APRIL 15 2016:
Medstar Health Continuing Education Presentation for Mental Health Professionals.
Working with adolescents and young adults can be challenging in part because this population is often seeking to define their identity while beginning to explore a more independent connection to the social world. Moreover, adolescents are faced with making decisions that will have significant long-term impact on their adult life. Within this vein, experimentation and regular use of drugs is sometimes part of this maturation process. The purpose of this presentation was to delve into the past, present, and predicting future trends in; drug use and abuse, the applicable laws and the impact that drugs can have on an individual’s family and social life. In this interactive presentation; treatment techniques, rapport building strategies and the roadblocks to treatment will all be explored.
This Presentation Offered:
- A review of information about the current trends in drug use by adolescents and young adults
- Understanding of the changing drug laws and how these may impact our clients
- Strategies to connect or build rapport with adolescent and/or young adult clients who are actively using drugs.
- New techniques and treatment modalities to assist parents, families, and schools/agencies
- Suggestions to develop successful treatment plans for clients who are actively using drugs.
Little Learners Doing Big Things:4 Impactful Essentials for SEL in Pre-School - 5th Grade Programs
Maryland School Counselors Association Conference March 19, 2021
Tennessee School Counselors Association Conference June 5, 2021
4 Impactful Essentials for SEL in Pre-School -5th Grade Programs
Participants
- Program Structure and Advocacy for SEL in Your School (Time and Class Prep and Delivery)
- Program Development and Design Ideas (Blending Philosophies and SEL Class Content)
- Mindfulness Practice: Classroom Implementation to Embedding Practice Into Everyday Life in and Out of the Classroom
- SEL Data Creation, Collection, and Interpretation That Drives Goal and Target Setting
Reframing Family Engagement: Engaging Parents/Families Like Never Before
Maryland School Counselors Association Conference March 20, 2022
Presentation Overview:
Our work as counselors has increased, changed, and shifted significantly since the beginning of the COVID crisis in 2020. Responding to the volume and variety of issues that students face has forced us to rethink the most effective approaches to our work as school counselors. With stressors changing from week to week for our students during this COVID crisis it is paramount for us to be having regular contact and strong connections with their families to ensure that we are providing the best resources possible to support them. Often our time and work as counselors gets diverted to students with high needs and we miss opportunities to support all students. This presentation focused on a process that was developed to foster, support, and sustain consistent relationships with ALL students’ families on a virtual platform which provided equitable access for families that were working or parenting in a variety of ways..
This communication process was initially designed in response to the pandemic; however, the initiative was so successful that I elected to continue this as a regular practice with elementary students and families as part of my foundational process for connecting with families. This presentation was intended to assist counselors to think of new ways to engage ALL student families to support optimal social emotional learning and health in their own school environments. The presentation also delved into how one can highlight the voice of every family from an equity, justice, and belonging lens.
The Learning Objectives were:
Learning Objective 1: Learners will be able to strategize and implement a consistent family engagement process in their school.
Learning Objective 2: Learners will gain information that will support SEL goal setting and intervention implementation with students
Learning Objective 3: Learners will be able to design processes for data collection with the goal of understanding, addressing, and assessing student stressors.
My Self Reg Journey
8th Annual Self Reg Summer Symposium July 2022
An overview of the hopes, hows, and hurdles along the way of building a Self Reg Haven in my private practice work and with the schools I work with. A focus on facilitating concrete strategies to build, maintain, and sustain a sense of belonging for clients, students, families, and school faculty.
Walking our Talk Panel: Schools and Communities
8th Annual Self Reg Summer Symposium July 13, 2022
A 60-minute panel discussion where Joel presented with Cathy Lethbridge, Marie Edwards, and Kim Smith on the different experiences of introducing and implementing Self Reg concepts into schools and communities.
