Shows / School for School Counselors Podcast
School for School Counselors Podcast
Ready to cut through the noise and get to the heart of what it really means to be a school counselor today? Welcome to The School for School Counselors Podcast! Let’s be honest: this job is rewarding, but it’s also one of the toughest, most misunderstood roles out there. That’s why I'm here, offering real talk and evidence-based insights about the everyday highs and lows of the work we love.Think of this podcast as your go-to conversation with a trusted friend who just gets it. I'm here to…
Episodes
School for School Counselors PodcastThe School Counselor Advocacy Trap
School counselor advocacy is supposed to create change. But what if some of what we’ve been taught to call advocacy is actually doing something else?You can…
School for School Counselors PodcastSchool Counselors: You’re Advocating... So Why Isn’t Anything Changing?
You’ve explained your role. You’ve shown the data. You’ve pulled out the appropriate and inappropriate duties list. You’ve advocated. But... nothing…
School for School Counselors PodcastFour Decisions to Make Before the School Year Starts
Everything difficult or weird on a school campus somehow gets shuffled to the school counselor.And nobody is likely to stop you from taking it all on. In fact…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhy You Need Sanity-Based School Counseling
School counseling on paper and school counseling in real life are not the same job.You were trained to support students, build relationships, and run a…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhen Good School Counselors Go Quiet
The educational system doesn't need to plot to keep you quiet.It just needs to keep you tired.And after that, the silence takes care of itself.A few nights…
School for School Counselors PodcastYou’re Planning Your School Counseling Program Backwards
Most school counselors plan their programs in the same order they were taught: start with the data, identify the need, choose the intervention, and try to make…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhat Makes You a Remarkable School Counselor?
Most school counselors can describe what they do all day.Crisis response. Small groups. Student check-ins. Parent calls. Schedule changes. Behavior support…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Student Mental Health Bot Nobody Asked For
Last week, we looked at what happens when schools finally put a price tag on the mental health fallout of social media.This week, we're looking at the strange…
School for School Counselors PodcastSocial Media Drama Just Got a Price Tag
Social media drama has a price tag now.A Kentucky school district recently settled a lawsuit against social media companies for approximately $27 million…
School for School Counselors PodcastI Broke My #1 School Counseling Rule (Here's What Happened)
I don’t buy printable counseling resources anymore.Haven’t for years.But to test a theory on the air, I broke that rule. I bought a popular, well-reviewed…
School for School Counselors PodcastIs It an Intervention, or Theatre?
If somebody else could do exactly what you're doing after reading the same slide deck-Why did you go to grad school? That's the question that hit me after I…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhen They Want Your Spreadsheets, Not Your Insight
On the last day of school, the district sent an email about spreadsheets.But not one person asked what you needed to do your job better next year.Not what you…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Kids Just Like You Too Much
A school administrator once told me the reason I couldn't finish a single classroom lesson was because the kids just liked me too much.She meant it as a…
School for School Counselors Podcast3 Decisions You’ll Regret Not Making Before August
Most school counselors think the new school year starts in August.I don’t think it does.I think a huge part of your August gets decided right now… in May……
School for School Counselors Podcast“It's Been Happening All Year.” So Why Is It a Referral Now?
You’re about to get a referral that says:“It’s been happening all year.”And somehow… now it’s urgent.This episode is about why that happens, and why treating…
School for School Counselors PodcastNo One Knows What You Do- And That's Dangerous
You’re doing meaningful work.You’re supporting students.You’re handling things no one else on campus is equipped to handle.But somehow, when big decisions get…
School for School Counselors PodcastThis Isn't Burnout. It's Gaslighting.
