Trainings for School-Based Mental Health Professional

Information on customized programs:

Collectively, our team has over 5 decades of experience at various levels of school functioning, including in the classroom, mental health support, building administration, and district leadership.

Our trainings for school-based mental health professionals focus on the intersection of educational and mental health paradigms.

School-based mental health professionals often struggle to find the resources and guidance needed, as they are commonly asked to assist and guide students AND educators. This can lead to feelings of burn out and overwhelm.  At the Synergetic Education Institute, we understand the complexities and challenges associated with being a school-based mental health professional and can offer you the support that you need.

By combining the latest research in neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology, attachment and trauma research, and principles of Synergetic Play Therapy we can aid you in balancing your roles as educators and mental health professionals,  supporting students of all ages.

Learn to nourish your own health and well-being while also being an agent for growth in your school(s) or district.

Structure and Format:

  • Comprehensive training or individual workshops
  • Groupings by positions or collaborative working groups or teams
  • Focus on implementation for specific roles or system implementation across sites or districts
  • In person, online or hybrid

Foundational level classes provide a core knowledge base coupled with practical, daily strategies grounded in the latest research in neuroscience, nervous system regulation, interpersonal neurobiology, and social-emotional practices. Our focus is on creating environments that encourage self-awareness to support students in discovering their own regulatory needs. This includes learning to be an  external regulator  in order to promote a sense of safety and belonging for all students. Participants will explore ways to shift daily routines to include self-reflection, which supports the re-wiring of brains and the re-patterning of nervous systems, leading to long-term growth.

Intermediate level classes build upon these foundational tenets, adding strategies for supporting individuals and groups. This includes creating layered, social-emotional behavior plans and regulatory spaces inside and outside of the classroom. Our focus will be on the training, implementation, and data collection needed to ensure the success of these plans and spaces. In addition, these components are considered from a systems perspective, including staff taking on different and complementary roles.

Advanced level classes focus on working with other educators and with students with the most intensive needs. These trainings will empower educators to support other adults in their building(s) by learning to work with them from a developmental perspective and honoring their journey in learning to do this work. Educators that play supportive roles in their building(s) will deepen their skills in becoming an external regulator and will learn to step into confusing, challenging situations and will feel equipped to work with both students and other adults.

Praise for Our Work

“Drawing from Judith’s extensive experience and knowledge has been invaluable and guided me through my process working as a consultant supporting teachers and teacher assistants transform trauma theory into classroom practice. Judith’s reassurance and validation were so positive and encouraging and ‘put the wind beneath my wings.’”

Helen Wilson, Certified SPT Therapist

“The Synergetic Education Institute’s training on supporting teachers gave me real world skills and approaches to use, not only with the school staff for the school I work in, but also with my child’s teachers. I learned specific ways to change phrasing and ways to engage the teachers and teach them to engage with students. I found it very useful in building relationships.”

Elizabeth Edington, LISW-S

“I found this training to be extremely helpful as we were beginning to think about and explore how to build relationships and manage classes in a virtual setting. One of my favorite aspects of these trainings was that we not only learned how to build relationships and work with students one-on-one, we also learned strategies to work with larger groups of students.”

Hayden Ahlbrandt, School Counselor