• You can also download a printable English version of the Winter 2022 newsletter or a Spanish version of the Winter 2022 newsletter.

    Social-Emotional Wellness Winter 2022 (Accessible Version)

    Created by: HEB ISD's Crisis Intervention & Prevention Team

     

    The Crisis Intervention & Prevention Team addresses mental health concerns to create a safe & supportive school environment for all students. You can submit a referral to our team by clicking HERE.

    • Dr. Carmen Brown, LSSP, LP | Team Lead | 817-399-2562
    • Heather Andrews, LCSW | 817-399-2570
    • Irene Cedillo, LCSW | Spanish Speaking | 817-399-3558

    4 Tips to Help Manage Stress

    1. Take care of your body: This can seem like a daunting task but unless we focus on one thing at a time. Ex: Drink 3+ Cups of Water Daily
    2. Take breaks from engaging with News sources. Replace it with something like quiet time, prayer, gratitude utterance.
    3. Talk to others about your stressors. Releasing that pent up energy can be critical.
    4. Set time limits around how long you vent or stress about a certain thing. Ex: 10 minutes to worry about 'worst case scenarios'

     

    Helping Children Understand the Seriousness of Making School Threats

    All too often, we hear in the media of yet another school locked down due to a student who has threatened violence. Sadly I don't see this ending anytime soon, so it is important for both educators and families to talk frankly with their students about the ramifications that can occur from making any kind of violent threat against others.

    We can no longer simply scold a child who makes a threatening statement and move on; those days are long gone. Because of the number of school shootings nationwide, every single threat--no matter how innocuous it might seem--has to been taken as truth and dealt with swiftly. One of school staff's top priorities is ensuring the safety of every student and staff member on their campuses. Therefore, schools have no choice but to address each threat, no matter how idle it may seem. Equally as important, though, is educating them about the impact their words can have.

    Sadly, many times students are just joking around and don't realize the short- and long-term effects that more than likely will occur because of their action. Experts say having so many avenues for posting these threats is an easy temptation for vulnerable youth.

    One way to address this concern is in the context of a healthy online presence; what to post, what not to post and the ramifications of such. Some helpful websites regarding digital citizenship can be found below:

    For younger children, the best way to address this may be to help the child express what they're feeling. Children may be saying these things because they want the adults in their life to take their concerns seriously, and they think raising the stakes by saying something scary will get someone’s attention. All they may want is to feel like their feelings are important, so acknowledging their feelings and saying you know they must be frustrated or hurt can give them a lot of the validation they’re looking for.

    Threatening harm to others or to themselves is a very big deal with very big consequences. Equipping our children with the appropriate language, strategies, and coping skills to address the underlying need will be crucial in addressing these concerns. As parents/guardians, we are called to be gatekeepers of these things. Please find additional resources throughout this newsletter to help in the process.

     

    The Skill of Reflective Listening

    What is REFLECTIVE LISTENING? Reflective listening is a way of providing a caring, nurturing environment for our children. Ifwe want a child to be a caring human being who respects others, we need to respond to them in respectful, caring ways.Through reflective listening our children know we value theirdignity. They “feel felt,” giving them a sense of well being thatresults in stress reduction.

    Why is Reflective Listening important?

    • Show that feelings matter
    • Show that it is possible to talk about uncomfortable or complicated feelings
    • Show that we care about the child’s feelings
    • Teach the child that all feelings are acceptable, even though certain behavior is not
    • Defuse an uncomfortable situation
    • Reduce a child’s urge to act out because the child feels heard
    • Teach the child a vocabulary for articulating how they feel
    • Reduce whining, anger and frustration

    How do I use the skill of Reflective Listening?

    • Listen quietly and attentively
    • Verbally acknowledge the child’s feelings with a word
    • Give the child his wishes in a fantasy
    • Set aside your own feelings temporarily
    • Refrain from interrupting, arguing, reasoning or justifying
    • Give the feeling a name

    Examples of Reflective Listening:

    • Acknowledge the child’s feelings
      • “You sound happy.”
      • “You sound tired.”
    • Use sounds such as “Mmm,” or “Oh” when the child is describing a situation to demonstrate your attention and non-judgmental response
    • Use a word to describe the feeling
      • “Perhaps you feel disappointed”
    • Accept the child’s feelings even as you stop unacceptable behavior
      • “You are still angry about losing your book and you are kicking your desk. I can’t allow that. You can tell me about what is most upsetting about losing your book.”

     

    The Healthy Mind Platter

    The Healthy Mind Platter for Optimal Brain Matter -- depicted by an image of a plate with symbols representing seven daily essential mental activities:

    • Sleep time
    • Physical time
    • Focus time
    • Time-in
    • Downtime
    • Connecting time
    • Playtime

     

    Cyber Safety and Digital Responsibility: A Parent's Guide

    Links to a video on YouTube:

     

    Dan Siegel: The Adolescent Brain

    Links to a video on YouTube:

     

    Unfounded Threat Information - from Arlington

    In a District News Archive from February 2020, Arlington ISD shared about the increase in unfounded school threats. Unfortunately, two years later we continue to see this trend. Per article:

    "Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson stressed that the penalties for threats are really severe. Of the 22 arrests in 2019 there were two felony charges and 20 misdemeanor charges. Those charges carry time from 180 days to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. FBI special agent in charge of the Dallasfield office Matt DeSarno said federal charges can be considered with five years in federal prison a possibility."

     

    Anonymous Reporting

    The Friends for Life program allows students and adults to submit anonymous trips about situations that may need intervention from campus or district counselors or other professionals.

     

    Resources

    Common Types of Care

    • Counseling - Outpatient - Typically, once a week to monthly, 50-75 minute sessions with a mental health professional to address mental health concerns. Ex: Talk therapy, play therapy, CBT, etc.

    • Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) - Treatment service that is used to address mental health diagnoses that typically entails individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy several times a week over a period of several weeks.

    • Partial Hospitalization (PHP) - Type of program used to treat mental health diagnoses. The patient continues to reside at home, but commutes to a treatment center up to seven days a week.

    • Inpatient Hospitalization - This setting involves an overnight or longer stay in a psychiatric hospital or psychiatric unit of a general hospital. The facility can be privately owned or public (government-operated).

     

    Online Resources

    • Tarrant Cares - Online information service for individuals, families, caregivers and agencies. This one resource will provide you with countless solutions for issues your family may be
      facing.
    • Mental Health TX - Assess this website to find help for yourself or someone else from social services, hotlines and mental health assistance. Educational resources also available.
    • Crisis Text Line - Text HELLO to 741741. Free, 24/7, Confidential
    • 988 - Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
    • Friends For Life - Campus Crime Stoppers
    • The Trevor Project - Get Help 24/7:
      • Text - TrevorText - Text START to 678678
      • Chat - TrevorChat - TrevorChat.org
      • Phone - TrevorLifeline - 866.488.7386

     

    Counseling Resources

    This list is not extensive but a good starting point.

     

    Emergency Mental Health Assessments

    If your child is suicial an evaluation to assess level of risk can be done at the following locations: