Podcast appearances and mentions of bear clan

Episode 54 concludes a four-episode arc, within the Unit Supervision Pathway, that presents the 10 techniques that make up the Hierarchy of Interventions.  This episode focuses on how to implement these interventions in a way that goes beyond surface behavior management to supporting the development of self-regulation in children and youth.   This episode particularly focuses on the Forced-Choice and related Weighted-Choice techniques.  These interventions leverage a program's consequence system to help child-clients make choices that determine whether or not they receive a consequence for any misbehaviors.  That, in turn, supports the development of self-regulation over their own impluses and emotional-reasoning.  These techniques are also a very effective way to help kids who struggle with taking responsibility for their own feelings, thoughts, and especially behaviors to mature.  They are also excellent techniques for ending pointless control-battles between a staff person and a client.   Centering Breaks are similar to Time Outs, however, they add structures to the time that move the intervention beyond simply removing a client from an over-stimulating or triggering situation.  These structures are individualized to the needs and abilities of individual kids, but are strategically intended to help each child or youth become emotionally, cognitively, behaviorally, and physiologically centered.   The Support Center structure and intervention is used by many multi-unit residential programs and schools to completely separate misbehaving kids from their peers.  Typically, separate counselors staff the Support Center, providing a change of face as well as a Change-of-Environment.  Ideally, Support Center counselors also Process the incidents that resulted in a child or youth being separated from the group.  A structured approach to Processing is presented in prior podcast episodes. Physical Interventions, including physical restraint, are techniques used in residential treatment programs to safely de-escalate or contain extreme behaviors.  Processing afterwards is key for moving these interventions beyond behavior management to supporting the development of self-regulation in kids.  

Episode 53 reviews the first four tools and techniques that make up the Hierarchy of Interventions (Distraction, Engaging, Verbal Redirection, Labeling) and presents the next two steps in the Hierarchy, Changing the Environment and Limit Setting.  A major emphasis is placed on using these techniques to not only manage behaviors, but also to help clients develop their abilities to self-regulate. Behavior Management is a necessary component of providing Care to troubled children and youth.  All kids sometimes exhibit behavior problems.  However, kids in residential treatment, perhaps especially because they're surrounded by other struggling peers, will sometimes use problem-behaviors.  Part of the Care of children is to maintain a safe environment, including efforts to keep kids safe from their own dysregulated behaviors and those of their peers.  But behavior management is not enough. In addition to providing Care, a residential treatment program must also provide a Treatment experience.  It's not enough to create an environment in which kids "behave" only to have problem-behaviors reappear after kids leave the program.  For lasting change to occur, kids need to improve their abilities to self-regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors (including internal physiological "behaviors").  When used skillfully, the techniques that make up the Hierarchy of Intervention can be used in way that not only manages behaviors but also encourages the brain development necessary for improved self-regulation.  Changing the Environment is a very powerful way to help kids who have become overwhelmed and dysregulated to the point where they can no longer fully process language.  Changing various aspects of a kids surroundings is a generally reliable way to help them to calm down to the point where they can calm down enough to make thoughtful choices. Limit Setting, when used to clarify behavioral expectations, and especially when used to clarify values, is another way to help kids learn how to better regulate their own thoughts and behaviors.  

In this feature segment of asPERusual, guest listener and patient partner Kathy Smith offers a short recap and her key takeaways from last week's episode of asPERusual focused on patient engagement within the Can-SOLVE CKD Network -- a Canada-wide network of patients, scientists, and health care professionals devoted to creating innovative kidney care solutions. Tune in to this short (~10 minute) episode, regardless of whether you want to compare reflections or get the Coles notes of the full Can-SOLVE CKD Network episode.Episode Transcript:Anna:Hi everyone! Welcome to onePERspective - a bi-weekly segment in which patient partner Kathy Smith shares a synopsis and key reflections from the previous episode of asPERusual -- a podcast for practical patient engagement. My name is Anna Chudyk and I am asPERusual's host. In today's episode, Kathy will be commenting on S3E2 of asPERusual. In that episode, I sat down with Melanie Talson and Cathy Woods to learn all about patient engagement within the Can-SOLVE CKD Network, which is a Canada-wide network of patients, scientists, and health care professionals devoted to creating innovative kidney care solutions. Alright Kathy, lets turn it over to you and your onePERspective. Kathy Smith:Thank you, Anna and hello, everyone. I am speaking to you from the centre of Canada along the shores of Lake Superior, or Gitchigumi, the largest, deepest, coldest and cleanest freshwater lake in the world. I wish to acknowledge that my City of Thunder Bay is situated on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe peoples, including the Ojibwa of Fort William First Nation, signatories to the Robinson Superior Treaty of 1850. I thank our ancestral land keepers for centuries of sustainable stewardship of this beautiful area and for kindly sharing the bounties of this rich land with everyone. I also wish to express my appreciation for the significant contribution of the Metis nation. I am sorry for the mistakes made and mistreatment of Indigenous peoples by colonists in the past and I am committed to working together for truth and reconciliation. Miigwetch.If ever there was an award for a solid and sustainable engagement strategy, today's Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Px engagement platform would certainly be a strong contender. I am most impressed with how they have integrated the Indigenous voice and with their capacity-building training modules, including bi-directional Capacity Bridging.Melanie Talson & Cathy Woods from Can-SOLVE CKD: Canadians Seeking Solutions and Innovations to Overcome Chronic Kidney Disease describe their network as a national partnership of lived experience patients; learned experience researchers; laboured experience health care workers and clinicians; and leaders – the managers and policy makers. The four “Ls” work together to transform treatment and care and improve the outcome for those living with debilitating chronic kidney disease.Can-SOLVE's tagline is “the right treatment for the right person at the right time and place.” No small task when you consider CKD affects a disproportionate number of Indigenous people many of whom live in remote, even fly-in, communities. That is why I am so impressed to see that this group has a strategy for addressing that barrier to care. Can-SOLVE has an Indigenous-led partner group, IPERC -Indigenous Peoples Engagement and Research Council. IPERC's focus is on Indigenous kidney care challenges unique to this harder to reach, often underserved, group. Cathy, of the Bear Clan, is a member of Naicatchewenin First Nation in Northwestern Ontario, is the patient partner and a lead researcher of the Kidney Check Research Project which seeks to screen, triage and treat Indigenous people living in rural and remote communities in the three western provinces and British Columbia. Patient partners within both groups prioritize and co-lead research projects like this one, ensuring meaningful and relevant engagement at every stage. Furthermore, there is a Patient Governance Council – a leadership team made up of representatives of both interest groups who decide on plans and policies that affect the entire CKD community.Our speakers have done a great job describing each of the 6 Rs upon which they built their engagement platform: Respect, Responsibility, Reciprocity, Relevance, Relationships and Realness. Realness is a term I had not heard of in engagement platforms before. But I do understand and appreciate its inclusion. We need to fit our hats to the task as I like to call it. Our real life has given each of us many hats, but which shall we wear to best meet the asks of the task? Patients and providers work best when they find common ground, common interests and common language with lived experience input “as is”. Bring your real, authentic self to the table. Respect for individual differences and perspectives sees real-world impacts.Equally impactful is how patient partners like Cathy describes her involvement in CANSOLVE as healing, empowering, and deeply purposeful – creating a space for ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. As the famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead, phrased it; never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.”Finally, I'd like to acknowledge CANSOLVE's Bridging Capacity. Building capacity is an integral component of patient engagement strategies. Training modules are co-designed to buildup the knowledge and provide the necessary tools for patients to engage in a research project. These helps are unidirectional in scope. So how does Bridging Capacity differ from Building Capacity? Bridging Capacity is bi-directional. Patients and providers both learn from each other. I cant think of a better tool for bridging the power differential and creating strong work relationships!All in all, CANSOLVE and IPERC have really empowered patients to enhance research relevance to better the outcome for all with chronic kidney disease.PERsonally SpeakingMy three take-aways:Could this Indigenous Partnership (IPERC) model be used to incorporate the voice of many other underserved populations – the remote; the homeless; the new Canadians? These groups are surely concerned about their health, but they do not want to, or cannot, come to our Table. So, meet them where they are at with separate interest groups run by their own leaders and their own peers. Then the leaders of the various interest groups could come together to form an overarching Senior Team. This makes for a much more inclusive and diverse Patient Engagement Platform!Capacity Bridging This was a term I had not heard of before but I very much like it for the added emphasis it brings to an engagement platform. This bridging is a bi-directional sharing of knowledge between the lived experience experts and the learned experience experts. It stresses the importance of respecting that all members of the team bring unique experiences and skill sets. This concept guides mentorship, training, and peer review practices across the network. Patient partners are highly valued for their different hats they bring to a task on the TEAM: Together Everyone Accomplishes More. Together is better!Relationship Building is at the heart and soul of every Patient Engagement Platform. It takes a patience of time and a whole lot of money. It must be accounted for in research budgets and run by a paid, highly trained and skilled multi-tasker manager. Anything less jeopardizes the success of the engagement platform and perhaps the relevance and value of the research itself.At this time, I would like to thank everyone for the privilege and the opportunity of speaking to you on these podcasts. In particular, I want to do a huge shout out to my heroine, Anna, for including me and asking me to do these podcasts. As Anna is moving forward with the pediatric and youth groups, I want a fresh voice to help her with these podcasts. But in any case, I wish Anna all the best as she goes forward with this labor of love. I can't tell you how much time and effort Anna has shown and the passion that she has dedicated to helping all patients engage meaningfully and relevantly with academic partners in research. Thank you. And happy trails, Anna. Anna:Thanks Kathy for this, and all of the other onePERspective's to date. As you know, your encouraging emails summarizing all you learned from the release of this podcast's initial episodes were the impetus for creating the onePERspective segment. I've really enjoyed hearing your reflections and collaborating with you on the creation of these episodes. Even with all your engagement related jet setting, I could also count on you to come through on your episode… and somehow find the time for it. Big hugs to you and I'm glad we have research we're collaborating on together so it's not actually a good bye. Moving forward this season, I'm going to continue with onePERspective but it's taking a different twist. A big reason why I have chosen to focus the remainder of season 3's episodes on engaging children, youth, and families is for my own learning as I expand my research program to focus on these populations. I am currently moving in this direction through a pharmacogenetics study I am collaborating on with my colleague Abdullah Maruf, as well as work I am doing with colleagues to redesign pediatric-to-adult transition care services for youth and families living with congenital heart disease. Sasha Kullman is a talented PhD trainee working under my supervision on the congenital heart disease project. Given her passion and penchant for patient engagement and knowledge translation, I thought that it would be a great opportunity for her to take over onePERspective this season, and offer a trainee perspective on her take-aways from the episodes. She's very brilliant and I can't wait to hear her episode takeaways as her insights always make me think.In the next full episode of asPERusual, I kick off the rest of this season's focus on how to meaningfully engage children, youth, and families in health research. Guests Brianna Hunt, Onalee Garcia-Alecio, and Michelle Roy, will share their experience with engaging in the iCARE study—Canada's largest cohort of youth with type 2 diabetes. We'll also discuss what makes engagement meaningful over time, the value of lived experience, and practical tips for involving youth and families in ways that are inclusive, trauma-informed, and fun. The episode is going to drop on April 28th so be sure to check it out by visiting our website asperusual.substack.com or wherever it is that you download your other podcast episodes from. If you do visit the website, be sure to check out the interactive transcript from this, and other episodes, as well as to subscribe to the podcast's newsletter! As always, you can reach me by emailing anna.asperusual@gmail.com or by adding me to LinkedIn by searching Anna M. Chudyk – CHUDYK.Until next time, thanks again for tuning in and let's keep working together to make patient engagement the standard, or asPERusual. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit asperusual.substack.com

This episode is the second in a three-episode arc that presents the Hierarchy of Interventions.  This grouping of 10 interventions forms a core curriculum of counseling skills used by residential staff to encourage the development of kids' self-regulation abilities.  Last episode focused on using Distraction, Engaging, and Verbal Redirection to interrupt and prevent kids from going down an off-track path toward increased emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulation.  This episode introduces the Aspect Compass model of the human mind.  Understanding this metaphor for how the mind works, makes it easier for direct-care counseling staff to move beyond the behavior-management level of intervention and instead help kids development their self-regulation abilities.   This episode revisits those three interventions from the perspective of the Aspect Compass Model and then goes on to present the labeling intervention.  Different variations on the Labeling intervention are used to increase clients' self-monitoring of their own behaviors, their own bodies, their own feelings, and their own developing social skills.  One variation on Labeling is also used in place of giving directions and setting limits.  Those interventions are intended to encourage compliance, where labeling encourages kids to chose cooperation.   

