Counselor Johnson

“You’re changing schools!” can get a mix of reactions from students.  Some may be happy or excited for a change.  Others may feel the change is unfair, get angry, or feel sad because they will miss their friends and the place they feel comfortable.  They may be worried about making friends or that they may get lost at their new school.  They may tell you every single day why they don’t want to change schools and beg you to change your mind (or change the school district’s mind) or they may not say anything at all.  Sometimes, it is their behavior that will tell you that they are struggling with this change.  Whatever your child is feeling about the change is okay and they need to know that their feelings are validated.  Listen. But, they also need to know that change is part of life.  We cannot avoid it and it is through change that we grow the most.    This is a change we can’t control. ...

I am so excited to be starting a new therapy dog program at my current school. Believe me the students are excited, too!  The parents and teachers are, too.  Therapy dogs in schools can help reduce stress and anxiety among students, improve attendance, help teach social skills, increase confidence in reading, and encourage students to talk about their emotions.  This year, I have volunteers from a therapy dog organization that are visiting our school as we learn the best practices for having a therapy dog in our school.  They've been working with our RTI Reading Intervention Groups.  They've met with students with attendance problems.  They've visited classrooms and worked with me with groups in my office.  I'm excited to have a dog as my counseling partner next year.  Read more about our Therapy Dog Program on my website.    Here's a picture of our dog that is in training right now! What should we name him?

Today, my high school best friend is on my mind and I wanted to share this post that I shared on facebook from when he committed suicide just over two months ago.   I’m going to talk about something that may make a lot of you uncomfortable. Feel free to stop reading, if this is not something you are ready to hear a different opinion on. But, if we keep “not talking about” it is going to keep happening more and more and more. And, I am slowly realizing that talking about is something we need to do more often. I’m talking about suicide and the numbers are on the rise. I’ve looked at the statistics, but I also know it from personal experience. Chances are you know someone that has committed suicide or attempted it, but I guarantee there are people in your life (maybe even you) that have seriously considered it. I am far from an expert on the matter, but I do have lots of experience both personally and professionally in this area. Sadly, “suicide” is a word that comes out of my mout...

Imagine that you just graduated from college, you have student loan debt, but you are just offered your "dream job". When you sign your contract, you are informed (not your choice) that they will be taking 13-14% of every paycheck and putting it away in a retirement fund for you. On top of that, they'll even match your contributions and when you retire after 27 years, they will pay you a full salary! Yay! But, in exchange for this retirement system, you will not be able to draw social security and if your spouse dies, you can't get their social security benefits either. You're already getting paid less than other positions with your level of education, but this is your "dream job"! It's not all about the money.  You love your job, but it costs you a lot of money to do it. You buy a lot of supplies and tools that you need to do your job. Plus, you end up buying clothes, shoes, and food for your clients, because they don't have things you need. ...

In my last post, I promised to come back and share some tips for online safety and your teenagers.  Let's face it.  Technology is everywhere.  You can't keep your teenagers away from it.  And, technology in itself is not a bad thing.  But, just like anything else, it can be misused or overused.   They can stay in touch with family and friends, access resources for school work, take classes online, and even start a business online.  At the same time, it has created a whole new breeding ground for bullies and predators.  Today's teenagers have been using technology since they were toddlers.  It's a different world than what we grew up in.  It is important to teach our young people to use the internet responsibly and in a balanced way.  So, let's look at ways we can teach this critical skill.  1.  Balance is important.  On average, tweens and teens spend 6-9 hours using technology (social media, TV, video games, inter...

Let's talk about your (elementary age) kids and the internet!  Just like the "real world" is a scary place, the internet is too.  The same people that your child could encounter if you let them roam freely in the world, they could meet online as well.  The thing about the internet, though, is that the bad people out there can gain access to millions of kids instead of just a few and they are doing it right under your nose.  While I do still believe that most people are inherently good at heart, we all know that evil exists in the world and as parents you want to protect your children from that evil as much as possible.  Let's talk about some ways you can keep them safe during those times that you need them to be entertained and have handed them a tablet or phone. When it comes to unsafe things online, you can't keep up with the latest scary thing out there because it is constantly changing.  There's always something new.  So, it is important to talk ...

I just returned from the Annual Kentucky School Counselor Association Conference and I'm all pumped up and excited to implement all these new ideas I have floating around in my head.  Do you all get like that, too?  I mean, I just love having the opportunity to network with other counselors and share things I am doing and steal all of their good ideas, too!  I am so thankful that all of our counselors in our district were able to attend this week.  I was blessed to attend while I was living in Florida, too, but it was something I had to ask permission to do and persuade my administrator to let me attend.  I was one of only a small handful that attended each year from our district.  I remember when I first came back home to Kentucky and was setting up my office.  I met the bookeeper and she told me I had a counseling budget (a what?) and that I needed to make sure I set aside money for the conference.  Yes, you guys!  That really happened. ...