Some topics covered in this episode are:

• Origami box activity helps MS students express themselves
• Teaching all students coping skills through universal prevention strategies
• Addressing anxiety and avoidance behaviors in students
• Casey's Book "Skills for Big Feelings" offers 12-week curriculum for coping techniques
• Somatic techniques like "shake, wiggle, shake" to help kids manage anxiety

Resources mentioned:

• https://www.stressfreeschoolcounseling.com/coffee

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT_6Lvkhxvo

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Facebook Group

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!

In this episode of School Counseling Simplified, your host, Rachel, shares powerful mindfulness strategies for managing student anxiety and executive functioning.

Here are some highlights:

• Mindfulness activates the prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, areas of the brain linked to attention, executive functions, and learning.
• A study found students who practiced mindfulness improved their executive functioning skills like behavioral regulation.
• Rachel demonstrated mindful breathing exercises like dragon breath and flower breath for elementary students.
• Guided meditations can help students become aware of sounds in mindfulness session two.
• Increasing sensory awareness through 5-4-3-2-1 grounding

Listen In to hear more!

Resources mentioned:

• https://www.stressfreeschoolcounseling.com/coffee

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Connect with Rachel:

• TpT Store

• Blog

• Instagram

• Facebook Page

• Pinterest

• Youtube

More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!