This episode on the Unit Supervisor Learning Pathway moves away from a focus on managerial skills and switches to a focus on counseling skills to be taught to direct-care Child Care Counselors.  It presents 10 interventions, or techniques, for Counselors to use with kids when they become off-track, dysregulated, and uncentered.  Skillful use of this package of interventions starts with understanding the ways in which they can be thought of as forming a hierarchy.  That includes the higher up interventions being increasingly disruptive to the group environment of the residential unit, being an increasingly heavy-handed display of the staff being in charge, and requiring more judgement and skill from staff so that the intervention de-escalates the situation rather than causing an ecalation.  However, these ten interventions are not like a true hierarchy in that staff can start anywhere on the scale, can use the interventions in various combinations, and even that some of the interventions can be thought of as just examples of the other interventions.  This episode goes on to take a closer look at three interventions at the bottom of the hierarchy: distraction, engaging, and verbal redirections.  Distraction is frequently the first intervention used for interrupting an emerging pattern of dysregulation.  Engaging is the most frequent intervention that should be used by residential staff in that it provides the kids with practice at co-regulating with a calmer and more psychologically and neurologically organized person.  Improved co-regulation skills leads to improved self-regulation skills.  Verbal Redirection is regularly used to support the development of kids' self-awareness, and is frequently used with having kids Practice or Over-Practice a desired behavior and in combination with Listening Checks.  

This episode is the sixth on the Unit Supervisor Learning Pathway.  It's also the third of a three-episode arc that focuses on how to structure an individual supervision meeting.  It also goes beyond the supervision meeting and explores the seven different roles Unit Supervisors have with their Supervisees. As a Counselor, the Supervisor is concerned with the emotional well-being of their Supervisees. As a Teacher, the Supervisor keeps a checklist of subjects (primarily policies, procedures, practicies, and training topics) that are reviewed with each Supervisee over the course of their tenure as a direct-care Child Care Counselor. As a Coach, the Supervisor individualizes their focus to address each Supervisee's professional development.  Fundamental residential staff skills include Executive Skills, Engagement Skills, and Teamwork Skills.  More advanced counseling skills are the focus of the next episode arc on the Unit Supervisor Learning Pathway. As a Leader, the Supervisor takes a strategic approach to presenting each supervisee with an inspiring vision, an analysis of current skills and a plan for what skills to work on in the next short-term period.  That plan is then implemented on the floor of the residential unit, directly in working with the kids.  In the next supervision meeting there's feedback and collaboration around the next steps. As an organizational Superior, the Supervisor has to represent the agency.  Any problems with basic employment expectations, such as professionalism, basic performance expecations, adherence to company policies, and dependability need to be addressed in the supervision meeting.  In consultation with the Unit Supervisor's superior, and potentially H.R. department, it might be appropriate to take some personnel action.  Solid boundaries are the biggest help in balancing the role of Superior with the other Unit Supervisor roles. As their Boss, the Supervisor has to give out assignments and coordinate a large number of tasks that all are necessary for the professional administration of the residential program.  In crisis situations, the Supervisor often times needs to function as a direct and clear Boss, which can create a balancing challenge with the other roles. As a Mentor, the Supervisor expresses some level of interest in their Supervisees' career and life outside of work.  It's up to each Supervisee how much they will come to see their Supervisor as a Mentor, but spending some time relating as a Mentor helps balance the seven roles that define the relationship between a Unit Supervisor and their Supervisees.

This episode features Part 1 of 2 with Paul Francis Jr. the Vice President of N'doo'owe Binesi (Healing Thunderbird), the Indigenous Health, Partnerships and Wellness division of St. Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Paul is a graduate of the Master of Social Work Indigenous Field of Study Program at Wilfrid Laurier University, is a registered social worker and a member in good standing with the OCSWSSW. Paul is committed to his Anishinaabe spiritual practices and enjoys attending and helping with traditional ceremonies. Paul believes in the power of integrating Indigenous healing practices within the mainstream healthcare system for the benefit of all. Paul is Odawa (Anishinaabe) and mixed European ancestry, a member from Wiikwemikong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island and is a member of the Bear Clan. Paul is a proud father to Tristan, Royal, Harlow, Ailee and Siinese, with his wife Kyla. https://sjcg.net/services/Indigenous-Relations/health.aspx http://amshealthcare.ca/    

This episode continues to present a model for how to structure a supervision meeting.  Last episode focused on how a Unit Supervisor sometimes functions primarily as a Counselor.  In that  sub-role, the Supervisor is most concerned with the emotional well-being of their Supervisees.  Although that can fill the entire supervision meeting, generally, after five to ten minutes the meeting agenda will usually move on to the Supervisor sub-role of functioning primarily as a Teacher. Being an effective Teacher means having an organized curriculuum that typically draws from your agency's policies and procedures manual.  The Supervisor is tasked with making sure that each staff person has the necessary knowledge to properly implement the program.  Some of that can be addressed in staff meetings, however, becuase new staff are hired throughout the year, the supervision meeting serves as a place to individually make sure that every staff has the necessary familiarity with the program's and the residential unit's policies, procedures, practices, and philosophy of care and treatment. However, the bulk of the supervision meeting time is typically best spent with the Supervisor in the sub-role of a Coach.  As a Coach, the Supervisor focuses on the skills that each staff person needs to excel at their job.  The fundamentals of residential care and treatment can be divided up into three categories:  Executive Skills, Engagement Skills, and Teamwork Skills.  Work on these skills, especially for newer staff is the foundation for their professional development as caregivers. These fundamental skills are different than specific counseling skills that will be the focus of a future podcast episode.  Those counselor skills, such as Verbal Redirection, Labeling, Change of Environment, Limit Setting, Forced Choice, Weighted Choice, and Centering Breaks are treatment skills that will also need coaching to learn and master.  However, the use of fundamental skills (Executive Skills, Engagement Skills, and Teamwork Skills) are a great place for a Unit Supervisor to start with coaching since their use will create a therapeutic environment on the residential unit. 

Today's episode, which is the fourth on the Unit Supervisory Learning Pathway, focuses on a model for how to structure the typical supervision session. In the context of working on a residential treatment unit for children and youth, there are many sub-roles that define an effective relationship between a supervisor and their supervisees.  A Supervisor encompasses the roles of Counselor, Teacher, Coach, Leader, Superior, Boss, and Mentor.  This episode focuses on starting supervision meetings with the Supervisor focuses on the role of Counselor.  In that role, the Supervisor is most concerned about the emotional well-being of the direct-care staff being supervised.   This initial focus on emotional wellness, which starts with simply asking a person how they're doing this week, makes sense as a basic display of good social skills.  However, the Counselor sub-role goes far beyond good manners and tries to attend to helping your Supervisees manage the high level of exposure to traumatic stress that is a big part of their jobs.  Just expressing concern helps.  Beyond that, there will be times when engaging in psychological debriefing will be an appropriate way to help your Supervisees take the edge off of the more stressful encounters they've had that week.  Attending to the basic human emotional needs of your Supervisees also means trying to help them find inspiration and meaning in the work, celebrating their successes, and reinforcing examples of their good teamwork and their demonstrating strong executive skills in their work. Sometimes, it makes sense to spend an entire supervision meeting primarily in that Counselor sub-role.  However, that should be the exception and not the rule.  Supervision meeting time is incredible valuable and a skilled Supervisor consciously designs their supervision time to be strategic about how many minutes to devote to the domain of emotions, before moving on to the other sub-roles (Teacher, Coach, Leader, Superior, Boss, and Mentor) that are also essential aspects of being an effective Supervisor.  

This episode, the third in the Unit Supervisor Pathway, focuses on the essential managerial skills of effectively delegating tasks and projects and keeping organized.  I'm hoping that you've already followed advice in previous episodes and created clearly defined Unit Coordinator roles for all the residential staff on the unit.  Residential treatment is a team sport; and you need every member of your team to not only work directly with the kids, but to also help administer a quality program.  However, even with clear role descriptions outlining various administrative and operational responsibilities, a Unit Supervisor still has to become effective at verbally delegating tasks and projects.  Effective delegation will make a huge difference with how many tasks and projects the residential team can simultaneously be addressing, a huge difference in the quality and timeliness of task completion, and a huge difference in how direct-care staff are lead in developing their professional skills.  This episode presents a 5-step model for effective delegation.  Now that you've delegated scores of tasks and projects, a Unit Supervisor has to keep all these tasks, deliverables, projects, and deadlines organized.  This is a major way in which a Unit Supervisor sets up their people for success!   

Episode 46 of the Becoming Centered Podcast focuses on the essential managerial and coaching skill of giving feedback to others.  Individual supervision and individual coaching is, by far, the most effective way to inspire and guide the professional development of direct care child care counselors.  This individual attention is much more powerful than in-service training, articles, podcasts, or other ways to train staff.  The heart of coaching is being able to give feedback to supervisees in a way that effectively influences how a staff person thinks about their work, how they feel about their efforts and experience, and how they develop their own executive skills and counseling skills.  Giving feedback to others, in a way that the other person can process and incorporate into their own professional development, is both a core leadership skill and is very difficult to do.  Defensiveness when receiving feedback is normal and natural.  In this podcast I set out to raise the listeners awareness of techniques for compensating for that normal level of defensiveness and techniques for making positive feedback more sophisticated and effective.   

***CLARIFICATION: Louise Wakerakas:te Herne is the only condoled Bear Clan mother for the Mohawks/Kanyen'kehà:ka. **** AUNTIE: Wa'tkwanonhweráton Sewakwékon! We're starting strong in this Ohserá:se – this New Year – on The Aunties Dandelion podcast as we visit with Iehstoseranón:nha, who is Kanyen'kehà:ka and Bear Clan. Iestohseranon:nha is a feather protector, community connector, and graphic artist. She is also a survivor of the Sixties Scoop – a term that refers to Canada's mass removal of Onkwehón:we children into the welfare system and non-Indigenous families without consent of their own families or communities. That removal began in the 1960s and continues to this day. Iehstoseranón:nha was 18 in 1989 when she found her biological family and spent these past decades reconnecting with her Mohawk territory at Akwesasne. She recognizes the unique emotional and spiritual perspective this epic journey brings. IESTOHSERANON:NHA: Adoptees like me – Indigenous, Native, Onkwehón:we that are just coming home – we have spent our lives on the colonial side, with a Native heart and a Native spirit. And so we see in each other and we see our colleagues: we are the bridges, right? Because we can sit in both worlds and we can connect that in a different way than anyone else. AUNTIE: Iehstoseranón:nha centers Indigenous women creatives as the owner, writer, and artist at Pass the Feather Indigenous, and founder of Indigenous Arts Collective of Canada – a registered charity. She was the first facilitator of the National Day of Truth Reconciliation on Ottawa's Parliament Hill and founder of the National Indigenous Women Arts Conference. She takes the gifting of feathers seriously and I was grateful to receive a beautiful feather fan from her as we began our visit. IESTOHSERANON:NHA: To be really, really truthful – it is friendship making, it's relationship making. And I don't give them to many people but when I do it's because someone has touched me in a way and given me time in a way that I never expected them to. And so my first response is to share that medicine with them because that is important medicine that I think that people forget about. It's that flight and that connection to Sky World. AUNTIE: I feel a particular connection with Iehstoseranón:nha – whose name means “she keeps the feathers” because my name – Kahstoserakwathe – means Bright Feather – can you hear the similar Mohawk root word for feather - oshstòseri - in our names? It's all about the feathers. We are Yetinistenha ne Tekaronkyakánere – the Aunties Dandelion and we're sending a big wa'tkwanonhweráton to the Indigenous Screen Office – teyonkhiwihstekénha – who are providing us financial support for the third year in a row. And can you do us a big favor by liking and sharing our episodes – and subscribe to our feed on your favorite platform. It goes a long way to help us bring stories of Indigenous changemakers your way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In residential treatment programs by far the most effective way to train direct-care staff in how to effectively care for the kids and to provide counseling is through on-the-job coaching and individual supervision.  However, there's a lot of very real barriers to providing quality supervision. The nature of the work, especially at more intensive programs, means that there is a high frequency of behavior-problems on the residential unit.  This drives staff toward a short-term focus on getting through the shift, or perhaps through the week, with as few safety issues as possible.  The kids needs are essentially infinite and supervisory staff easily get pulled into intervening with the children and youth and just trying to provide all the care they need. The first managerial challenge to providing quality supervision involves carving out the time for a supervisor and a direct care staff person to regularly meet in an office, away from the kids.  I advocate for staff responsible for unit supervision to devote at least four hours per week to providing individual supervision.  The best way to do that is to delegate as many routine administrative tasks to direct care staff as is possible.  The best way to achieve that level of delegation is to clearly define unit coordinator and other roles.  This approach both frees up time for unit supervisors to provide coaching and supervision, and provides real training to direct care counselors in how to organize and implement various components of the residential program, from keeping track of hygiene supplies, to designing and scheduling activities, to planning birthday celebrations, and hundreds of other necessary parts to running a quality residential treatment unit.  

Episode 44 of the Becoming Centered podcast presents the third installment of the Processing Pathway, covering the technique known as "chaining."  Chaining is a great way to add a visual element to cognitive processing.  It lays out a series of links representing a chain of behaviors and feelings that led to a child or youth having to be separated from their peers.  Once the sequence of links has been clarified, the key link that represents a realistic "choice point" is identified.  This link represents the point in the sequence where the client could have made a different choice that likely would have resulted in a better outcome.  Typical choice point behaviors include things like, asking for a check-in, asking to take space, or using some established coping mechanism.  An explanatory handout and illustration is available at https://www.bearclanllc.com/podcasts/the-processing-pathway/.  

