Counseling
Our sea turtles' mental health is an important aspect of their educational experience. Ms. Natalie Roberts is the counselor for third and fourth graders, while Ms. Tasha Alvendia is the counselor for fifth and sixth graders. The MHP (mental health provider) team consists of: Sararose Posseno & Sara Blomkalns. During the year, our counselors and MHPs meet with students on an individual, small group, or class group basis to support specific areas of need. Students are able to ask their teachers or the office for a counselor visit request form when a need arises. PBIS presentations are also given by classroom teachers or admin that include social skills lessons and personal / school-wide goal setting.
natalie.roberts@stpsb.org (3rd/4th)
tasha.alvendia@stpsb.org (5th/6th)
Counselor's Corner:
A Word from Our Counseling Team
Make some deposits for the holidays!
And, no, I am not referring to money! I am talking about a simple way to improve relationships - The Emotional Bank Account. I use this metaphor over and over again with students, and the holiday season is the perfect time to share it with parents.
Every relationship is like a bank account. What do we do with our bank account? It’s simple - we make deposits & we make withdrawals. Our goal is to deposit more money than we take away. Relationships are just the same. Every interaction with another person is either a deposit or a withdrawal. If we focus on building more trust in our relationships than we take away, our relationships stay healthy and happy. On the contrary, if we make too many withdrawals, without putting “money” in, our relationships will suffer.
For example, you make DEPOSITS by:
- Showing kindness
- Keeping promises
- Honoring expectations
- Proving loyalty
- Making sincere apologies
In other words, you put something into a relationship. You build and repair. Examples of WITHDRAWALS would be:
- Being unkind
- Breaking promises
- Violating expectations
- Deliberate deception
- Being too proud to admit mistakes and apologize
Withdrawals are the opposite of deposits. They take away from a relationship and lessen trust.
Take a moment to think about your relationships – with friends, parents, sons/daughters, etc. It’s probably easy to identify which ones are “rich” and which ones are “overdrawn”. The fact is, none of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes. Even in our most important relationships, we all make withdrawals. The encouraging part is that as soon as we notice our mistake, we can turn around and make a deposit.
The key is to remember that the only deposits and withdrawals you can control are your own. To build trust, you must choose to treat every problem and every interaction with another person as an opportunity to make a deposit into that person’s Emotional Bank Account. By making deposits in relationships, you build your own and others’ security. You encourage integrity, creativity, self-discipline, and appreciation.
Happy Holidays . . . and make some deposits!
Sincerely,
Tasha Alvendia, M.Ed., LPC
What is the Emotional Bank Account? For more information, take a look at these links:
https://www.leaderinme.org/blog/making-deposits-into-your-childs-emotional-bank-account/