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Social + Emotional Support
Social + Emotional Support
Adolescence is an exciting and challenging time for kids. The hormones, the brain development, and the social identity formation add a few extra hurdles to our time in middle school. Your counselor can help by meeting with students for short check-ins, working with small groups of students, giving classroom guidance lessons, planning assemblies, and facilitating meetings with parents and staff concerning social and emotional topics.
Adolescence is an exciting and challenging time for kids. The hormones, the brain development, and the social identity formation add a few extra hurdles to our time in middle school. Your counselor can help by meeting with students for short check-ins, working with small groups of students, giving classroom guidance lessons, planning assemblies, and facilitating meetings with parents and staff concerning social and emotional topics.
Online Resources for Middle School Students:
Online Resources for Middle School Students:
Check out this video playlist from Child Mind Institute all about Middle School Mental Health Skills.
During Covid, CKSD counselors collected some of the best calming tools at the CKSD Virtual Calm Space. It's still super helpful!
Mind Yeti has a whole library of guided mindfulness sessions to help calm your mind, focus your attention, and connect to the world around you.
This blog post collects all the best free resources from the Calm App in one place!
Exploring the Emotions Wheel:
Emotions can be confusing! Use this color-coded wheel to get helpful descriptions, explore how different emotions are connected, click through varying intensities, and increase your emotional intelligence!
Monthly Theme: HOPE
Monthly Theme: HOPE
We asked students one question. Then we watched.
It is really important that children, parents, and educators understand the difference between normal/expected adolescent behavior and concerning adolescent behavior. Read on to explore and at the bottom of the page, you can find some online resources. Contact your counselor if you have a concern or a question.
It is really important that children, parents, and educators understand the difference between normal/expected adolescent behavior and concerning adolescent behavior. Read on to explore and at the bottom of the page, you can find some online resources. Contact your counselor if you have a concern or a question.
Normal Adolescent Behavior
Normal Adolescent Behavior
Wanting to spend more time with peers and less time with family
Reluctance to get up early for school
Needing more sleep or developing a larger appetite during growth spurts
Sadness and anxiety following fights with friends or a breakup with a boy/girlfriend
Some light risk-taking
Turning to a beloved pet for comfort instead of a parent or friend
Worrying about physical appearance and trying to fit in
Argue for sake of arguing
Jump to conclusions
Concerning Adolescent Behavior
Concerning Adolescent Behavior
Not wanting to spend time with either family or friends, i.e. shunning all social activity
Absolute refusal to attend school—especially if this behavior happens suddenly and accompanies other signs of distress or depression
Sudden changes in energy levels, i.e. sleeping abnormally long or not being able to sleep at all; sudden changes in appetite, i.e. consistent overeating or undereating accompanied by quick fluctuations in weight
Sadness and anxiety that doesn’t correct itself or decrease in intensity after a few days to a couple weeks.
Extremely risky behavior and/or delinquent behavior, including disregard for house rules, parents’ concerns, or laws of society; turning to cutting as a form of emotional and physical release
Sudden and significant changes in eating behaviors or over-exercising
Info/Resources for Parents:
Info/Resources for Parents:
Child Mind Institute - an independent nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children struggling with mental health and learning disorders.
Surviving (Your Child's) Adolescence - a collection of short articles verified by Psychology Today, curated to help you with all things parenting tweens/teens.
FAST Resources for Parents/Caregivers - free handouts and downloadable workbooks from Seattle Children's Hospital for help with anxiety, depression, traumatic events, challenging behavior, school refusal, sleep tips. and more.
Psychology Today's Online Therapist Search - click for a list of therapists in the 98383 zip code. You can filter further by client age, issues, even insurance type.
Mental Health Services in Central Kitsap - a list of local clinics.
Family and Parenting Resources from Kitsap Public Health District
The Parenting Place from Kitsap Community Resources - classes and resources that help family members build positive family relationships and create healthy home environments.
Suicide Prevention Information
Suicide Prevention Information
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - call/text 988
I'mHurting.org - crisis chat, plus other info and resources.
Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide - educational and crisis resources for parents of teenagers who may be struggling with suicidality
8 Suicide Prevention Apps - aimed to help those with suicidal thoughts, as well as friends, family, and loved ones looking to educate themselves and reach out to someone in need.
Crisis Text Line - text HEAL to 741-741 from anywhere in the USA, anytime, about any type of crisis. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds quickly.
Coffee Oasis localized text support for youth in crisis, or struggling with homelessness, substance use, etc. - text HELP to 360-377-5560
The Trevor Project text support for LGBTQ youth - text “Trevor” to 1-202-304-1200.
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