Episode 43 of The Becoming Centered Podcast is the second episode in the Processing Pathway series.  This episode introduces a 4-question outline for formal cognitive processing.  Basically, the four parts include helping the child or youth to take responsibility for the behaviors that resulted in their being separated from their peers; identify at least some of the feelings that drove the probelm-behaviors; identify how those behaviors might have impacted peers and staff around them; and identify a possible plan for how to handle things better in the future.  One size doesn't fit all, and there are several factors covered that will change how much detail and how much time a counselor should devote to processing with a client.  There are also some general goals of processing presented to the listener, that also apply for informal cognitive processing (that doesn't use a written form and likely only covers some of the outline of formal processing). Perhaps the most over-arching goal of cognitive processing is to help kids become more thoughtful human beings (who think before simply reacting to their own emotional states).  There are several supporting goals of processing that are covered in this episode that can also be found in handouts available at https://www.bearclanllc.com/podcasts/the-processing-pathway/.    

Episode 42 of the Becoming Centered Podcast is the first episode on the Processing Pathway.  Processing involves a structured approach to helping children and youth to mentally process their incidents of problem-behaviors.  This episode introduces the concept of there being different ways that different parts of the brain process sensory data, personal experience, and the communications received from the other parts of the brain.  This can result in various parts of the brain experiencing different types of confusion after a significant incident of problem-behaviors.  Processing is intended to clear up that confusion.  It's intended to help kids become more thougtful people who think before they automatically react to their own strong feelings with extreme behaviors.   This is achieved through leading kids, once they are generally calm, through a structured process of analyzing their own incidents.  In formal processing, there's typically a written form that guides children and youth through a meaningful way to understand an episode of problem-behaviors.  The formal approach focuses on four goals:  having kids own their own problem-behaviors, identifying feelings that drove those behaviors, identifying how those behaviors may have impacted people around them, and developing a plan for handling themselves better in the future.  Residential Treatment Programs are encouraged to require formal processing, at a level appropriate for each individual child, for incidents involving serious problem-behaviors such as violence, major threats, and major disruptions.    Informal processing typically doesn't use a form but has the same general goals.  Informal processing makes sense for less significant problem-behaviors like instigating and refusing to follow basic program expectations.  Informal processing is likely to be conducted only on a verbal level, and the counselor uses their judgement to decide how many of the four processing goals will be a focus of the conversation.     

Episode 41 of the Becoming Centered Podcast kicks off season 2 of this effort to spread knowledge about professional residential treatment of children and youth.  This season is organized into two different educational pathways, mirroring consulting work being done. The Processing pathway is all about how to help kids process their own use of problem-behaviors.  Typically, their own incidents and experiences leave parts of their brains confused about what has happened.  They will come up with some way to understand, but often times their framing of what led to their misbehaviors doesn't support positive character development and increased self-regulation.  With structured guidance from staff, they can learn how to understand their own patterns of behaviors in a way that leads to increased self-control and self-regulation of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. The Unit Supervision pathway starts with a focus on how to create the time for all direct-care staff to receive several hours of individual supervision each month.  It then moves on to how to structure the supervision time and then what content to cover in supervision.  It presents a combination of management training and techniques, tools, and perspectives for how to teach counseling skills.  This pathway recognizes that in-service trainings, and podcasts, are not the most effective way to promote professional development among residential staff.  Rather, in-the-moment coaching and regularly individual supervision sessions are, by far, the most effective way to raise the skill levels and performance of direct-care staff.  This series will focus on the management and counseling skills needed to provide quality individual supervision. This episode also presents a couple concepts for residential staff to consider.  The first is the distinction between providing Care and providing Treatment.  The second is a way to distinguish between providing Counseling and providing Therapy. While the podcast episodes will continue to be available on most podcast hosting sites, this season's episodes will tend to have more written support materials that listeners can download from the www.BearClanllc.com website Podcast page.  

In this extremely informative panel edition of the 805UNCENSORED, we hosted several amazing indigenous speakers from different backgrounds and nations. We spoke about decolonization, landback, matriachal societies and feminism, and much more. Panelists: Simona Bearcub (She/They) is a Two-Spirit Afro-Indigenous anarchist, who is a member of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, and is tired of settler-colonialism BS. She feels no need or desire to list an accolades in an attempt to lend credibility to her own lived experiences and voice. Her bio should only have to read, "Give the land back." Jenn Bearcat (She/Her): Newe-Numa (Shoshone-Paiute) from so-called Northern Nevada currently residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She's a third generation land defender with a healthy respect for a diversity of tactics and a healthy distrust of the state. She contributes to a network of organizers and frontline defenders confronting issues surrounding colonization. Marianne Parra, an enrolled member of hi stok'oy hil xus Chumash cultural circle, also the co-chair and communications director. I have a background in healthcare and attended school for alcohol and drug counseling/mental health, LVN bridge.My grandmother was a Chumash plant medicine woman , I learned many things from her and have extended my knowledge of ethnobotany and herbalism. Some of my hobbies are hiking ancestral territories, Chumash basket weaving and Chumash language reclamation.  Mama Julz(She/Her) Oglála Lakota ("They Scatter Their Own.")- Founder of Mother's Against Meth Alliance. Land defender, water protector, takes on pipelines. Tala (She/Her) Tala Tootoosis is a 41yr old single mother of 4 from Sturgeon Lake First Nation Saskatchewan, in Treaty 6 Territory. Her tribal background is Plains Cree, Nakota Sioux and Haudenosaunne, Bear Clan from Akwesasne New York. She has been a Motivational Speaker for recovery from addictions and sober from Crystal meth for 21 years. She holds a BISW (bachelor of Indigenous Social Work Degree), has been an addictions counsellor and mental health therapist in her past career jobs. She is currently doing her masters at Blue Quills University and will be finished 2024 most confidently. She is a recent author and published a book titled “The Awakening of a Kokum Spirit In A Young Woman” with Eagle speaker publishing, a book she took down from the shelves but will be republishing. She is a poet and does spoken word performances as well as also been published in the book blood memory with the indigenous poets society. In the year 2013 she received the award for being a Future 40 under 40 winner. In 2007 she was given the Gold Eagle role model of the year award from her First Nation Sturgeon Lake. She is the founder of the Kokum Scarf Campaign promoting awareness of MMIR and creating awareness of Indigenous resiliency. She has developed a ribbon skirt workshop that has been posted on YouTube for many have learned from and it has created a platform to initiate dialogue around rape culture and advocacy for sexual assault victims.Her work as a seamstress, social worker, speaker, poet and writer are all platforms she utilizes to help she end out her message of healing and empowerment. She hopes that in sharing her message of hope in any aspect will help one person to see they have the power and choice to change their life and grow from their struggles . If you have any questions please feel free to contact Tala Tootoosis at inspiredndn@mail.com As always, the 805UNCENSORED is on all the major social media and podcast platforms. Questions/Comments/Guest Suggestions/Episode Ideas? Email: 805uncensored@gmail.com or DM on IG @805uncensoredpod Beadwork on image by Boujee.Indigenous Thank you for listening!

Psychological Debriefing is a technique for reducing the impact of traumatic stress after a neurologically intense experience.  On a neuropsychological level that experience could be anything that triggers a release of certain hormones such as cortisol (known as “the stress hormone”) and adrenaline.  On a behavioral level that typically includes situations such as being involved in a physical intervention, being exposed to aggressive posturing, being yelled at, or really any situation that triggers significant danger signals in your body.  Exactly what moves a person significantly out of their comfort zone is going to differ from person to person based on individual physiology and psychology.  Exposure to traumatic stress does not automatically result in serious mental health conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  However, traumatic stress has a cumulative effect and can trigger pre-existing PTSD.  Symptoms of PTSD include: Aggressive or emotional outbursts Nightmares and/or flashbacks Heart palpitations, trembling hands, or sweating A sense of self-blame, worthlessness, shame, or guilt Acute or chronic unexplained physical pain Avoidance of people, things, or situations related to traumatic event Jumpiness Difficulty with sleep, eating, or physical intimacy Digestion disruptions Weakened immune system Low mood Headaches Social isolation Feeling empty or hopeless Loss of interest in activities Irritability Distrust of others or the world Dissociation The symptoms of traumatic stress are less extreme.  However, because stress is stored in the body, impacting all sorts of neurological and physiological regulatory systems, it's important to take steps to reduce its impact on staff.  There's something about being exposed to intense negative experiences that parts of the brain have great difficulty processing.  Typically, during such incidents the parts of the brain that are responsible for your sense of time do not function at 100%.  Thus, an objectively short incident might feel like it was much longer and have a bigger impact on you.  Likewise, your ability to remember the exact sequence of what happened becomes impaired.  The result is that afterwards, there's parts of your brain that feel confused about what just happened. That sense of confusion can lead to perseverative thoughts.  So, as you commute home, you keep running the incident over and over again in your head.  Part of you is trying to process, to make sense of, what happened.  However, memories of intense situations are stored based on their emotional impact.  So, you start to feel emotional in thinking about what happened earlier, and that in turn impairs your ability to process it.  Round and round your thoughts go, without any real resolution.  In the meantime, the stress builds up, and is stored, in your muscles and nervous system, eventually impacting your immune system and other regulatory mechanisms in your body. One of the most effective and practical ways to lessen that effect is through the regular use of Psychological Debriefing. There's four things that help reduce the impact of traumatic stress. Overwriting the emotional load of the traumatic memories. Clarifying the sequence of events.   Feeling cared for and respected. Use of self-centering techniques. Neuropsychological research supports practice-wisdom suggesting that the exact timing of debriefing doesn't matter, in terms of its effectiveness.  Sometimes, it can be done right after an incident.  However, it also works to reduce the impact of traumatic stress even hours later.  Nevertheless, as a rule of thumb, it's best if Psychological Debriefing can occur before the shift ends.  Otherwise, perseverating, repeatedly running through what happened in your own head, tends to reinforce the traumatic emotions tied to the memory.  You can try to debrief outside of work, but you'll soon learn that family and friends can't really relate to what you're describing and are left simply questioning why you would do such work in the first place! Instead, what's most helpful is to have a fellow staff person, ideally a shift leader or supervisor, but really it can be any staff person, simply attentively listen as you describe what happened.  Overwriting the emotional load of traumatic memories: When you describe, in a relatively calm fashion, what happened in a stressful incident, you begin the process of overwriting the emotional load of traumatic memories.  Essentially what's happening in your brain is that you are taking the memory of the stressful event, with it's intense emotional load, and overwriting that memory with a new memory of describing the incident to someone else, with a much reduced emotional load. In this way, some of the emotional power, the sting, of the memory is reduced.  Later, recalling what happened is less likely to trigger the intense emotions originally experienced.  Instead, that recall is tempered by the memory of calmly describing what happened to a colleague. To some extent, writing up the incident can serve the same purpose.  However, on an emotional level, the memory of calmly writing an incident report is not as powerful as a memory of verbally describing what happened.  Debriefing with an attentive colleague works best.  The key is that the description of what happened should, at least initially, focus on the behaviors and not on the staff person's emotions.  The idea is to be able to recount what happened while experiencing a relatively calm state-of-mind. Clarifying the Sequence of Events: Because the parts of the brain that keep track of time tend to get shut off during intense situations, the more cognitive parts of the brain can be left feeling somewhat confused about the exact sequence of events that took place.  Again, sticking to a description of the actions that occurred during the incident being debriefed can be helpful for restoring that sense of sequence which helps the person being debriefed feel more oriented and centered. It's not uncommon to debrief a group of people simultaneously who were all involved in some intense incident.  Often times some staff people will not have been aware of what was happening with others on the team.  Again, a review of that together is orienting and centering. It should be a clear expectation that shift leaders will debrief any critical incidents before sending staff home.  Debriefing can, sometimes, be done very briefly, in just a minute or two.  It can also be done as a small group, and sometimes can be blended with the writing of the incident report. Feeling Cared For and Respected: To some extent simply attentively listening to a staff person's description of what occurred will make them feel cared for and respected.  That has a huge impact on reducing the impact of traumatic stress. However, it may make sense to ask a few questions.  After incidents that involved physical intervention, it's helpful to ask the staff if anyone was hurt or injured.  Frequently, staff members will ignore minor scrapes and bruises that don't require medical attention.  However, being able to share these sorts of minor injuries has psychological / emotional benefit.  In some cases, staff will have become injured to an extent that should be reported and they need to be encouraged to do that follow through.  Sometimes a staff person will be embarrassed that they received some minor injury.  Normalizing that performing physical interventions are difficult can be helpful.  Likewise, sometimes a staff person is very unhappy about some aspect of their own performance during a physical intervention.  Again, normalizing that this is an extremely difficult part of the job can be emotionally supportive and helpful. Simply asking the staff person how they're doing can be helpful.  From a trauma mitigation perspective, their answer is less important than their experiencing being asked.  Having supportive teammates who care about your well-being is a huge trauma protective factor. As the debriefer, it is not your role to solve any problems, to brainstorm other things the staff person could have done in the incident, or to analyze the actions or motivations of the clients involved in the incident.  Instead, it is the debriefer's role to attentively listen and to be generally emotionally supportive.  Sometimes a staff person may be so emotionally impacted by an incident that follow up in individual supervision would be helpful.  Psychological Debriefing is intended to help, but is intended to be relatively brief.  Suggesting that a staff person bring up what happened in their next supervision may be good advice, or in some cases letting the person's supervisor know that some follow up would be helpful is part of being a caring and professional colleague. Use of Centering Techniques: The impact of traumatic stress can be greatly lessened by the use of various centering techniques.  Staff members should be encouraged to use these sorts of strategies to help manage their own stress.  Psychological Debriefing can reinforce the use these actions and of acquiring a sophisticated understanding of traumatic stress. Immediately after a traumatically stressful incident, it's helpful for staff to attend to their own basic needs.  Sometimes, it's helpful to be cued to do this by a colleague.  Basic needs include things like hydrating, using a bathroom, stretching a little, or perhaps taking a short break.  These things signal your body that the crisis is over and that your physiology can return to baseline. During Psychological Debriefing, the debriefer can ask if the incident took that staff person by surprise or was something they were able to partly anticipate.  Intense situations that occur without anticipation tend to be more traumatically stressful. Likewise, the debriefer can ask if the staff person felt that their training prepared them for the incident.  Feeling trained and some level of competence in an intense situation will tend to result in less traumatic stress being experienced.  Gaps in training can be brought to the attention of supervisors for future improved training. Asking the staff person about their own body awareness during the incident can be helpful.  Maintaining an awareness of your own muscle tension, breathing, heart rate, and other internal reactions can help you feel in control and can reduce the impact of the traumatic stress. Asking the staff person if they felt supported by their teammates during the incident can also be helpful.  Many times the staff person will report that they did feel supported and their recognition of that will help to lessen some of the lingering effects of the traumatic stress.  If a staff person didn't feel supportive, that's important information for the rest of the team and for supervisors so that teamwork improvements can be made. There are numerous relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness exercises that can be helpful after exposure to traumatic stress.  Staff members should be taught some of these techniques and encouraged to use them after being exposed to traumatic stress. 

