Now more than ever, schools are understanding the importance of teaching well-being and providing emotional support to their students. However, implementing an SEL (Social Emotion Learning) program can prove to be difficult, especially in the midst of a pandemic.  Schools with a diverse population sometimes experience difficulty when implementing a generalized SEL program to one that their students can identify with. On this episode, Mariah discusses how she has adapted and modified her school's SEL program (DBT STEPS-A) to fit the needs of an African American, majority male population. Mariah also gives concrete examples of how she has personally witnessed her students use skills in times of distress. This episode  provides concrete examples on how to create fun activities that will increase motivation and participation with your students during their SEL program.    

Mariah Covington implements DBT STEPS-A (Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents) at a weekday boarding school in Washington, DC. Mariah explains in detail the population and the structure of DBT STEPS A at her school in this episode.

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Research shows that students of color are given more disciplinary action and harsher punishment than their White counterparts. As our nation has come to a reckoning, we as parents, students, educators, and administrators are examining how biases show up in our classrooms. Even certain names of schools are in the process of being changed to reflect this shift. While these biases are nothing new, moving towards acknowledgement and change are. On this show, Lizz and Mariah discuss tangible ways to decrease implicit bias in your classroom and schools. We recommend that you listen to the episode in its entirety and share it with educators in your life. 

A Leader's Guide to Talking  About Bias:

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/20/08/leaders-guide-talking-about-bias

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In the United States, more than 7.8 million students qualify for Special Education services (ages 3- 21) during the 2018 to 2019 school year. This number is around 14% of all public school students. However, depending on your population, location, or school setting this number can climb much higher or decrease. In addition, with early detection, special education services have increased tremendously in the school setting since the 1970's. 

On this episode Lizz and Mariah discuss IEP's (Individual Education Plan) in schools. We outline what parents need to know if their child is found eligible for an IEP, how schools can use their SEL (social emotional learning) programs to meet IEP goals, and how counselors can write measurable goals to meet their students needs. We also talk about how to encourage students to become an active participant in their IEP process to remove the stigma. This will be a great listen for our parents, teachers, clinicians, school administrators, and students who want to learn more about IEPs and the connection between mental health. We understand that we can help to erase the stigma of IEP's by providing information to the general public. 

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

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Learn more about DBT STEPS-A

www.dbtinschools.com

[email protected]

The events that took place on January 6th is a day that will live in infamy for our country. Our children and students watched, read, and viewed from their social media accounts the events that took place. Now more than ever, children have access to information (or misinformation) of what is occurring in the world. On today's episode, we discuss how to talk with your children or students about the events on January 6th. We give concise tips on how as parents, teachers, and administrators we can show emotion and remain regulated. We encourage all schools to have this discussion in a small group setting only.   

Quick Tip: If you are feeling uncomfortable and don't know where to start, start by acknowledging that you are uncomfortable and stating that aloud to your students or children. They will most likely appreciate your vulnerability.

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As we approach 2021, many of us have goals, objectives, and targets for the year. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that things can happen that are out of our control that change the complete trajectory of our plans. However, the one thing that we will always have is our mindset. On this episode, Lizz and Mariah discuss growth mindset versus fixed mindset. Growth mindset is the belief that one can get better at something with time, effort, and energy. Fixed mindset is the belief that people are born with innate talents, intelligence and abilities and that cannot change. We discuss how to identify a child or student with the fixed mindset and cultivate an environment of growth mindset. We also explain why adults shouldn't tell children that they are smart.

Book: Mindset by Carol S. Dweck

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These days it feels like we constantly hear the terms "be mindful of _____." At this point, mindfulness has become a verb, noun, preposition (and everything in between) making it difficult to understand it's true meaning. On this episode, Lizz provides a clear definition of what mindfulness is, dispels common myths about mindfulness, and the benefits of living mindfully. Mariah gives tips on how to get your students motivated to practice mindfulness and make it meaningful and relevant to their daily lives. 

Apps for mindfulness: 

My life, Calm, Insight

Kobe Bryant & Mindfulness

Kobe Bryant explains how mindfulness has made him more successful in basketball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdrVVJPlUK4&t=31s

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During the holiday season, many people try to figure out thoughtful ways they can express gratitude. On this episode, we discuss how to build gratitude in our children and students. We talk about how we personally have created effective every day gratitude practices that take just a few minutes to complete. We understand with the current pandemic 2020, has been a challenging year for many people around the world. However,  we like to say "what has the pandemic done for us" rather than "What has the pandemic done to us." Lastly, we both reveal what is the gift we like to receive most as mental health therapist from out clients and students. In the spirit of building a gratitude practice take a few minutes out of your day after this podcast and answer the question "I am grateful for _____."  

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On this episode, we interview Rachel Englehart. Rachel is a Registered Dietician (RD) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Rachel works with adults, families, youth, and schools on nutrition. Establishing a healthy relationship with food and body image are a part of her mission as a part of her nutrition counseling.  Rachel provides education on intuitive eating and how we can model what a healthy relationship with food looks like as adults. The pandemic has shed light on our already complicated relationship with food and in some cases have exacerbated body image issues and increased eating disorders. Lastly, Rachel shares resources of how families with little or no access to fresh food can create a nutritious meal at little or no cost.  Rachel is passionate that our relationship with food does not have to be complicated or result in bad feelings. 

You can contact Rachel at [email protected]. Here website is https://renutritiondc.com.

Here are a list of the resources that Rachel mentioned during the episode:

"Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, Revised and Updated" by Ellyn Satter "

"Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole, Elyse Resch   

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Most of our country is experiencing an uptick in Covid-19 cases. If 2020 taught us anything, reality is, we will have anything but a normal holiday season. On this episode we address a few topics regarding the holidays and coping with Covid-19. How are we as adults coping with the ever changing landscape? Subsequently, how are we teaching our children and students to accept this reality?

 Lizz and Mariah both share personal stories of what they are grateful for. 

Radical acceptance is accepting things as they are and not as they should be. The more that we are accepting of our reality the less we suffer. 

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Have a great Holiday. 

On this special episode, Lizz & Mariah discuss the 2020 presidential election results.  We talk about how parents, teachers, and counselors can effectively speak to youth about the election, news cycle, and social media. This episode also talks about the value in honoring the other side of your personal political beliefs, even when you don't agree. We understand that many people do not hold the same beliefs as we do. We encourage and challenge you to listen to this episode and push yourself towards understanding. 

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Send us an email on how as a parent or school you discuss the electin results