Counseling - Social & Emotional Needs
Our goal is to help all students feel like they belong to our Gateway Prep family and to have a successful academic year. Parents, please feel free to contact us (Aliyah Scales, aliyah.scales@orendaeducation.org) if you have concerns about your child’s social-emotional well-being.
Request Meeting with Mrs. Scales
You may also call the front office at 512-868-4947 and leave a message; office hours are 7:30pm-4:00pm.
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT The information students share with the counselor is private and kept confidential. The counselor must get the student's permission to share the information with parents or teachers. Confidential means that the information that is told is not shared with others. There are exceptions or conditions when the counselor must break confidentiality.
- the counselor believes the student is in danger
- the counselor believes the student presents a danger to others
- a judge requires the counselor to share the information
- the counselor believes she needs to consult with someone else to help the student
If the counselor must break confidentiality she will inform the student.
BENEFITS TO TALKING WITH THE COUNSELOR Students who share their thoughts and concerns with the counselor may learn new strategies to help them deal with the challenges that are faced with in school.
RISKS TO TALKING WITH THE COUNSELOR Sharing personal information may make students feel uncomfortable and nervous. Students may also feel regret. Students may discover that their way of thinking needs changing and change can be a hard process.
What you can do to help your child develop their emotional skills
Here are some of the ways you can help your child learn about and express their feelings:
Tune into cues - Sometimes feelings can be hard to identify. Tune into your child’s feelings by looking at their body language, listening to what they’re saying and observing their behavior. Figuring out what they feel and why means you can help them identify, express and manage those feelings better.
Behind every behavior is a feeling - Try to understand the meaning and feeling behind your child’s behavior. You can help your child find other ways to express that feeling once you know what is driving the behavior.
Name the feeling - Help your child name their feelings by giving them a label. Naming feelings is the first step in helping kids learn to identify them. It allows your child to develop an emotional vocabulary so they can talk about their feelings.
Identify feelings in others – Provide lots of opportunities to identify feelings in others. You might ask your child to reflect on what someone else may be feeling. Cartoons or picture books are a great way discuss feelings and helps kids learn how to recognize other people’s feelings through facial expressions.
Be a role model - Kids learn about feelings and how to express them appropriately by watching others. Show your child how you’re feeling about different situations and how you deal with those feelings.
Encourage with praise - Praise your child when they talk about their feelings or express them in an appropriate way. Not only does it show that feelings are normal and it’s ok to talk about them, it reinforces the behavior so they are likely to repeat it.
Listen to your child’s feelings - Stay present and resist the urge to make your child’s bad feelings go away. Support your child to identify and express their feelings so they are heard. When feelings are minimized or dismissed, they will often be expressed in unhealthy ways.
Sometimes kids don’t have the words to express how they feel and may act out these feelings in ways that are problematic
Your child might hit or throw toys when angry or frustrated. They might have a hard time settling down after an exciting day. Use this as a learning opportunity to teach your child to express their feeling in a positive way. Teach your child to act on feelings by:
· Taking some deep breaths
· Asking for help or support
· Walking away and taking time out
· Finding a different way to do things
· Taking time to relax before trying again
· Trying to solve the problem with words
· Saying what they feel instead of acting it out
· Talking with a grown-up about what is happening
· Spending time with a loved one or asking for a hug or cuddle
· Describing what they are feeling or reactions in their body
· You play an important role in your child’s emotional development
(https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/helping-kids-identify-and-express-feelings)