Coping Activities Diversions – any hobby or activity that engages your attention.        Writing, drawing, painting, crafts        Listening to music, playing an instrument, singing, dancing, acting        Gardening        Taking a walk, or going for a drive        Watching television or a movie        Guided Imagery Meditations        Playing a game        Shopping        Reading       Taking a break or vacation Tension Releasers         Going on a walk        Exercising        Breathing Exercises        Playing sports        Systematic Muscle Relaxation        Playing a musical instrument        Taking a hot shower or bath        Eating a little chocolate        Crying        Laughing        Singing   Organizing Tasks – any activity that involves ordering things.        Cleaning        Organizing your environment        Putting things away        Sudoku, Crossword puzzles, Jigsaw puzzles        Update your calendar       Outline the steps in a project Cognitive Coping Skills        Making lists (Pro-Con, Goals, Ideas)        Brainstorming solutions        Managing your expectations        Considering an inspirational quote        Being flexible        Consciously changing your attitude        Rewarding yourself for successes        Analyzing a situation       Reframing a problem to be an opportunity Social or Interpersonal Coping Strategies         Talking to someone you trust        Writing a note to someone you care about        Spending time with friends or family        Serving someone in need        Caring for or play with a pet        Role-playing challenging situations with others       Encouraging others Physical Maintenance Strategies        Getting enough sleep        Eating healthy foods        Getting into a good routine        Limiting caffeine and alcohol        Taking medication as prescribed        Deep / slow breathing   Limit Setting        Dropping some activities if you're over-extended        Setting boundaries and saying "no"        Prioritizing important tasks        Scheduling time for yourself       Being assertive to the demands of others Spiritually Fulfilling Activities         Praying        Meditating        Enjoying nature        Getting involved in a worthy cause       Experiencing appreciation or gratitude   Negative Coping Actions Diversions        Procrastination – putting off important tasks        Misusing drugs or alcohol as self-medicating       Wasting time on unimportant tasks Tension Releasers        Tantrums        Throwing things at people        Hitting people        Yelling at others        Destroying property       Speeding or driving recklessly Social or Interpersonal Strategies        Blaming others        Isolating or withdrawing        Mean or hostile joking        Putting down others behind their back        Criticizing others to their face        Manipulating others        Refusing help from others        Lying to other people        Sabotaging other people's plans        Being late to appointments        Provoking violence from others       Enabling others to take advantage of you Physical        Suicidal Gestures        Self-harm        Excessive exercise        Developing illnesses       Abusing drugs or alcohol Over-Indulging        Spending too much        Gambling        Eating too much       Continually crying Cognitive Strategies        Denying any problem        Stubbornness or inflexibility        All or nothing, black or white, thinking        Blaming yourself and others        Catastrophizing        Unproductive Repetitive Thoughts        Hiding or Burying Your Feelings        Withdrawing or Isolating       Name-Calling Self-Diminishing        Making excessive fun of yourself        Self-sabotaging behaviors        Blaming yourself        Thoughts and behaviors that suggest that you deserve to feel bad or overwhelmed  

In keeping with some recent outreach events and SMA programming, Your Main Man and Sifu Alan discuss the always-riveting task of teaching kids. From Pre-K to late teens, to adults who behave like kids, teaching our Younglings and Padawans is a privilege but also requires a dedicated passion and a sense of import. And humor (lots of it). Thank you for Subscribing and Sharing! The Official Website of SMAFollow SMA on InstagramSubscribe to SMA on YouTubeStrategicon, Gamex, Saber May-hemOrder an Official "SMA Duelist" Jersey!

The Aspect Compass, part of the Meta-Compass Model, divides areas of the brain and aspects of the psyche into four parts called:  The Artist, The Scout, The Warrior, and The Chief. The Artist represents those parts of the brain and psyche that understand the world in terms of emotions.  The Artist communicates, in terms of feelings and moods, to the rest of the brain.  Helping The Artist feel centered involves making The Artist feel heard and seen.  Creative arts activities can be emotionally centering activities.  Co-Regulating with others and Experiencing empathy from others is especially centering.  Empathic Listening is a great technique for helping clients to experience empathy. The Scout represents those parts of the brain and psyche that are tasked with exploring the world, trying to make sense of it, and reporting back to the rest of the brain.  The Scout tends to over-analyze and can become very disorganized (in other words, thinking becomes disorganized).  Having clients exercise the Scout skills of Accurate Listening and Accurate Reporting are centering for this part of the psyche.  Listening Checks are an effective tool for teaching Accurate Listening.   Teaching Accurate Reporting often times involves using Clarifying Questions to help them describe a full sequence of events in the proper chronological order.  It includes encouraging kids to report whatever happened in a calm tone of voice (exercising Reaction Inhibition and Stress Tolerance).  Having kids Identify More Than One Possible Explanation for why something has occurred or someone has done something helps them exercise the executive skill of Flexibility. The Warrior represents those parts of the brain and psyche that are in charge of both external behaviors and internal physiological actions.  If The Warrior is heightened, it is very difficult for the Scout to function (in other words, if a kid is still agitated they're not going to be able to access their best thinking).  The Warrior tends to automatically react (especially internally) to whatever The Artist is communicating.  So to help The Scout improve at processing events, The Warrior and The Artist need to first be relatively calm. The Chief represents those parts of the brain and psyche that are in charge of regulating The Artist, The Scout, and The Warrior.  The Chief uses Executive Skills (and some other abilities such as Beliefs and Values) to influence a person's feelings, thinking, and behaviors.  Processing is a technique designed to strengthen a kid's inner Chief and inner Scout.  It can be done throughout the residential day, but especially makes sense to use after an incident involving problem behaviors.  Once a kid has been separated from the group and has generally calmed down, Processing provides a structured way to turn what happened into a learning experience.  Processing is customized to the developmental level of the client.  Some clients may only do the first step of processing, while other clients are capable of doing much more. 1.      The first step in Processing an incident is to get the client to own up to their own behaviors.  That's literally admitting to having done what problem behaviors resulted in their being separated from the group.  This is best done without evoking feelings of shame and guilt.  Those feelings get in the way of cognitive processing.  In other words, those feelings make it harder to the kid to think about what happened and to learn from it. 2.      The second step in Processing is done with clients who developmentally are able to identify some feelings and/or thoughts that were part of the problem behavior incident.  The goal is the same as step 1 – to get the kid's inner Chief to accept Responsibility for their own behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. 3.      The third step in Processing, to the extent the client is developmentally able, is to help them identify what they could have done differently and what they could do next time a similar situation arises. 4.      The fourth step switches from a focus on personal responsibility to looking at Social Responsibility.  This step involves having the kid identify what impact they think their behaviors had on people around them. 5.      The fifth step moves beyond verbally accepting Responsibility to performing some action related to Relationship Repair.  That might be a simple verbal apology, an apology card, or might be a Restitution such as beautifying a space, doing an extra chore that benefits others, or any other symbolic gesture showing that they want to be a positive member of the group.  Restitution systems can be a powerful structure within a residential treatment program but need to be designed for a general level of consistency.  The basic rationale behind Restitution is that you did something that made it more unpleasant for other people to live and work here; so now do something that makes it more pleasant for others.  This is largely a symbolic action and shouldn't take more than 10 to 15 minutes (in general).  It provides kids with a great sense of closure that an incident has been resolved and that they can get a fresh start. 6.      The sixth step goes even further in holding kids accountable to their living group, by having them review their processing with a group of peers and staff in a Group Explanation.  The main purpose of the group is for the client to publicly accept responsibility for their own problem behaviors and to check the accuracy of their thoughts on how they impacted others.  Two to five peers, who've been coached in some boundaries on giving feedback, then share how they were actually impacted and potentially give some constructive advice.  It takes a certain level of skill to facilitate a Group Explanation group; however, this skill can be learned by any residential staff.  Setting  up a Group Explanation system requires programmatic support so that this extremely powerful intervention is run in a consistent and productive fashion.  If a physical Processing Form is used, that paper can serve as a helpful guide for a client to present at a Group Explanation.  It can work well to have some restriction on privileges in place until a client completes any Relationship Repair / Restitution or Group Explanation expectations.

Executive Skills are abilities that part of the brain can develop that used to regulate other parts of the brain.  There's two Executive Skills that describe ways that the emotional parts of the brain are regulated. Reaction Inhibition is the ability to stop yourself from automatically reacting.  More specifically, it's the ability to stop the action-focused parts of the brain, what I call the inner Warrior, from mindlessly reacting to the emotions being communicated by the parts of the brain I call the inner Artist.  Your body will have internal behaviors in reaction to every feeling you have.  However, developing Reaction Inhibition means not externally acting out every feeling.  It means giving yourself a split second to think before acting. Stress Tolerance is the ability to sit with various emotions without acting them out.  It's the ability to experience feelings, even potentially strong feelings, without becoming so overwhelmed that you can no longer think straight.  Kids in residential treatment have had difficult lives and their emotional states reflect that.  As a counselor, you can't change their past and you can't “fix” their feelings.  What you can do is help them develop their ability to tolerate their own feelings in a way where they continue to be able to make thoughtful choices about their behaviors. There's several executive abilities that help you control, modulate, and regulate your thoughts. Planning is being able to map out how to reach your goals or complete a task.  It includes being able to make decisions about what to focus on and what's not so important.  Like other skills, exercise / practice leads to development.  So cue your clients to plan ahead, to think about what's next on the schedule and how to prepare for it.  This isn't developed through the creation of large multi-day complex tasks.  Instead, it's developed through the everyday little changes in the schedule that can be done thoughtfully instead of mindlessly. Prioritizing is being able to weigh two or more different choices and then picking one.  Again, it's exercised through all the small decisions – it's teaching kids to make thoughtful choices.  Organizing is creating and maintaining systems to keep track of information or materials.  It doesn't matter what you're having kids organize – whether it's their bedroom, their backpack, an activity, or putting away toys.  The act of organizing exercises their inner Chief. Sustained Attention is being able to maintain your attention despite distractibility, fatigue, or boredom.  There'll be large differences among kids in their ability to do this, and for any one kid it can be different at different times.  However, it's like a muscle – when you inspire kids to pay attention a little bit longer, a little bit better than what comes naturally to them – they will get better at it. Time Management is being able to estimate how long various tasks will take, and how to stay within time limits and deadlines.  This is a part of the Chief's self-monitoring ability; however, it's directed outward (at the passage of time) rather than inward.  Having kids be aware of how much time is left in an activity, of when another part of the schedule is due to begin, or how long it takes to complete various tasks, exercises their inner Chief and will contribute to the Chief becoming better at self-regulation.  Task Initiation is being able to begin projects without undue procrastination, in an efficient and timely fashion.  In general, most kids are not great at task initiation and living in a residential program can actually make that situation even worse.  Typically, there's a lot more structure and there's a whole bunch of adults to cue kids to start various tasks.  It's easier to just wait for someone else to tell you what to do or how to start.  However, like other skills, it's through practice that kids get better at task initiation.  So, as a counselor, ask questions like “What needs to happen to start this activity?”, rather than just telling kids what to do. Flexibility is being able to revise plans and adapt to changed circumstances.  Residential treatment can become so structured that it becomes inflexible.  That's not helpful for developing thoughtful kids.  So, encourage some amount of flexibility in the how kids think and in how they act.  Typically, there's plenty of disruptions to the usual routine, so there's lots of opportunities to encourage and praise flexibility.  Self-Awareness is being able to monitor yourself in real time.  This skill involves having one part of your mind that is observing other parts of your mind that are generating and experiencing feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.  Self-Awareness is the foundational skill for a person being able to take charge of their own brain.  Labeling is a great technique for increasing Self-Awareness and for helping clients become more thoughtful people.  Labeling can be thought of as narrating what kids are doing as they're doing it – sort of play-by-play announcing.  Another way to think of this technique to imagine the a snapshot of what a kid is doing and the labeling is the descriptive caption underneath the picture. There's variations on the labeling technique, but in its purest form it can be thought of as labeling observable behaviors.  This is done without any judgmental tone, without praise or criticism.  It's simply stating what you see kids doing, in-the-moment.  It's probably the single tool that should be used the most by Residential Counselors. You can combine labeling with praise, although that's going to be less targeted at increasing self-awareness, but might be better at increasing self-esteem.  You can also label behaviors in a way that intended to promote social skills or character development. You can also label feelings – however, keep in mind that most people don't like being told by someone else how they feel.  So when labeling feelings, it's generally best to do it in the form of a question.  The goal of that question is to increase the client's self-awareness, not to solve some problem.  Finally, one of the most powerful uses of labeling is to use it instead of directives or directly setting limits.  Labeling can be a really powerful way to get kids to be thoughtfully cooperative rather than mindlessly compliant.