You know the feeling.The one that says:If you were better at this, it wouldn't be this hard. If you had advocated more effectively, the caseload would be…
School for School Counselors PodcastA Year Full of “Yeses”… and a Lot of Regret
You’re not overwhelmed because there’s too much work;You’re overwhelmed because too much of it is not your job.You're not saying yes because you "lack…
School for School Counselors PodcastRestorative Justice Works (Just Not Like That)
You sat in the circle.You heard the apology.And you knew… nothing actually changed.Restorative justice can work in schools- the research supports that.But the…
School for School Counselors PodcastYour Campus Runs on a Pyramid of Lies
There’s a reason the same explanation keeps showing up in every staff meeting, every training, every conversation about struggling students.It feels…
School for School Counselors PodcastStop Finding Your Why
At some point, someone has probably told you to “find your why.”I gave that advice last week.I wish I hadn't.In this episode, I’m getting more personal than I…
School for School Counselors PodcastYour School's Pressure Valve Has a Name. It's You.
You said yes… then suddenly it was your job.At some point in your career, something changed.You stopped being the person students came to see and started being…
School for School Counselors PodcastHow Many Rigorous Studies Support Trauma-Informed Schools? Zero.
"The research supports trauma-informed schools..." You've probably heard it in a staff meeting, read it in a district memo, or repeated it yourself. But when…
School for School Counselors PodcastYou’re Not the Behavior Department
Is managing student behavior actually school counseling?If you’re spending most of your week handling behavior referrals, putting out fires, and decoding…
School for School Counselors PodcastSchool Counselor, That's Not Anxiety. Here's How to Prove It.
In this episode, I’m challenging a common habit in school counseling: labeling student distress as “anxiety” before it actually meets clinical criteria.You’ll…
School for School Counselors PodcastSchool Counselors, Stop Accommodating Anxiety. (Yes, Really.)
What if the anxiety accommodations you've been writing into your 504s and IEPs are actually making your students more anxious?In this episode, I'm sharing a…
School for School Counselors PodcastSchool Counseling Has Two Futures- and We’re Running Out of Time
You hold a master’s degree. You studied crisis intervention, psychopathology, and therapeutic technique.So why is your profession still fighting to be seen as…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Catalyst Problem in School Counseling
Most school counselors aren’t ineffective.They’re mis-measured.In this episode, Steph challenges one of the profession’s most sacred assumptions and names…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Unspoken Cost of Compassion in School Counseling
Caring is what makes you good at this job. It’s also what puts you in the most danger.If you’re a school counselor who still cares deeply about students, but…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhy School Counselors Are SO TIRED (It’s Not Burnout)
If you’re exhausted in a way that rest doesn’t fix, this episode is for you.School counselors are often told they’re burned out, so they’re handed self-care…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Question School Counselors NEVER Get Asked
School counselors are told to:Be flexibleMake it workAdvocate harderAnd somehow still be accountable for everything.But what if the real problem isn’t your…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Hidden Reason Students Compete Over Everything
Why does everything at school seem to turn into a competition... and why does it so often become a school counseling issue?In this episode of the School for…
School for School Counselors Podcast"Burns" vs. Bullying: What School Counselors Need to Know
Everyone was laughing... until suddenly someone wasn’t.Learn how "burns" work, why it’s usually mutual until it isn’t, and how to know when it’s time to shift…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhy Some Students Only Show Up When School Counselors Are Trying to Leave
Why do some students wait until school counselors are walking out the door before they finally open up?It’s not randomness, and it’s definitely not…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhat School Counselors Miss About the Hoodie Kids
The hoodie isn’t the problem.It’s the messages we’re missing.In this episode, Steph Johnson takes you inside one of the most misunderstood behaviors on a…
School for School Counselors PodcastAre TikTok Dances Actually School Counseling Signals?
Those hallway TikTok routines are saying something, school counselor- and it’s not what you think.In this episode, we decode what those repeated dance loops…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Hallway’s Got Rizz... Can School Counselors Hear What It’s Saying?
