I am so grateful to share that we have Chaya Guttman as a guest blogger this week! Chaya is tackling the topic so many of us awkwardly wade through multiple times per school year. How do we best facilitate collaboration with outside therapists?
Meet Chaya
Chaya Guttman lives in Cedarhurst, NY and is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice. She works with children ages 4-10 and their parents to assist them with challenges such as anxiety, focus/attention, executive functioning abilities, social skills, and behavior to name just a few. When she is not working, Chaya enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, running, and practicing Yoga. Follow @chayaguttman.lcsw on Instagram where you can find resources to better assist the children in your life.
It Takes a Village
As a child therapist, I consider it a privilege and joy to be able to work with my favorite humans of all; preschool and school-aged children! My work revolves around helping children and their parents with challenges that typically arise in a school-based setting. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with various educators and school staff to ensure our mutual clients/students’ success. This collaboration is key, as when therapists, parents and educators work together as a team they can help identify specific areas of struggle, as well as reinforce coping techniques and strategies to assist the child in the classroom. This lofty goal can often prove to be challenging for both the outside therapist and educators, given time-constraints and conflicting schedules. Here are some helpful tips to keep that collaboration going smoothly.
- First, have the parent complete a release of information form that will allow information to be shared between school staff and therapist and vice versa. This is the first key to collaboration.
- If possible, create a group email or WhatsApp chat to keep all key professionals in the loop. Share goals, concerns, advice, or questions as well as updates on progress made or struggles encountered.
- Share a therapy notebook or folder. This is especially useful if using technology is not applicable for you. Simply jot down techniques, observations and recommendations and send the notebook to and from the therapists’ office and the classroom.
- Come up with a plan such as a “calm down plan” or “who I can talk to” plan that is created by the therapist and child and then shared with the parents and teachers, who will assist in implementing the plan. This will help the child feel supported and hopefully ease any anxiety about school-related challenges.
Very often, parents are referred to my practice when their children are struggling with the ability to regulate their emotions. Emotional regulation, or the ability to self-regulate, is not a skill that we are born with. Rather, it is a learned skill that develops over time with genetics and environment playing a vital role. Simply put, some children have an innately easier time learning to manage their emotions than others. For children that struggle in this regard, the various social and academic demands of school can be particularly challenging. Ultimately, however, ALL children can learn to manage their emotions, given a supportive and appropriate environment.
Emotional Regulation Techniques to Implement in Your Classroom Setting
Every child is unique, and some find certain techniques to be more helpful than others. Taking that into consideration, here are some tried-and-true emotional regulation techniques that teachers often find helpful to implement in the classroom. Prioritize collaboration between the educational team and therapists to ensure you’re focusing on the same regulation strategies!
- Mindful Breaks: The school day can be long and exhausting and taking a mindful break can teach children to stay present in the moment and manage emotions. Have children close their eyes (if they are comfortable) and focus on their five senses: What do they hear? See? Taste? Smell? Touch? Mindful coloring is another great mindful break activity in which children focus on the act of coloring and the ensuing sensations.
- Deep breathing: Take some time in the day to practice deep breathing exercises. Use imagery to assist, such as “Smell the cake, blow out the candles”, or practice “hot chocolate breath” where kids hold an imaginary cup of hot chocolate and blow on it to cool if off.
- Designate a Calm Down Space in the classroom for when the going gets tough. Make it a cozy and inviting area and keep some therapeutic objects in it such as calming glitter jars, sensory objects (squishy balls and fidget toys), play dough, coloring supplies, etc.
- Create visual reminders for emotional regulation techniques and keep them handy for the children who need them. Better yet, create posters that depict the coping techniques and hang them in the classroom for all to see.
- Schedule pre-determined breaks in the day to help ease any anxiety or feelings of agitation that often arise during the school day. Allow the child to have a cool glass of water or run an errand for school staff during their break.
- Practice positive affirmations with students, such as “I can do this” “I am brave” or “I am in control of my emotions.”
- Validate and name “big” feelings when they do come up, while lovingly and firmly sticking to classroom routine and appropriate boundaries.
It truly does take a village when it comes to raising socially-emotionally healthy children. I am honored to work in a field where I get to team up with teachers and school staff, who tend to be some of the most skilled, dedicated, and passionate people I know.
Here’s to our village!