Posture:  The parts of the brain that control the physical body (the inner Warrior) and the parts of the brain that operate in terms of emotions (the inner Artist) are tightly linked in the brain.  Changes in one automatically trigger changes in the other.  So, getting kids to become more aware of their posture, and to habitually adopt good posture, supports being in a positive emotionally state-of-mind.  The art is being able to frequently help kids improve their posture without it becoming obnoxious.   Co-Regulation:  When you synchronize your nervous system and a client's nervous system.  This is most easily done through high energy activities such as playing an active game together; however, it can also happen in quieter moments such as watching something engaging together.  When kids co-regulate with a relatively organized adult, they are exercising the same parts of their brain that are involved in self-regulating.  If they get skilled enough at self-regulation, they still may require treatment, but would no longer need to receive that treatment in an institutional setting. Empathic Listening:  The goals of Empathic Listening are two-fold.  The first is to create a co-regulating experience for the client.  The second is to leave the client feeling like their feelings are understood by you.  That's the heart of empathy – being able to feel what another person is feelings.  There's seven steps to Empathic Listening: 1. Mirroring – match the client's general body language and speech (speed and tonality).  Slightly lead the client toward lower and slower physiology and speech. 2. Intense listening – use body language, gestures, and small verbal cues to convey that you are intensely listening.  One “trick” you can use to help yourself slip into conveying intense listening is to speak and carry yourself as if you were trying to memorize what the client is saying. 3. Ask clarifying questions in a non-judgmental fashion – convey that your interest is in understanding the client.  Do not just repeat what the kid has said; rephrase the highlights or key points, taking care to not distort the meaning.      a.       Can I just clarify?  You're saying that …      b.      Am I understanding you correctly; you're saying…      c.       Let me make sure I've got this right; you're saying …      d.      A lot of times people use the same word a little differently.  What do you mean by… 4. Focusing on emotions – ask clarifying questions to inspire the client to share the emotional content of what they're saying.  Take care to not tell kids how they are feeling.  Often times, adopting an air of curious confusion can be helpful for getting kids to elaborate on their emotions.  Adopting a non-judgmental tone is again crucial.  Remember, feelings don't have to be logical, they just are.  You're trying to get the client to talk about their feelings.      a.       When you said that made you “angry”… what do you mean by that?  Is that something you feel in your body?      b.      When you say you're “upset”… I'm not sure I really know quite what you mean?  Help me understand better….      c.       When you say “it's unfair,” I could kind of guess at what exactly you mean, but I don't really want to guess.  Could you explain that? 5. Avoid problem-solving – it can be incredibly tempting to steer the conversation into problem-solving.  Don't do that.  That shifts the kid from speaking from an emotional place to using the more analytical parts of the brain.  That's a key point of Processing, which is a separate tool, from Empathic Listening.  The goal of Empathic Listening is to create a sense of connection and a therapeutic alliance.  It's much more powerful, and in most situations more therapeutic, to simply leave the client with a feeling of being understood, and sitting together with the feelings, than thinking that your role is to help them solve some problems. 6. Avoid the “empathizing equals agreeing with” trap – sometimes an Empathic Listening session can include a kid complaining about other adults.  It is wise to be explicit that while you think you understand what they're saying, that doesn't necessarily mean that you agree with their characterizations of others.  Done skillfully, if you've established a rapport, this distinction will be accepted by kids without breaking the rapport you've established. 7. Plug the client back into program structures – while it's not necessarily “wrong” to end an Empathic Listening session with Problem Solving, that can take away from the power of the Empathic Listening.  Instead, it is often times preferable to end the session by acknowledging that the emotional issues that were shared are not something that can be solved, and then directing / assisting them to engage in whatever scheduled structures are currently the group's focus (e.g. “I really appreciate you sharing some really difficult feelings with me; I hope on some level you also found that helpful.  I think the best thing to do now is to switch gears to the schedule, which right now would be bed prep.”).  

The vertical axis of the Seven-Directions Meta-Compass Model, represents the core functions involved in caring for children who are literally placed in the care of a residential treatment program.  The Upward direction (Relationships) involves all the activities a Residential Counselor does to care for the kids.  These are things that have to happen simply because the clients are children, regardless of whatever individual treatment issues a client presents.  The Downward direction (Task Responsibilities) involves all the tasks involved in caring for the kids, caring for the facility, and being an employee.  The Inward (Self) direction involves caring for oneself, so that you have the energy to care for the kids.  Although there's an overlap between Care and Treatment; the horizontal plane of the compass represents four aspects of treatment involved in being a residential counselor. The East cardinal position represents the domain of emotions.  It's symbolized by the aspect of The Artist.  The Artist is made up of those parts of the brain and psyche that only process the world and communicate in terms of emotions.  That's how those parts of the brain work.  The South cardinal position represents the domain of cognitions.  It's symbolized by the aspect of The Scout.  Unlike The Artist, The Scout possesses lots of words and engages in thinking, analysis, and has a purpose of exploring the world, interpreting what it finds, and reporting back to the rest of the brain. The West cardinal position represents the domain of behaviors (both external actions and internal physiological actions).  It's symbolized by the aspect of The Warrior.  The Warrior expresses all The Artist's feelings and all the Scout's thoughts as external and internal behaviors.  The North cardinal position represents the domain of executive skills that are used to regulate the rest of the brain.  It's symbolized by the aspect of The Chief.  The Chief is concerned with centering The Artist, The Scout, and The Warrior.  The Chief regulates the tribe (the different parts of the psyche) and also is concerned with a person's relationships with other people (the external tribe).  The podcast delves into understanding the brain's functioning, emphasizing the practice effect wherein repeated actions reinforce neural pathways. It stresses the importance of fostering calm feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in children through positive experiences and repetition. The discussion outlines the interconnectedness of different aspects of the psyche: emotions (East), cognitions (South), behaviors (West), and executive skills (North). It highlights the role of residential staff in creating a therapeutic milieu and inspiring internal changes in children's brains to manage problem behaviors effectively. Respectful treatment is emphasized as essential for creating a therapeutic environment, contrasting coercive approaches that may yield short-term compliance but hinder long-term transformation. The episode concludes with a preview of forthcoming tools and techniques to help children achieve emotional centeredness, laying the foundation for further cognitive and behavioral growth. Other Key Concepts The Practice Effect:  Feelings, moods, and even thinking, work the same way in the brain as behaviors.  Whatever states-of-mind are practiced become easier to achieve.  Practicing becoming emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally centered will transform a person's brain. The Intensity Effect:  Intense feelings create lasting changes in the brain.  This is why a single traumatic incident, let alone the multiple traumas that are common among kids in residential treatment, have a lasting effect on the kids' brains (unless effective treatment occurs). Respect Doesn't Have to Be Earned:  In a treatment environment it's important that staff consistently treat the kids with respect.  It is likely that many of the kids will not consistently treat staff respectfully.  That makes being respectful to the kids a challenge that requires personal maturity and professionalism.  Kids experiencing the adults consistently treating them with respect will, over time, be a key component to the clients feeling safe enough and trusting enough to try new behaviors.  The Artist part of each child's psyche has a primal fear that the world is too harsh to survive.  Counselors will be most effective at treatment when they respect that fear and don't add to it with harsh interactions. Seeking Compliance is Behavior Management, not Treatment:  Sometimes kids in residential treatment exhibit such outrageous and unsafe behaviors that managing those behaviors has to take priority over treatment.  However, effective behavior management only trains kids in how to be successful within the artificial environment of an institutional setting.  Treatment involves transformational change that carries over to when kids are living back in the community.          

Cannon joins Barrel Roller and Marbles to discuss his club finally breaking through and winning the 2023 World Tournament at Greenfield Village. We also discuss how Roller has a creepy crush on his wife, the Lions, baby food uniforms and everything else. 

The Role of a Residential Counselor:  Care and Treatment CARE: Relationships:  A core responsibility is to attend to the care, well-being, and safety of the clients.  This requires caring and respectful relationships between staff and clients.   Self:  In order to take care of the clients, you have to be able to take care of yourself.  This work is very stressful and your ability to become centered will strongly effect your ability to help the kids become centered.   Task Responsibilities:  A Residential Counselor has numerous core tasks related to the implementation of program structures, care of the facility, and reporting requirements. TREATMENT: Emotions:  In the East cardinal position of the treatment compass, this domain represents the parts of the brain, and the parts of the mind or psyche, that understand the world and communicate in terms of emotions.  Part of a counselor's treatment role is to help clients become emotionally centered when their feelings and moods become too extreme, too intense, too unstable, or too restricted.  Cognitions:  In the South, this domain represents the parts of the brain and psyche that understand the world and communicate in terms of thinking.  Part of a counselor's treatment role is to help clients become cognitively centered when their thinking is disorganized. Behaviors:   In the West, this domain represents the parts of the brain and psyche that understand the world and communicate in terms of both external actions and internal physiological activity.  Part of a counselor's treatment role is to help clients become behaviorally and physiologically centered when their actions and bodies become too extreme or chaotic.  Executive Skills:  In the North, this domain represents the parts of the brain and psyche that regulate the other parts of the brain and body.  Part of a counselor's treatment role is to serve as the kids' executive skills, support their emerging skills, and inspire the development of their executive skills so that they can successfully self-regulate and no longer need residential treatment.     Self:  At the center of the treatment compass is the self.  In addition to needing to take care of themselves, so that they can care effectively for the kids, from a treatment perspective residential counselors need to be skilled at becoming centered themselves.  Those abilities, to be highly resilient and to set the tone, will help the kids learn how to become centered.  Other Key Concepts Counseling:  Where therapy is has a strong interest in helping people make connections between their past and present, and tends to directly focus on issues related to grief and trauma; counseling tends to be more focused on the present – on how the client is functioning in-the-moment. Neuropsychology:  Neurology is the study of the brain and nervous system.  Psychology is the study of the mind or psyche.  Neuropsychology studies and explains the connections between neurology and psychology.  The Human Brain:  This complex organ is made up of different parts that have unique shapes, functions, and ways of processing sensory data.  Likewise, different parts of the brain have different ways of communicating to rest of the brain.  Via the spine, nerve pathways, and blood vessels, the brain is connected to all the other parts of the body.  There are glands throughout the body that produce various chemicals that change how the brain functions.  Although only a metaphor, you can think of these chemicals as corresponding with feelings and moods, while the electrical system of the brain corresponds with thinking. The Practice Effect:  Anything you practice, your brain gets better at doing.  This not only applies to actions, like bouncing a ball, but to feelings and moods.  Practice getting angry and you'll more easily be able to get into that state-of-mind.  Practice being happy and you'll ore easily be able to get into that state-of-mind.  Co-Regulating:  This term refers to how two people who are doing the same activity, side-by-side, will start to synchronize their nervous systems.  Human Beings start out life dependent on co-regulation to manage their infant feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.  As those parts of the brain get used, the practice effect kicks in, and a person starts being able to better self-regulate. The Artist:  This is what I call the parts of the brain, and the parts of the psyche, that only understand the world and communicate in terms of emotions.  The Artist wants to be seen, and the artist wants to be heard.  The Artist communicates, via feelings and moods, to get its needs met, using the only “language” it has – emotions.      

