COUNSELING CENTER
ZILLAH HIGH SCHOOL COUNSELING DEPARTMENT STAFF:
RICHARD DIONNE, M.ED. SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Location: ZHS Counseling Center
Grades 9-11, Last Names A-L
Phone: 509-829-4047
Email: [email protected]
AMBER GRIMMER, M.ED. SCHOOL COUNSELOR
Location: ZHS Counseling Center
Grades 9-11, Last Names M-Z
Phone: 509-829-4048
Email: [email protected]
MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY RESOURCES
This Yakima and Lower Valley Community Resource Guide provides local resources available in the Yakima and Lower Valley. This contains emergency numbers, mental health and suicide prevention resources and more.
Call 988 for the suicide and crisis lifeline. This is a free and confidential support for people in distress.
1-800-572-8122. The Yakima Crisis line connects you to a mental health professional for crisis outreach.
855-420-5888. This End Harm Line is available 24/7 to report abuse and neglect.
Call 866-833-6546. This Hotline is for youth, staffed by trained peer volunteers. Open from 6-10:00pm
Text "HOME" to 741741 to reach a volunteer crisis counselor. If you prefer to chat online, go to https://www.crisistextline.org.
211 is an easy to remember number for information, referrals and other emergency assistance.
866-789-1511 provides 24-hour help for substance abuse, problem gambling and mental health.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL)
Studies have shown that Social Emotional Learning (SEL) helps students of all ages to do better in school with fewer attention and learning problems, greater social and leadership skills, less anxiety and depression, less stress and burnout, and a healthier development of emotional regulation. Students learn SEL by learning to apply five core competencies:
1. SELF AWARENESS: Students learn how to recognize their emotions and how they affect their behavior. Self-awareness is a skill anyone can improve on with the right tools and a little practice! Here's a few tips to improve self-awareness:
- Try meditation or mindfulness.
- Demonstrate honesty and integrity.
- Experience self-efficacy.
- Ask for feedback with an open mind.
- Develop a growth mindset.
- Develop interests and a sense of purpose.
- Identify cognitive distortions.
- Develop and clarify your values.
A FEW MORE RESOURCES FOR SELF-AWARENESS:
2. SELF MANAGEMENT: Teaches students how to control their thoughts, emotions and actions in order to make healthy decisions and reach goals that benefit self and others. Here's a few tips on how to develop self-management skills:
- Regulate emotions thoughtfully
- Sustain healthy boundaries
- Identify stress management strategies
- Build resilience.
- Set personal and collective SMART goals
- Use planning and organizational skills
- Practice self-compassion
A FEW MORE RESOURCES FOR SELF-MANAGEMENT:
3. SOCIAL AWARENESS: Demonstrates the ability to put yourself in someone else's shoes and try to understand how people in different backgrounds and cultures see things. Here's a few tips to improve Social-Awareness:
- Practice active listening.
- Practice reading body language, facial expressions and Tones of voice
- Demonstrate empathy and compassion
- Show concern for the feelings of others
- Recognize strengths in others
- Express gratitude to others
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Take responsibility for your mistakes
4. RELATIONSHIP SKILLS: Teaches students how to build and maintain healthy relationships with people from diverse backgrounds using a variety of methods such as active listening and communication and conflict resolution skills. Here's a few tips to help build relationship skills:
- Initiate contact with others and cultivate friendship
- Learn to appropriately share your thoughts and feelings
- Practice teamwork and collaborative problem solving
- Resolve conflicts constructively
- Resist peer pressure
- Resist stereotypes
- Stand up for others
- Seek and offer support and help when needed.
A FEW MORE RESOURCES TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS/SUPPORT SYSTEMS:
5. MAKING RESPONSIBLE DECISIONS: Students learn to choose how they act or respond to a situation based on learned behaviors such as ethics, safety, and the well-being of others. Here's a few tips to improve Decision Making:
- Demonstrate curiosity and open mindedness
- Learn how to make a reasoned judgement after analyzing information, data and facts
- Make ethical decisions based on mutual respect for others
- Identify solutions to personal and social problems
- Evaluate the consequences of your actions
- Evaluate your impact on others.
A FEW MORE RESOURCES TO PRACTICE RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING: