Approach

CBT is widely researched and has demonstrated effectiveness with treating many different mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety. CBT focuses on the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. By noticing and identifying your patterns in your cognitive processes, you develop the personal awareness that allows individuals to make more thoughtful, informed decisions that offers a path towards greater productivity and personal flourishing, allowing you to feel more in control of your feelings instead of feeling controlled by them. The combination of deepening awareness, while cultivating mindful and actionable skills has demonstrated positive effects on educational outcomes, stress reduction, and  resilience.

Tools like psychoeducational evaluations provide a roadmap to understand individual learning styles, to identify learning issues, to advocate for appropriate school-based services, or to guide decisions about school placement. To do this effectively, comprehensive assessments should incorporate multiple perspectives that take into consideration the interactive role of personal emotional wellness, relationships, environmental expectations and stressors. These can form the basis of a school-based learning plan or individualized educational plan (IEP) to not only help students be eligible for support services and accommodations, but to also empower the student with strengths-based language and self-directed approaches that promotes independence and self-advocacy. Includes diagnostic assessment for development, attention, personality, executive functioning, memory & learning, emotional resilience, and learning disabilities.

Every child grows within a network of influences, and working with families and schools is a critical component to shaping the environment that not only allows for an individual to use their their strengths, but also allows individuals a productive space to challenge their limits and develop their own unique skills, habits, and mindsets. Partnering with students, families, and schools from a consultant perspective has been a effective approach to build sustainability and capacity.

Based on the work of Dr. Martin Seligman at the University of Pennsylvania and the field of positive psychology, positive education emphasizes actively developing character strengths alongside academics skills. The science of strengths and well-being has demonstrated effects on enhancing students' sense of self-efficacy, leading to improved school performance, interpersonal relationships, resilience against depression and anxiety, and overall life satisfaction. The language around learning disabilities, social skills, and cognitive functioning in both children and adults has historically been rooted in pathology and defined by their limitations -- that is, what isn't working. While that approach has its value, deficit models can divert attention away from strengths in functioning, missing opportunities to enhance the critical skills and character traits underlying resilience, grit, and perseverance. Positive education provides a framework and perspective that promotes capitalizing and enhancing individual strengths -- that is, what is already working -- allowing students, families, and educators to reframe strategies, mindsets, and habits from a strength-based approach.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a teaching and learning approach that promotes flexibility for students to equitably access and demonstrate their learning. The goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to promote an environment that intentionally allows for students equal opportunities to succeed. It’s about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every student’s strengths and needs. When considering recommendations for support, UDL can be a helpful framework for educators to consider how to diversify their teaching and offer ideas for practices that can be naturally integrated into any classroom.