Sessions

Daily Doses of Burnout Prevention: Practical Strategies and Intention Setting  

 (Dr. Park-Saltzman)

In line with the conference theme of returning to the basics, this workshop invites participants to shift their attention from attending to others and turn inward to check in with themselves. This workshop will provide psychoeducation on signs to look for to detect symptoms of burnout, followed by practical strategies that can be easily incorporated to participants’ routines inside and outside their office to release tension and renew energy for burnout prevention. These strategies will include: (a) breathing techniques and simple movements designed to activate parasympathetic system; (b) somatic awareness exercises and mindfulness practices geared toward anchoring and enhanced attunement to self and surrounding environment. At the end of the workshop, participants will be invited to engage in intention setting for calibrations needed to make their helping work more sustainable.

Target Audience:  All

Incorporating Leadership Coaching Techniques into the School Counseling Environment

 (Dr. Park )

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential”. The school counselor is sometimes put into a similar position as that of a ‘coach’ in an organization – interestingly, the issues that an employee struggles with in a given organization can sometimes be similar to issues that a student struggles with in school. In this workshop we will explore the field of leadership coaching, discuss the coaching mindset, and learn some powerful coaching techniques such as accountability, bottom-lining, championing, visioning, taking charge, and the use of metaphors and powerful questions. We will break up into small groups and practice using these techniques. We will also have a brief discussion about the usefulness of these techniques in a school setting.

Target Audience: All

Cultural Competency in Counseling Korean Students in International Schools 

 (Minsu Kim, Ph.D., Hugh Kwon, M.A., Kevin Lee, Psy.D)

Aligned with this conference’s theme, ‘Back to the Basics,’ this workshop offers practical guidelines to school counselors to become more equipped with Knowledge, Attitude, and Skills (the cultural competence components) in order to provide more culturally appropriate approaches to care. Through the workshop, several topics will be covered, such as various aspects of mental health services in Korea that include nationally unique confidentiality and liability issues, Korean parents' and students’ expectations about receiving mental health services, collaboration with Korean parents and external counseling centers, and culturally competent skills. Through this workshop, school counselors who are not familiar with the practice of mental health services in Korea would become more competent to work with Korean students and their parents and to collaborate with other mental health providers.

Target Audience:  All

Firefighters or Fishermen?

 (Sarah Carpenter)

“Give a person a fish, and you feed them for a day.  

Teach a person to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime”.

Do you feel like you are fighting fires or teaching your students to fish?

Do you spend large amounts of your time on a small number of students or do you have a school counseling program that effectively meets the needs of all your students?  Are you harnessing the power of collective efficacy with your faculty to empower your students or is SEL seen as a “tag on” to the curriculum - that thing counselors do.

Come to this session and learn how utilizing data to introduce a needs driven program is the key to getting admin, faculty and parent buy-in. Sarah will share: tips and tricks for building your own needs assessment & collating data;  ways in which she uses data to build a program;  how to create buy-in with admin, faculty and parents, and how to harness the power of collective efficacy with faculty.

Target Audience:  ES / MS / HS

Building a Comprehensive Counseling Toolbox for Effective Classroom Teaching, Student Guidance & Parent Engagement

(Shellie Gazdik)

In this interactive workshop, career & college counselors will explore and develop a comprehensive toolbox of resources to enhance their effectiveness in classroom teaching, student guidance and parent engagement. This session will provide an opportunity to discover and create valuable tools that will empower counselors to better support students. The workshop will focus on practical strategies, resources and approaches that can be easily implemented in various counseling contexts. We will also briefly explore how the counseling function can be integrated within the the whole school structure so that counselors are not working in isolation and understand how to work alongside other school stakeholders.

Target Audience:  College Counselors

Introduction to Mindfulness 

 (Ben Harnish & Janani Srikantha)

As we cultivate learning environments where students can thrive, we help students learn how to be self-aware of their emotions and thoughts, build compassion, and self-regulate in order to manage the many stresses they encounter.  Mindfulness offers research-based practices and resources that have been shown to improve students' resilience, focus, and empathy.  Together, we will have a toolbox of strategies that can be used with students of any age, and practice ourselves, as we empower educators to create supportive spaces for their students.  

Target Audience:  ES / MS / HS Social Emotional