About the Synergetic Education™ Institute
You might not know the story about the journey that led me to co-create the Synergetic Education Institute with Lisa Dion, Founder and President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute … you can read the full story here, but here’s the cliff note version….
With over 25 years of experience at the intersection of education and mental health, I have held various roles, including school counselor, Director of Guidance, District-wide Social Emotional Learning (SEL) coach, play therapist, and consultant. Throughout this journey, I’ve made mistakes, but those mistakes have been powerful teachers, offering insights that surpassed even my successes.
For a long time in my career, I felt like I was swimming upstream, believing I had the knowledge and skills to support students and educators, yet I wasn’t seeing the results I was striving for.
Students would make strides when working with me and then explode or collapse again back in the classroom. Why?
…Students weren’t experiencing a sense of safety or belonging at school, and they didn’t have the skills to self-regulate. Adults and students were getting stuck in cycles of interacting that reinforced the negative views that students already had of themselves, resulting in feelings of blame and shame.
Thinking I was being helpful, and that it was my job to advocate on behalf of students, I’d share my insights with educators. But, regardless of the “great ideas” I would share, they’d keep doing what didn’t seem to be working.
Why weren’t they listening to me? I felt frustrated that they kept doing the same thing and that they were not, in my opinion, meeting the students where they were.
Maybe I’m a slow learner, or maybe this is true for many of us…but it was a painful day when I realized I was actually a big part of the problem. I was doing the very same thing by approaching educators without meeting them where they were!
I started to recognize more and more the impact of blame and “shoulds” on educators – a recipe for dysregulation. My focus shifted towards supporting authenticity and congruence … And by matching my role and type of support to others’ brain and body states, and levels of readiness, I was able to empower educators to find their own “right” way, which in turn allowed them to do the same with students.
This realization prompted a quest for a different approach and to no longer be an obstacle for educators, but to support them in finding their own path.
One of my favorite quotes by Gabor Mate says, “Safety is not the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection. At the Synergetic Education Institute, our mission is grounded in neuroscience and the science of connection (connection to others and ourselves). We strive to transform education by empowering educators and students through authentic, supportive, and personalized approaches.
I’m so excited to have you as part of this journey to transform education that supports authenticity, congruence, and connection for both educators and students.
Thanks for being on the journey with me!
Much love and appreciation
Judy
* Want to hear more? … Listen to this Lessons from the Playroom Podcast episode where Lisa and I talk about how we co-created the Synergetic Education Institute.
Start Your Journey With Us
The Synergetic Education™ Institute offers trainings and courses for individual Educators (e.g., classroom and specials teachers, Behavioral Specialists, SEL Coaches, etc.), School-Based Mental Health Professionals (e.g., School Counselors, School Psychologists, School-Based Social Workers, etc.) and Educational Leaders.
By combining the latest research in neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, social-emotional learning trauma, and principles of Synergetic Play Therapy our goal is to empower you in supporting students and adults.
Why learn with us?
- We analyze the neurobiology of behavior and its relevance to education.
- We present a fresh paradigm for comprehending stress responses and challenges.
- We provide training in practical strategies that support social-emotional learning from a trauma-informed and inclusive perspective.
- We supply guidance in understanding how to teach self-regulation skills and intentionally and explicitly expand windows of tolerance.
- We facilitate the rediscovery of inspiration and love for the job.
- We empower authentic connections with ourselves and our students.
- We prioritize creating a sense of safety and belonging for all.
- We deliver high quality consulting and professional development services in the areas of multi-tiered system of supports, positive behavior intervention and supports, and school leadership. Our customized programs are meticulously designed to address the unique requirement of various groups or sites.
About the Synergetic Education™ Institute
You might not know the story about the journey that led me to co-create the Synergetic Education Institute with Lisa Dion, Founder and President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute … you can read the full story here, but here’s the cliff note version….
With over 25 years of experience at the intersection of education and mental health, I have held various roles, including school counselor, Director of Guidance, District-wide Social Emotional Learning (SEL) coach, play therapist, and consultant. Throughout this journey, I’ve made mistakes, but those mistakes have been powerful teachers, offering insights that surpassed even my successes.
For a long time in my career, I felt like I was swimming upstream, believing I had the knowledge and skills to support students and educators, yet I wasn’t seeing the results I was striving for.
Students would make strides when working with me and then explode or collapse again back in the classroom. Why?
…Students weren’t experiencing a sense of safety or belonging at school, and they didn’t have the skills to self-regulate. Adults and students were getting stuck in cycles of interacting that reinforced the negative views that students already had of themselves, resulting in feelings of blame and shame.
Thinking I was being helpful, and that it was my job to advocate on behalf of students, I’d share my insights with educators. But, regardless of the “great ideas” I would share, they’d keep doing what didn’t seem to be working.
Why weren’t they listening to me? I felt frustrated that they kept doing the same thing and that they were not, in my opinion, meeting the students where they were.
Maybe I’m a slow learner, or maybe this is true for many of us…but it was a painful day when I realized I was actually a big part of the problem. I was doing the very same thing by approaching educators without meeting them where they were!
I started to recognize more and more the impact of blame and “shoulds” on educators – a recipe for dysregulation. My focus shifted towards supporting authenticity and congruence … And by matching my role and type of support to others’ brain and body states, and levels of readiness, I was able to empower educators to find their own “right” way, which in turn allowed them to do the same with students.
This realization prompted a quest for a different approach and to no longer be an obstacle for educators, but to support them in finding their own path.
One of my favorite quotes by Gabor Mate says, “Safety is not the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection. At the Synergetic Education Institute, our mission is grounded in neuroscience and the science of connection (connection to others and ourselves). We strive to transform education by empowering educators and students through authentic, supportive, and personalized approaches.
I’m so excited to have you as part of this journey to transform education that supports authenticity, congruence, and connection for both educators and students.
Thanks for being on the journey with me!
Much love and appreciation
Judy
* Want to hear more? … Listen to this Lessons from the Playroom Podcast episode where Lisa and I talk about how we co-created the Synergetic Education Institute.
Start Your Journey With Us
The Synergetic Education™ Institute offers trainings and courses for individual Educators (e.g., classroom and specials teachers, Behavioral Specialists, SEL Coaches, etc.), School-Based Mental Health Professionals (e.g., School Counselors, School Psychologists, School-Based Social Workers, etc.) and Educational Leaders.
By combining the latest research in neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, social-emotional learning trauma, and principles of Synergetic Play Therapy our goal is to empower you in supporting students and adults.
Why learn with us?
- We analyze the neurobiology of behavior and its relevance to education.
- We present a fresh paradigm for comprehending stress responses and challenges.
- We provide training in practical strategies that support social-emotional learning from a trauma-informed and inclusive perspective.
- We supply guidance in understanding how to teach self-regulation skills and intentionally and explicitly expand windows of tolerance.
- We facilitate the rediscovery of inspiration and love for the job.
- We empower authentic connections with ourselves and our students.
- We prioritize creating a sense of safety and belonging for all.
- We deliver high quality consulting and professional development services in the areas of multi-tiered system of supports, positive behavior intervention and supports, and school leadership. Our customized programs are meticulously designed to address the unique requirement of various groups or sites.