Effective residential treatment for troubled children and youth depends upon teamwork among both staff and residents. The goal is to transform a group of struggling kids into a supportive team. Many kids in these programs crave friendship, which is often lacking due to their life challenges and the displacement of residential treatment. A major goal in treatment programs is to help the child and youth clients learn how to make and keep friends.  Residential treatment does a lot of that teaching through various group activities, including recreational, therapy-based, and house meetings. These gatherings require active participation from staff, beyond just facilitating. Staff members play roles like maintaining order, offering support to individual kids, and helping resolve conflicts. They also assist in therapeutic activities, like group explanations, where kids take responsibility for their actions and receive feedback. In recreational activities, staff involvement goes beyond observation. They engage as cheerleaders, referees, coaches, or announcers, aiming to boost kids' confidence and social skills. The concept of "therapeutic error" guides staff to adapt their participation level to the kids' abilities, fostering a positive experience for them. In therapy-based groups, staff provide support and modeling, helping kids manage their emotions and engage in the therapeutic process. While therapists lead these sessions, staff contribute by creating a supportive environment and assisting kids in staying focused. The most effective groups combine the role of the therapist in uncovering emotional pain with the role of the counselor in helping clients tolerate that pain.  Overall, effective residential treatment relies on staff members actively engaging in various group settings, contributing to the therapeutic process, and fostering a sense of teamwork and support among the residents. Staff involvement goes beyond facilitation; it involves actively participating in activities, providing support, and guiding kids towards positive interactions and growth.

This podcast mini-series aims to aid residential staff who find themselves supervising shifts and providing individual supervision for residential counselors. It explores various aspects of these roles through the Seven-Directions Meta-Compass Model. Each episode focuses on a cardinal direction, representing different perspectives. Episode one emphasized supportive supervision (East) and the role of the supervisor as teacher (South).  Episode two focused on coaching (West) and focused on teamwork (North). The current episode delves into the Upward perspective, addressing the relationship challenges of transitioning from peer to supervisor and maintaining professional boundaries.  The importance of refraining from participating in negative venting among staff and instead focusing on problem-solving and promoting teamwork is stressed. The supervisor must navigate new boundaries and ensure that relationships with colleagues remain professional. The podcast then shifts to the Downward perspective of task responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of checklists to keep track of various tasks, the importance of delegating effectively,  and potentially addressing personnel issues involving productivity, attendance, and conduct. Next, it explores the Inward perspective, emphasizing self-care and professional development for both supervisors and supervisees. It highlights the role of the supervisor in supporting staff well-being and facilitating their growth. Finally, it offers a model for conducting individual supervision meetings, incorporating elements from all cardinal directions. It suggests starting with emotional support, moving to teaching and coaching, and then addressing teamwork, engagement with clients, and any other issues specific to any one supervisee. The series concludes by acknowledging the complexity of the supervisor role and the transformative impact it can have on both staff and clients in a residential treatment setting. It emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and growth in this role.

What holds our bodies together? Yes, there are the biological components, such as the cells, fluids, fibers, but what about the bone-deep stuff, the histories, myths, aches, resolves? In “Our Bird Aegis,” poet Ray Young Bear evokes an adolescent eagle to show how this blend of the visceral, the inherited, and the self-made abides in each of us, no matter our form, wherever we go. Ray Young Bear is a Meskawi poet and fiction writer. He is the author of several books of poetry including, The Invisible Musician (Holy Cow Press, 1990), The Rock Island Hiking Club (University of Iowa Press, 2001), and Manifestation Wolverine (Open Road Media, 2015). Young Bear is also the author of two novels, Black Eagle Child: The Facepaint Narratives (University of Iowa Press, 1995) and Remnants of the First Earth (Grove Atlantic, 1996).Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.We're pleased to offer Ray Young Bear's poem, and invite you to read Pádraig's weekly Poetry Unbound Substack, read the Poetry Unbound book, or listen back to all our episodes.

In this podcast episode, looking at the role of the Residential Supervisor shifts to the perspective of the West cardinal direction in the Meta-Compass Model.  The West is the direction of behaviors, physiology, and for this podcast, especially is concerned with setting behavioral goals for supervisees.  It's suggested that setting behavioral goals be based on encouraging Residential Counselors to develop their own executive skills.  Focusing on executive skills, and using the language of executive skills, helps separate out asking supervisees to develop their professional skills, versus language that makes supervisees feel like their supervisor is judging their character or personal development. Thus the supervisor encourages specific behaviors in staff members that correspond with exercising executive skills such as reaction inhibition and stress tolerance, crucial for maintaining emotional control during challenging situations.  Likewise, the supervisor focuses on helping their supervisees improve their own planning, prioritizing, organizing, time management, initiation, and other cognitive executive skills.  This focus on executive skills development, and really breaking it down to the behaviors that demonstrate an exercising of these skills, continues with helping supervisees with their goal-directed persistence (highly relevant to the reality that a lot of residential interventions only work after hundreds of repetitions), their self-awareness (which is the foundation of self-directed development), and meta-cognition (which corresponds with understanding the “thinking” of the program – its philosophy, treatment approaches, etc.). The podcast then shifts to the North cardinal position perspective on the Meta-Compass.  The North, the domain of the Chief, is very concerned with teamwork and the well-being of their team-mates.  Guidelines are presented for effectively encouraging the development of a high-functioning team.  The Chief also has to, sometimes, set limits.  It falls on the supervisor to monitor staff interactions with both clients and colleagues to ensure safety and adherence to workplace laws and program policies, procedures, and practices.

This podcast aims to guide residential staff taking on the role of supervising a shift, emphasizing the complexities involved in managing a group of kids and supporting a team of direct care staff. The role of a Residential Supervisor involves overseeing shifts, and in some agencies includes providing one-on-one office-based supervision, which includes conducting performance appraisals, managing personnel issues, and facilitating communication between staff and management. To organize this wide-ranging topic, the 7-Directions Meta-Compass Model, inspired by Native American concepts, is used as a framework to explore different aspects of the supervisor's role. The East represents emotions, focusing on the importance of emotional support, resilience, and passion for leadership. Values associated with the East are Respect and Caring.  The Supervisor provides the staff team with executive functions, including Reaction Inhibition and Stress Tolerance.  This sets the tone for their using those same executive skills with the kids.  The importance of debriefing after intense experiences and fostering Stress Tolerance is highlighted. Moving to the South, which represents cognitions, the podcast emphasizes the role of the supervisor in imparting knowledge about program structures, schedules, behavior management, and treatment components. The Values associated with the South are Truth and Honesty. This episode delves into team-building, emphasizing the role of communication, feedback, appreciation, and celebration in developing a high-performing team. The Values associated with the South are Truth and Honesty. The Supervisor is responsible for providing the team with cognitive executive functions like Planning, Prioritizing, Organizing, Sustained Attention, Working Memory, Time Management, Task Initiation, and Flexibility. These functions are crucial for effective shift supervision. Upcoming episodes will explore the West, North, Upward, Downward, and Inward directions, covering behaviors, physiology, setting goals, relationships, tasks, and self-care. This mini-series provides guidance for Residential Supervisors, acknowledging the challenges and growth opportunities associated with the role.

This podcast episode presents a system for managing behavior problems, utilizing a variety of interconnected tools and techniques.  The concept of contagion is introduced, explaining how behaviors, feelings, and thoughts can spread among individuals. The importance of interrupting behavioral patterns is highlighted, particularly using a technique known as "pattern interrupts." These interrupts aim to prevent escalation and promote a return to baseline functioning.  A detailed example of a structural pattern interrupt is provided, involving a campaign to reduce swearing among middle-school boys in a residential cottage. The podcast suggests the use of three types of time-outs: Structured Centering Break, Independent Centering Break, and Resets. Each type serves as a therapeutic consequence for a lack of self-control, allowing individuals to practice coping activities and centering exercises. The importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs, avoiding shaming, and promoting consistency is emphasized. Additionally, the establishment of a clear Code of Conduct based on values is recommended, with examples provided. The distinction between major and minor violations of the Code is discussed, along with a range of staff responses to minor violations. The goal is to intervene effectively while minimizing disruption to the group and the activity. The podcast underscores the developmental importance of allowing individuals to progress from Structured Centering Breaks to Independent Centering Breaks and Resets. The ultimate aim is to empower clients to independently manage their behaviors and develop self-control, contributing to their growth and success outside the treatment program. Structured Centering Breaks, which are used for all instances where major violations of the Code of Conduct have occurred, include a processing of the incident that focuses on taking responsibility for one's actions and feelings, followed by a discussion on relationship repair, restitution, fines, group explanations, and executive skills development as ways to achieve higher responsibility levels. This episode also takes a look at the use of restrictions, differentiating between those related to safety concerns and those as direct consequences of problem behaviors. The goal is to frame restrictions in a way that aligns with program goals beyond punishment, connecting them to therapeutic and treatment-driven objectives.

This episode focuses on Beliefs as a powerful regulatory mechanism. Beliefs act as filters through which individuals perceive reality, and the host emphasizes the importance of consciously choosing beliefs. The key idea is that beliefs need not be evaluated based on their imagined truth, but on their usefulness and how well they serve an individual. Empowering and healthy beliefs can be consciously cultivated through two main strategies:  tasking your brain to find evidence supporting the new belief, and taking action as if the belief were already true. Twelve Transformational Beliefs are presented:   People are not their behaviors.   All behavior happens for a reason. People are my most valuable resource. Everything happens for a reason and somehow serves me. There's no such thing as failure, only unintended results. I can take responsibility for everything I impact. I don't have to completely understand something to use it. Work can be fun. Commitment and hard work makes for a better product. We're all works in progress. Intentions matter. We're all spiritual beings on a physical journey. Overall, the podcast encourages listeners to adopt empowering beliefs, actively seek evidence supporting them, and act in alignment with these beliefs for personal and professional growth.

This podcast episode is intended to increase your awareness of Self-Talk and how you can coach your clients to use more effective and healthier Self-Talk.  It uses the Aspect Compass (part of the Meta-Compass Model) to present different qualities of Self-Talk that appeal to the four cardinal aspects of your psyche called The Artist, The Scout, The Warrior, and The Chief. Using the Aspect Compass begins with the Artist (in the East), representing the domain of emotions.  As children explore the world, the Scout (in the South) emerges, making associations and developing thoughts. The Warrior (in the West) handles challenging behaviors, responding to emotional cues from the Artist and thoughts from the Scout.  Finally the Chief (in the North) emerges to coordinate and regulate the four aspects of your psyche.  The Chief uses executive skills, like Reaction Inhibition and Stress Tolerance, to regulate the Artist.  The Chief uses other executive skills, like planning, prioritizing, time management, and sustained attention to regulate the Scout. The Chief also regulates the Warrior with skills like goal-directed persistence, self-awareness, and meta-cognition. The Chief using Self-Talk, begins with caregiver messages early in life. The Chief internalizes this caregiver talk which turns into Self-Talk.  For the Artist, with its limited vocabulary, tone of voice and simple words work best.  On the other hand, The Scout responds best to coaching Self-Talk, which can be delivered in several different styles.  The Warrior parts of the brain and psyche also don't have a lot of vocabulary.  The Warrior responds best to Self-Talk that is simple, direct, and directive. Residential staff using the Labeling technique support the development of the clients' Chief aspect, which has to learn to monitor the other aspects, in other words to be self-aware of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.  Clients also benefit from increased awareness of negative Self-Talk.  The Scout parts of the brain are designed to come up with observations, theories, and beliefs that explain the world.  Asking yourself negative questions, like “Why am I so stupid?” will cause The Scout to look for explanations, evidence, and an answer.  That answer is not based on any kind of objective truth and is likely to be demoralizing, disempowering, and self-destructive. The skilled residential counselor models empowering self-talk and uses it for personal stress management. The Chief's Self-Talk encouraging you to perceive others as whole beings, to act with integrity, and to encourage kindness teaches clients to develop their own Self-Talk to manage their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. 

In this podcast episode, the focus is on aiding children and youth in residential treatment to develop executive skills, which are crucial for regulating emotions, thinking, and behavior. Developing residents executive skills is essential because it's their deficits in being able to regulate their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that accounts for why they need to live at a treatment program in order to receive services, instead of living in the community / with their families.  Executive skills begin developing in childhood but can be delayed or overwhelmed by environmental challenges, trauma, deprivation, insufficient parenting, or neurological conditions. The key to improving executive skills lies in practice, with the brain becoming more adept at whatever skills it regularly engages in. The podcast introduces 13 executive skills, two of which are primarily focused on regulating emotions, eight of which are primarily focused on regulating thinking, and 3 of which are focused on regulating behaviors.  Strategies are presented for developing reaction inhibition and stress tolerance, crucial for emotional regulation, include labeling and check-ins. Stress tolerance is further fostered through empathic listening, creative arts, journaling, and coping activities. Cognitive executive skills such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, sustained attention, time management, task initiation, working memory, and flexibility are explored. Practical techniques involve fostering autonomy in planning, using a choice model for prioritization, engaging in organizing tasks, and employing coping activities to enhance stress tolerance and several cognitive executive skills. Coping activities are divided into eight categories, including diversions, tension releasers, organizing tasks, cognitive coping skills, social coping skills, physical maintenance strategies, limit setting, and spiritually fulfilling activities. The podcast emphasizes the importance of teaching children positive coping activities while being aware of negative coping actions. Negative coping actions do work, in-the-moment, to help a person tolerate stress, however, they have longer-term self-destructive effects.  These are things such as drug use, self-injurious behaviors, over-eating, and blaming people and yourself. Lastly, the podcast touches on additional executive skills such as goal-directed persistence, self-awareness, and meta-cognition. It highlights the role of residential staff in supporting children to stick to goals, improve self-awareness through labeling, and encourage meta-cognitive thinking by exploring motivations and intentions. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive guide to helping children in residential treatment enhance their executive skills through intentional and practical interventions.

Rhonda shares her angelic visions and experiences working with angels. We also dive into her encounters within haunted homes (with a room that was mysteriously boarded up, a phantom ball that would unexplainably bounce down the stairs, and pictures that would fall down like clockwork). We also discuss pet telepathy, working within multiple spiritual modalities, fairyology, and the veil between our world and the Other World. Rhonda is a Mohawk of the Bear Clan, shamanic healer, 9th degree Reiki grandmaster, master Tarot reader, astrologist, medium, certified fairyologist, artist and author. --------- GUEST LINKS www.facebook.com/groups/thegoddessgarage/ www.YouTube.com/GoddessGarage Instagram: @goddessgaragecanada --------- Note: The views and opinions expressed by guests on the Spirit World Center Podcast do not necessarily represent those of the Spirit World Center or its staff. --------- SPIRIT WORLD CENTER LINKS Website: https://www.spiritworldcenter.com/ Instagram @spirit_world_center --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spiritworld/message

This podcast presents a system of eight values and fits them within the Meta-Compass Model.  This podcast explores the interplay between executive functions, values, and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health, offering a practical framework for understanding and fostering these aspects in individuals, particularly children and youth. Values, separate from Executive Skills, serve as a mechanism for your inner Chief to regulate the other cardinal aspects of your psyche, the Artist, the Scout, and especially the Warrior by providing boundaries for behaviors.  A values system is presented that is inspired by Native American traditions, particularly the Seven Gifts of The Grandfathers, which include Respect, Love, Truth, Honesty, Bravery, Humility, and Wisdom.  An eight gift, Integrity, is added to represent the Eight Gifts of The Elders. Each "gift" is associated with a specific direction on the Meta-Compass Model. For instance, the Gift of Respect, associated with the East, involves recognizing and attending to basic needs, fostering empathy, and countering the Fear-of-the-Cold. The Gift of Love, also in the East, is portrayed as a broad sense of caring, countering the Fear-of-Being-Alone. Other gifts, such as Truth and Honesty, are linked to the South and counter the Fear-of-The-Woods and Fear-of-the-Dark, respectively. The West represents the Gifts of Bravery and Humility, countering Fear-of-Animals and Fear-of-Water. The North encompasses the Gifts of Integrity and Wisdom, countering the Fear-of-Rot. A concrete code of conduct derived from the Eight Gifts, which turns each value into actionable behaviors, is available on the resources page of the website (www.BearClanllc.com). The episode wraps up with an original story titled "Buffalo and The Eight Gifts of the Elders."

This podcast builds off of the concept that, overall, our brains understand the totality of our life experiences as a story.  It's crucial for our mental health, and overall sense of becoming centered, to see ourselves as the hero of our own life-story.  This is the situation for children and youth in residential treatment.  Upon entering residential treatment, kids often feel at a low point, viewing their challenges as insurmountable. They need to become part of a classic story-line in which our young central character faces personal tragedy, separates from parents, finds mentors and friends, and undergoes growth to become the hero.  The key quality for the hero needs is courage. Actions in the face of dangerous situations can show bravery, with or without the significant presence of fear.  Courage, on the other hand, always involves facing fear.  There cannot be courage without fear.  A way to gain power over one's personal fears is to be able to talk about fear in a more generalized fashion.  This episode introduces the concept of the "Eight Fears of All Human Beings," placing them within the Meta-Compass Model used in other episodes of this podcast. These fears include the fear of the cold, being alone, the woods, the dark, animals, water, rot, and being judged. The discussion delves into each fear, its metaphorical meaning, and how addressing these fears both requires courage and nurtures courage. These fears can also be understood in the context of the developmental stages of life, cognitive processes, and behavioral responses. The goal is to empower clients in residential treatment to recognize their fears, recognize that they can face those fears with courage, and thus become more resilient.  By framing these fears as universal conditions, the counselor aims to create a non-judgmental space for kids to discuss their experiences and demonstrate courage in the face of adversity.

This podcast episode builds off of the concept of four different types of reasoning simultaneously performed by distinct parts of the brain. The inner Artist engages in Emotional-Reasoning, associating experiences with emotions. The inner Scout employs Magical-Reasoning, finding patterns and correlations to make sense of the world. The inner Warrior relies on Logical-Reasoning, basing actions on evidence and logic. The inner Chief, responsible for regulating the brain, uses Influencer-Reasoning, considering factors like relationships, authority, power, charisma, expertise, and fame. Despite the common perception of Logical-Reasoning's superiority, it's Emotional-Reasoning that often determines choices after weighing the different types of reasoning. The skilled residential counselor can help child-clients become more skilled at each of the four types of reasoning, and at blending the four types together to arrive at a richer understanding of how the world works.  Emotional-Reasoning can be improved by assisting clients with Affect-Labeling, which involves clients using words to describe their emotions, contributing to a calming effect on the brain. Other tools, such as Feelings Maps, Feelings Word Banks, and the Feelings Thermometer can help clients with Affect-Labeling.  Residential Counselors can nurture Magical-Reasoning in children, especially those on the autism spectrum, through copying games and pretend play. Magical-Reasoning is often times the basis of social principles and friendships. Logical-Reasoning can be helped along by teaching the use of pro-con lists, the scientific method, and activities that exercise executive functions such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, working memory, and flexibility. Influencer-Reasoning is addressed through positive role modeling and awareness of peer influence. The episode concludes by highlighting the importance of cognitive flexibility and practicing all four reasoning types for the developmental growth of children.

This podcast presents a way to understand the brain's ability to use reasoning to become cognitively centered.  Emotional centering involves regulating the intensity and switching between emotional states. Behavioral centering, particularly physiological centering, focuses on transitioning from extremes to a calm baseline. It's a little harder to understand the concept of becoming cognitively centered, but a good place to start is with a look at how the brain employs reasoning. A traditional dictionary definition of reasoning states that it has to be logical in nature.  However, reasoning is better understood as a broader action of figuring out reasons why the world is the way it is.  Early in life, before the parts of your brain that are capable of logical reasoning have sufficiently developed, parts of your brain understand the world in terms of emotions.  The Artist parts of your brain process sensory information as feelings and find patterns and associations between your experiences and your feelings. Your feelings and your Emotional-Reasoning evolve as you mature, accommodating more nuanced and contradictory feelings.  Emotional-Reasoning doesn't go away as your mature.  It's the only kind of reasoning that some sections of your brain are capable of doing.  Other parts of your brain, the more cognitively sophisticated parts I call The Scout, develop the ability to do Magical-Reasoning.  This develops out of experiencing correlations and connections between people, objects, and places, often based on imitation and symbolism. Magical-Reasoning also persists into adulthood, coexisting with Logical-Reasoning.  Magical-Reasoning becomes the basis for much of how you make sense of social situations and social rules. As your frontal cortex develops, Logical-Reasoning becomes better at moving beyond correlation and predicting cause and effect.  Logical-Reasoning takes more energy.  It doesn't take the place of Emotional- and Magical-Reasoning; instead it exists simultaneously in different parts of your brain.  The Chief parts of your brain, that specialize in regulating the rest of your brain and body, use yet a fourth type of reasoning that I call Influencer-Reasoning.  This type of reasoning guides you in who to copy and follow.  There's six sources of influence: Relationship, Authority, Power-Broker, Charismatic, Expert, and Fame influences. By blending the four types of reasoning, you'll become more centered.  You can also help your child-clients to become more skilled at using each of the four types of reasoning.  That's the focus of the next episode. 

Located inside the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center held its Grand Opening. Offering traditional Indigenous healing modalities and a variety hand crafted self-care products, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center supports local native artists and aims to bring Indigenous community members together in a safe space for healing. EmmaThis is Minnesota Native News I'm Emma Needham. This week, a new community wellness center opened in Saint Paul's East Side, bringing Indigenous people together in a safe space. Deanna StandingCloud reports. DeannaIt's a crisp November day on the East Side. The sun is shimmering into beautifully designed Dakota patterns through the storefront window; inside, two Indigenous women sip herbal tea and prepare for the grand opening of the Eagle & Condor Native Wellness Center, located within the Indigenous Roots Cultural Center. Maria Part of our prophecy is bringing that the eagle and condor would come back together, and we would have that flow of relationships that was no longer divided by the borders that have been set up through colonization. The eagle and condor are here, in this wellness space and that there's good medicine happening between all the communities.  DeannaMaria Morin McCoy is from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and has French Canadian, Irish and German descendancy. Her spirit name means “Filling up with light Thunderbird Woman” and she is from the Bear Clan. She has been learning about energy healing since the late 1990's and believes we have the innate superpower to heal our own bodies.  MariaA person has the wisdom inside of themselves to know what they need to do the healing work and I'm there to support that journey. We hold disease in our bodies and when given the opportunity, the body will begin to talk to us and let us know where the block are and how they can be released.  Deanna Maria owns Making Medicine and is committed to bringing healing techniques and plant medicine to her community. Her teachings and approach fit well with the vision of the Blue Hummingbird Woman or Tanagidan To Win, with whom she shares the new space. Tara Perron is a mother, author, and artist from the Lower Sioux Dakota community. Tanagidan To Win is her given Dakota name meaning Blue Hummingbird Woman. She shares with us how her vision became reality.  Tanagidan To WinBlue Hummingbird Woman started off when I started writing children's books in Dakota language & also the Ojibwe language. I worked with a Native American non-profit publisher and then it grew from there. I started writing all kinds of children's books and we started bringing our medicines to the public.   DeannaThe Blue Hummingbird Woman Indigenous Heart Medicine Gift Shop offers a variety of traditional healing and self-care products, including wild teas, tinctures, and salves. They also intentionally build up other independent Native artists and herbalists in the area by selling their merchandise in the store.   Tanagidan To WinI love bringing our Native entrepreneur gifts to the world. It is important to me that I get to uplift other artists that may have not have the space.  Deanna These two Indigenous women hold their traditional healing sacred and want to share that with the world. Along with Maryanne Quiroz, co-founder of the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, they collectively saw a need for a wellness center that could connect tribal nations from all across Turtle Island back to their traditional healing medicines. Tanagidan To Win, also known as Tara Parin, is a decent of White Earth Ojibwe as well, and she says this is a place for everyone. Ambient: Chatter (Ambient Audio 2)  Tanagidan To WinThis is a wellness center for all of us. This is our space, so it's open to everybody. If you need something, contact one of us. We will make it work however we can.  DeannaThe Grand Opening of the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center brought together elders and community members to share prayer, song, nourishing food, dance, and local shopping. Indigenous art, fashion, jewelry and native made works are avail available to the community.  For Minnesota Native News, I'm Deanna StandingCloud EmmaYou can find out more about Indigenous Roots at indigenous-roots.org and about Blue Hummingbird Woman at bluehummingbirdwoman.com. 

AUNTIE: Wa'tkwanonhweráton. Greetings, love, and respect from me to all of you. On this edition of The Aunties Dandelion we're visiting with Dr. Kahente Horn-Miller, a formidable Bear Clan educator from our Kanyenkehà:ka territory of Kahnawake. Kahente's name means she walks ahead - and she's the first Indigenous woman to receive a 3M National Teaching Fellowship – Canada's most prestigious recognition in educational leadership and teaching at the post-secondary level. It's actually Kahente's criticism of existing education systems that led to her win the 2023 3M prize. In order to fully engage her students at Carleton University, she's introduced Rotinonhsyón:ni teachings like consensus-based decision making and live performance of our traditional stories into her classrooms. KAHENTE: Beyond the skill of writing, beyond the skill of citing properly doing research, I think that one of the main skills our students need to learn coming out of institutions is how to talk to each other. Indigenous and non-Indigenous. You know why? Because of climate change. We are facing an uncertain future, right? And Indigenous folks and Indigenous communities – we have a lot of the answers. AUNTIE: Kahente's entire family makes it their business to walk ahead. Her mom, model and activist Kahentinetha Horn and her sisters were deeply involved in the 1990 Kanasatáke Resistance – also known as the Oka Crisis - and her sisters are Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller, actress Kahnietiio Horn, and Dr. Ojistoh Horn, a medical practitioner in Akwesasne. This familial, matriarchal power - along with the family's grounding in language and longhouse led Kahente to focus on her own community in her scholarship - which most academics shy away from. KAHENTE: Everything I did I wrote about my own people. So this was something that I learned how to do on my own in order to get through that system. AUNTIE: I'm Kahstoserakwathe and we are Yéthi Nihsténha ne Tekarónyakénare. The Aunties Dandelion. We're focused on revitalizing our communities through stories of land, language, and relationships. And we want to say Nyá:wenkò:wa – or big thanks – to Canada's Indigenous Screen Office – teyonhkiwihstekénha – for making this podcast possible through their New Media fund. It helps us a LOT if you share this episode with your friends, follow us on your favorite podcast channel and give us a review. As always, we're happy you are here to listen to your Aunties.

