by Lynea Gillen | Jan 29, 2021 | Trauma
As a child growing up in a home suffused with trauma, life always felt uneasy – like something bad was about to happen. Always. This ever-present fear often got expressed through impatience, rushing, and urgency. It was a defense against instability and... 
by Lynea Gillen | Sep 27, 2020 | Community
One thing that saddened me during my years as a school counselor was how many students carried around negative stories about the world. They believed the world was full of bad guys; that people were out to get them. They also felt bad about themselves. Often, they... 
by Lynea Gillen | Aug 30, 2020 | Attention / Focus, Behavior, Families, K-12 Education, Mental Health, Social-Emotional Learning
Not long after I’d begun work as a counselor in a high poverty, high trauma school, I played a social/emotional game with a group of students in which I’d ask questions to get them thinking. “What would you do if you found $10,000?” I asked the children. Having come... 
by Lynea Gillen | Aug 9, 2020 | K-12 Education, Parenting
The 6th grade students at the Outdoor School were looking at the results of water samples they had just taken when a great blue heron landed in a tree above our heads. All the children turned to gaze at it, their eyes huge with excitement. What is that? they wanted to... 
by Lynea Gillen | Mar 15, 2020 | Anxiety, Mental Health, Parenting
Having spent many years as a teacher, I remember how challenging the week before spring break could be – everyone feeling the freedom of spring after the long months of winter and needing a break from each other. I can’t help but think how much harder it is...