“Rizz.” “Bet.” “Six-Seven.”Sounds like noise... but it’s not.In this episode of the School for School Counselors Podcast, Steph Johnson breaks down what teen…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe Hidden Skill That Makes School Counselors Untouchable
Some counselors never have to fight for their role- or explain their worth. That’s not luck. It’s skill.In this episode, you’ll learn how the most respected…
School for School Counselors PodcastNo More Pizza Parties! The Real Way School Counselors Can Fix Attendance
Students refusing school isn’t new... but what’s happening now is different.Across the country, nearly one in three students is missing ten percent or more of…
School for School Counselors PodcastThe School Counseling Rollercoaster: 3 Secrets Every Counselor Should Know
October hits different, doesn’t it? One week you’re flying high after a student breakthrough, and the next- you’re wondering if you can even make it to…
School for School Counselors PodcastDefiance vs. Dysregulation: The Split-Second Call That Changes Everything
The radio call comes in. A student’s refusing to move, and suddenly, everyone’s looking at you to fix it.Here’s what nobody ever told us in grad school…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Behavior Intervention
⭐️ Want support with real-world strategies that actually work on your campus? We’re doing that every day in the School for School Counselors Mastermind. Come…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: PBIS- Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports
⭐️ Want support with real-world strategies that actually work on your campus? We’re doing that every day in the School for School Counselors Mastermind. Come…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Calm Corners
Are calm corners helping students regulate... or just giving them a softer way to opt out? In this episode of Graded, I take a hard look at one of the most…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: School Counseling Advocacy
Ever walked out of an “advocacy meeting” with your admin and thought, Is anything ever going to change?You brought the data. You showed the charts. You quoted…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED Recap: The Best & Worst of School Counseling
What if the tools you’ve been told to use as a school counselor are actually working against you?In this highlights reel, I’m recapping eight of the field’s…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Confidentiality
"What you say in here, stays in here…” We’ve all said it, but it’s a promise that never came from schools, and it’s costing us trust with students, parents…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Minute Meetings
Minute meetings look great on a spreadsheet. But do they actually help kids? In this episode of Graded, I dig into where this practice really came from, the…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Check In, Check Out
What if the behavior approach everyone swears by is actually making some kids worse?Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) is one of the most common Tier 2 interventions in…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Small Group Counseling
Small group counseling gets pushed as the fix for everything. But what if we’re getting it wrong?In this episode:Why “ASCA-aligned” doesn’t mean effectiveThe…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Use-of-Time Data
You know that feeling when it’s Friday, and you can’t even explain what you did all week?Use-of-time tracking is supposed to help- but too often, it feels like…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Needs Assessments
Needs assessments are everywhere in school counseling, and they're especially enticing when you’re just starting out. They feel like the smart, strategic thing…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: Short-Term Counseling
We’ve all been told school counseling should be short-term and goal-focused, and most of us have tried to follow that rule: running six-week groups, setting…
School for School Counselors PodcastGRADED: The ASCA National Model
In this first episode of the Graded series, we put the ASCA National Model to the test.What was promised? What’s actually happening? And what grade does it…
School for School Counselors PodcastInside the Mind of an Undeniable School Counselor
You’ve got the heart. You’ve got the training.So why does it still feel like no one’s listening?This episode is about the invisible skill no one taught you…
School for School Counselors PodcastShould School Counselors Get Their LPC?
More and more school counselors are saying, “I’m getting my LPC and getting out.”But is licensure really the answer- or just a new kind of stress?In this…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhy School Counselors Feel Like They’re Failing (Even When They’re Not)
Still feeling unsure- even with experience under your belt? This episode explains why doubt might be the best sign you’re doing the job well, not a reason to…
School for School Counselors PodcastIt’s Summer! So Why Can’t School Counselors Actually Relax?
You turned in your keys, packed up your office, and told yourself this summer would be a reset. But instead of relaxing, you feel… off. Either you can’t sit…
School for School Counselors PodcastHow School Counseling’s Best Intentions Turned Against Us
You followed the model. You tracked the data. You did everything “right.”So why does it still feel wrong?In this episode, we talk about how school counseling’s…
School for School Counselors PodcastWhy Some School Counselors Get Ignored and Others Don’t
Why do some school counselors get a seat at the table while others get sidelined, no matter how qualified they are? In this episode, we’re breaking down what…