This episode focuses on how to help child-clients become physiologically centered.  Previous episodes have focused on helping children become emotionally and  cognitively centered. Emotional centering involves regulating extremes of emotions, and developing reaction inhibition and stress tolerance. Various tools, such as the Check-in and Empathic Listening can be really useful for helping kids become emotionally centered.  Cognitive centering techniques include the use of tools like the Feelings Thermometer and Feelings Maps to help kids describe their feelings.  A complimentary approach focuses on leveraging clients' physiology to help them become centered.  Afterall, every emotion is expressed in various ways throughout a person's body.  Co-regulation, achieved through shared activities and physical engagement, is a basic way in which a counselor can help a client become centered on a physiological level.  Changing a child's physiology is a powerful way to influence regulate their emotions and thoughts.  Techniques such as sitting down, drinking water, engaging in physical activities, and going on walks are explored. Food also powerfully impacts physiology but in many ways it's too powerful and overusing it as a way to change a kids mood or attitude can cause unwanted negative consequences. Likewise, touch, hugs, and hand-holding can be very physiological centering, but again there's a need for judgment and clear program guidelines. Various techniques, including sensory meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness, are recommended to help children become physiologically centered. The challenges of implementing these techniques are explored, including the need for months of daily practice and potential boredom of some exercises. This episode concludes by introducing the Owl Eyes technique, a form of sensory walking meditation involving maintaining peripheral vision.

In place of our regular Hudson Mohawk Magazine programing, today we share this episode of The Aunties Dandelion podcast called "Auntie Katsitsionni Fox (Kanyen'kehà:ka) Filmmaker, Artist, Potter." Show Notes: AUNTIE: Wa'tkwanonhweráton. Greetings, love, and respect from me to all of you. On this edition of The Aunties Dandelion we're visiting with Katsitsionni Fox who is a beloved Bear Clan filmmaker, potter, and artist from our Kanyenkehà:ka territory of Akwesasne. After decades of teaching Indigenous media and Rotinonhsyón:ni culture in her community's schools – Katsitsionni has become an independent artist and filmmaker after receiving the Nia Tero's storytelling fellowship in 2021 that unleashed her unique storytelling skills and perspective onto a global stage. She's created two movies that aired on PBS with another on its way to completion and each film is profoundly tied to our Onkwehonwe teachings and practice. KATSITSIONNI: I am not telling the story and disappearing. I'm going to be here. People come into the communities and try to harvest our stories and then it is not coming from the inside because they don't have that connection and respect and that way of being I guess that comes from living in the community. AUNTIE: Back in the day Katsitsionni trained at the acclaimed Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and her art installations and films have been featured at the Museum of Art and Design in New York, Musée Du Quai Branly in Paris, Everson Museum in Saracusev, the Ganondagan Seneca Museum and beyond. Her art extends to new variations on traditional Rotinonhsyón:ni pottery and Katsitsionni attributes her prolific storytelling and art to the relationships she tends to in everything she does. KATSITSIONNI: Whether its, you know, having a relationship with that clay. It is not something you just grab and slap together. For me I always greet that clay and I say “Nyá:wen” to the clay and I put my intention in there. What am I making? I have that intention. I share it with the clay before I start. AUNTIE: I'm Kahstoserakwathe and we are Yéthi Nihsténha ne Tekarónyakénare. The Aunties Dandelion. We're focused on revitalizing our communities through stories of land, language, and relationships. And we want to say Nyá:wenkò:wa – or big thanks – to Canada's Indigenous Screen Office – teyonhkiwihstekénha – for making this podcast possible through their New Media fund. Learn more about https://www.theauntiesdandelion.com

This episode is a departure from the usual format by sharing original teaching stories.  Storytelling and stories are a fundamental modality for learning.  Our brains are wired to process experiences in the form of a narrative. Telling stories builds connections between adults and children, whether the adult is the storyteller or the child. Telling stories, or listening to stories together, fosters a sense of shared experience and strengthens the therapeutic alliance. Stories engage various parts of the brain, both verbal and nonverbal, conscious and unconscious, effecting every part of the psyche.  Several Bear Clan stories illustrate coping skills, teach relaxation techniques, address problem-solving, and explore character development. Some stories aim to facilitate discussions about traumatic issues, acknowledging the challenge many children face in expressing emotions associated with negative events. A central theme in the Bear Clan stories revolves around courage and the importance of finding balance for transformation. The values portrayed in this episode's stories draw from Native American teachings, specifically The Seven Gifts of the Grandfathers. The episode introduces the Bear Clan Origin Story arc, drawing inspiration from a traditional Native American story called "The Boy Who Lived With the Bears." The narrative involves a child being adopted by bears after being mistreated by an uncle, emphasizing the importance of treating children with respect and love. This episode shares the first three parts of the Bear Clan Origin Story.  It is built around the Native American parable of two wolves existing within every person.  In the Bear Clan version these wolves are “good” and “bad” but rather "courageous" and "fearsome." Overall, the episode highlights the therapeutic benefits of storytelling in connecting with clients, addressing trauma, and imparting valuable life lessons.

This podcast episode discusses the importance of management and delegation within residential treatment programs for children and youth. It highlights the different levels of management within such organizations, including Executive Management responsible for overall leadership, Senior Management overseeing major aspects of the agency's operations, Middle Managers handling specific service units, and Frontline Managers leading shifts. It emphasizes that effective management is essential to provide quality care to the clients. The episode explores various roles within residential programs, such as coordinators responsible for specific tasks like organizing activities or managing facility supplies. It also delves into the role of Key Staff, who work directly with clients, helping with activities of daily living, treatment programming, and more. Delegation is a central theme in the podcast, and it stresses the importance of role clarity, administrative infrastructure, and a strong process for successful delegation and for program development. A five-step model for a delegation process is explained, involving (1) task explanation, including clarification of deliverables, (2) checking the person's understanding of the delegated task or project, (3) reviewing what resources the person can use to achieve the task or project, (4) collaboratively establish a deadline and understanding around asking for an extension if needed, and (5) feedback afterwards on how the project or task delegation went.  The episode underscores the need for management to empower staff by clearly defining roles and responsibilities and creating a shared vision for the organization. It also touches on different sources of influences beyond the Authority-Influence that comes from having any particular position within the organization.  Additional sources of influence, and power to achieve one's responsibilities, include Relationship-Influence, Power Broker-Influence, Charismatic-Influence, Expert-Influence, and Fame-Influence.  Ultimately, this podcast provides insights into the challenges and best practices of managing residential treatment programs, with an emphasis on effective delegation as a key tool for success. It encourages a collaborative and organized approach to improve the quality of care and empower staff at all levels of management.

This podcast episode is the second part of a series that addresses how to intervene when dealing with suicidal ideation in children and youth. It emphasizes the importance of training for counselors and aims to make discussing this sensitive subject more approachable. An important focus is for counselors is to help clients understand suicidal ideation as a symptom rather than delving into the "why" behind it, which is a task for therapists. The episode emphasizes the need to distance clients from these thoughts and work on developing their executive skills, especially stress tolerance. The counselor's role involves empathetic listening, establishing a sense of belonging, and helping the client tolerate their negative feelings and thoughts without using harmful behaviors.  If suicidal ideation includes gestures, attempts, or plans, the counselor should assess the situation in terms of risk and rescue factors and consult with an on-call clinician. After a check-in around suicidal ideation, there are important communications and documentation to the rest of the team.  There may also be structural interventions put in place such as Scheduled Check-Ins, Increased Structure, Staff Shadowing, Re-entry Plans, and various restrictions that can be documented on a Safety Watch form.  That documentation helps everyone on the immediate team, and involved in follow up the next day, to work as a team to help keep the client feeling and acting safe. Another powerful intervention is the creation of a Safety Contract, which serves as a formal agreement between the at-risk client and staff to ensure safety and offers personalized support. The episode also underscores the partnership between therapy and counseling, with therapy addressing the "why" and counseling addressing the "how" of maladaptive behaviors. Lastly, the podcast reminds listeners of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988) as a resource for those needing guidance and emotional support outside of their work lives.

A Native American folktale that explains how the Bear Clan become the tribe chosen to receive from the Spirit the gift of healing knowledge.  An episode from storytelling podcast, Journey with Story.  (duration - 8 minutes)   The British Podcast Contest has opened up its Listeners' Choice where you can vote for your favourite podcast.  If you are a fan of JWS, you can vote for us at https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/voting Voting closes on September 5, 2023   If your little listener wants to ask us a question or send us a drawing inspired by one of our episodes, send it to us at instagram@journeywithstory.  Or you can contact us at www.journeywithstory.com.  We love to hear from our listeners. If you enjoy our podcast, you can rate, review, and subscribe at here Did you know Kathleen is also a children's picture book author, you can find out more about her books at www.kathleenpelley.com   If you would like to enjoy our weekly coloring sheets and other perks, subscribe to our patreon page here   If you want to check out Kathleen's latest story, Ned, the Knock-Kneed Knight, published in Cricket Magazine, about a cowardly knight who learns how to conquer his fears, you can read it to your little listener here      

In this episode we have a roundtable discussion grounded around the book The Mohawk Warrior Society: A Handbook on Sovereignty and Survival. For this discussion we have all four of the editors of this book, Philippe Blouin, Matt Peterson, Malek Rasamny and Kahentinetha Rotsikarewake. In addition Karennatha and Kawenaa, two other members of Kanien'keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) joined the conversation. The book we discuss does a lot of things. It presents the works of Louis Karoniaktajeh Hall, it discusses what the Mohawk Warrior Society is, and Louis Hall's influence and participation and activation of that movement as an autonomous political force. It also discusses some of the history of their vibrant and at times quite successful struggles against colonialism, but also against forces of assimilation, annihilation, and appropriation. The book also provides a number of resources to help understand the philosophy embedded in Mohawk language and thought, in which the Mohawk Warrior Society is grounded. This is a sovereign tradition of anticolonial resistance to genocide that crosses the imposed colonial borders of the US and Canada, and still exists in defiance of setter law and ways of knowing. As is discussed in the show, it is also potentially a guide or an offering. The Mohawk Warrior Society has out of necessity often been a somewhat secretive formation, this book and conversation offer a glimpse into their world view, and it's incumbent upon us to listen in and take note. This virtual roundtable features six guests. Due to time constraints there is just a lot that we weren't able to get to in this conversation and so we really encourage folks to pick up the book and read it. We'll include links in the show notes. The book's editors and our guests are: Kahentinetha Rotiskarewake is a Kanien'kehá:ka (Gon-e-en-gay-ha-ga) from the Bear Clan in Kahnawà:ke. Initially working in the fashion industry, Kahentinetha went on to play a key role as speaker and writer in the Indigenous resistance, a role which she has fulfilled consistently for the last six decades. During this time, she witnessed and took part in numerous struggles, including the blockade of the Akwesasne border crossing in 1968. She has published several books, including Mohawk Warrior Three: The Trial of Lasagna, Noriega & 20–20 (Owera Books, 1994), and has been in charge of running the Mohawk Nation News service since the Oka Crisis in 1990. She now cares for her twenty children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Kahentinetha means she who is always at the forefront. Philippe Blouin writes, translates and studies political anthropology and philosophy in Tionitiohtià:kon (Montréal). His current PhD research at McGill University seeks to understand and share the teachings of the Teiohá:te (Two Row Wampum) to build decolonial alliances. His work has been published in Liaisons, Stasis and PoLAR. He also wrote an afterword to George Sorel's Reflections on Violence. Matt Peterson is an organizer at Woodbine, an experimental space in New York City. He is the co-director of The Native and the Refugee, multimedia documentary project on American Indian reservations and Palestinian refugee camps. Malek Rasamny co-directed the research project The Native and the Refugee and the feature film Spaces of Exception. He is currently a doctoral candidate in the department of Social Anthropology and Ethnology at the Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris. And as I said Karennatha and Kawenaa who are two other members of Kanien'keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) joined the conversation as well. It was an honor to host them. And if you appreciate conversations like this, we are on a push for the month of March to add 40 patrons, we're about half way there, and we have just less than half of the month remaining so kick in $1 a month and join the wonderful people who make this show possible and become a patron of the show. You can do that at https://www.patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism Other links: Support the MAKC/Prisons Kill book club Buy the book from Massive Bookshop Buy the book from PM Press Conversation at Concordia referenced in the episode.