Whimsy in School Counseling

Empathy? What's that?! Oh, you mean that thing where people should consider what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes? **Insert obligatory comment from students wanting to trade shoes.** This lesson provides a nice, brief concrete activity to help demystify that abstract life skill we call empathy. Every student completes a short, shoe-themed activity. These are then collected and randomly redistributed. With your superpowers of facilitation, this brief lesson becomes one of those profound

STEM based school counseling for the win! This worksheet packet is perfect for use by school counselors or classroom teachers with middle school students, high school special education students, adult learners with low literacy levels, schools beginning 1:1 laptop programs, and more! Our students are increasingly digital natives. Even for those students who grew up without early access to technology, and who therein lack the native fluency assumed by their peers, technological self-efficacy is

Resume...that's a button on the remote, right, Ms. Whimsy? Sheesh. Really. "Resume" is actually a magical piece of paper that's kind of like a remote crossed with a good cup of coffee: it gives you control over what channels of your life potential employers see first, and motivates you to make your high-school-self as well rounded as you can be. Win-win! This download includes worksheets to guide students through the steps of creating a resume and cover letter. These can be used as a stand-alone

Goal setting is priority #1 for me as a school counselor. How do I help my scholars grow their goal setting skills? How can I make my lessons multimodal, differentiated, and interesting? This lesson attempts to be all of these things....and brief solution focused, because we're school counselors and BSFC is what we do. It's a super power! This handout provides the scaffolding necessary for scholars to work towards comprehensive understanding of career choice, including spaces to consider average

"Ms. Whimsy, my stomach hurts so I must be nervous." *Cue shoes being thrown up on.* All of us who work in school based social emotional health have been there. These interoception building cards will help your students/clients build important insight into the nuances of body sensations...while also (hopefully) saving your shoes! This download includes 36 individual front-and-back cards covering physical sensations related to fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise. Diverse child

This download includes one color by number DBT house inspired activity, perfect for relaxed counseling sessions, reflections, or counseling homework assignments. Thank you to Mae Hates Mondays for the lovely clipart on the cover of this listing!

Building a trauma informed classroom isn't something we're always trained for. This no-prep lesson builds on the "I wish my teacher knew..." fad to include passive reinforcement of letter writing skills, because there's always room for common core standards in social emotional interventions. This download includes everything you will need to pilot an "I wish my teacher knew..." activity in your school or classroom. Be prepared to be amazed, heartbroken, mildly offended, astonished, and humbled,

This no-prep neurodivergent friendly group is adapted specifically for teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and other forms of neurodivergency. Adaptations include: interactive guided notes, color coded sections, memory devices, comic sans font, sensory informed skills, accessible practice, and more! Skills covered in this group: identifying emotions, coping ahead, the emotion wave, justified and unjustified emotions, opposite action, window of tolerance, willing hands/half smile, REST,

Wait....you can challenge mental health stigma AND let your students use their cellphones at the same time? You're about to become the coolest teacher in school! Mental health stigma impacts our students in very real ways. Time to address that in innovative and multi-modal ways! Scavenger hunt, anybody? Students can use cell phones to scan these QR codes and grow the skills they need to decrease stigma. This download includes... ♥ A list of all sites the QR codes link to, ♥ 21 posters with un

"But I don't know WHY I set the class snake on him, Ms. Whimsy!" Understanding why we do what we do is DIFFICULT...especially for teens! DBT's Chain Analysis is one method of increasing insight into the ways our vulnerabilities, thoughts, sensations, and actions influence how a situation turns out. I created this resource because Chain Analysis as taught to fidelity hasn't been super accessible to the neurodiverse teens I've worked with. None of the more current non-fidelity methods worked quite

The REBT Card Game is going to be your new favorite intervention! Life happens to all of us....it's how we react that makes the difference! REBT, or Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy, is one of the most popular (and effective!) counseling theories. Created by Albert Ellis, the basic premise of REBT is that how we react to situations causes bigger or smaller problems. This fun card game provides teens and pre-teens a chance to determine ways our responses to situations make problems bigger or s

This no-prep neurodivergent friendly group is adapted specifically for teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and other forms of neurodivergency. Adaptations include: interactive guided notes, color coded sections, memory devices, comic sans font, sensory informed skills, accessible practice, and more! Skills covered in this group: WHAT skills (observe, describe, participate) and HOW skills (non-judgmentally, wise mind, effectiveness). The handouts included with this listing are linked in

"I feel really hot and shaky, I'm not nervous, I think I'm getting what my brother had!" says the kiddo right before their big speech. Well, maybe...but also maybe not. What shall ever we do? Teach interoception skills, that's what! These simple nervous themed cards provide an activity to support children, pre-teens, and teens in gaining insight into the ways their physical sensations reflect their emotional state. Use as part of psychoeducation or in the moment to support emotional identificati

This no-prep neurodivergent friendly group is adapted specifically for teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and other forms of neurodivergency. Adaptations include: interactive guided notes, color coded sections, memory devices, comic sans font, sensory informed skills, accessible practice, and more! Skills covered in this group: GIVE, FAST, Dime Game, DEARMAN, THINK The handouts included with this listing are linked in the last slide of each presentation's google presentation as a .pdf

This no-prep neurodivergent friendly group is adapted specifically for teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and other forms of neurodivergency. Adaptations include: interactive guided notes, color coded sections, memory devices, comic sans font, sensory informed skills, accessible practice, and more! Skills covered in this group: .problem scaling, STOP, ACCEPT, TIPP, urge surfing, pros and cons The handouts included with this listing are linked in the last slide of each presentation's g

"I'm not angry!" exclaims the child stomping away with clinched fists. What ever shall we do? Teach interoception skills, that's what! These simple anger themed cards provide an activity to support children, pre-teens, and teens in gaining insight into the ways their physical sensations reflect their emotional state. Use as part of psychoeducation or in the moment to support emotional identification. This resource was last updated on: 10/18/2022. Thank you to Tiny Dream Factory for the lovely c

This CBT card game is a fun opportunity to practice identifying healthy vs. distorted thoughts in a variety of real world scenarios, as well as the ways those thoughts might impact our emotions and actions. The basic premise of CBT is that through identifying our maladaptive thought patterns and incorporating new, healthier thought patterns, we will live healthier, more fulfilling lives. Through the playing of thought cards (some of which are very healthy thoughts, others of which definitely are

School counseling for the win! This resource is perfect for use by school counselors or classroom teachers. Goal setting in high school helps scholars be on the right track to thrive in the 'real world.' This college and career themed goal setting activity grows scholar ability to identify goals and steps to achieve them. As school counselors, helping our kiddos be ready for life out there is priority #1. As Dharma said in the TV classic, "It's a doggy dog world!" Too many scholars live in commu

The WDEP card game will become one of your go-to interventions! We all have goals...it's the steps we take to achieve them that makes the difference! WDEP, or Choice Theory, is one of the most effective counseling theories. Created by Glasser, the basic premise of WDEP is that by evaluating our current actions towards stated goals, and by planning future actions, we can accomplish any reasonable goal. This download comes complete with: ♥ Directions for game play, ♥ 63 choice cards + 3 blank c

"DBT...Sensory Skills? That's not by the book, Ms. Whimsy." Indeed, DBT Sensory Skills combine adaptive Distress Tolerance work with psychoeducation about sensory needs and self-regulation, therein meeting a previously unmet need. This no-prep neurodivergent friendly group is adapted specifically for teens and adults with ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, and other forms of neurodivergency. Adaptations include: interactive guided notes, color coded sections, memory devices, comic sans font, sensory inform