DSM-5 Diagnostic Formulation

This lesson introduces 5th-grade students to essential skills and tools used by school counselors, focusing on problem-solving and effective communication. These skills are crucial for students' personal and academic success, helping them navigate challenges and build strong relationships.

In this 30-minute Tier 3 individual support session, 8th-grade students will learn and practice clinical intake interviews through a structured role-play activity. This lesson is crucial for developing active listening, structured data collection, and foundational counseling skills. Components include a detailed Lesson-Plan Script, Key Intake Questions Slide Deck, and Pair Role-Play Activity.

In this 45-minute session, adult learners will explore the process of constructing a psychiatric diagnostic formulation, integrating patient history, symptoms, and biopsychosocial factors. This lesson is vital for enhancing clinical reasoning, improving patient care, and ensuring accurate, individualized treatment plans.

In this detective-themed individual counseling session, a 5th grade student will track anxious thoughts like clues and learn strategies to ‘catch’ and challenge them. This 45-minute Tier 3 activity helps build coping skills and self-awareness in a personalized, engaging format.

This individual session uses art and personal reflection to help an 8th-grade student reduce anxiety. Through a creative activity and guided self-reflection, the student will explore ways to manage their feelings and develop coping strategies. This session is important as it provides the student with practical tools to handle stress, enhancing their emotional well-being and academic performance.

This lesson introduces students to the school counselor through interactive activities, helping them understand the counselor's role in supporting personal and academic growth and the importance of mental health. This session is crucial for building a supportive school environment and encouraging students to seek help when needed.

In this single 30-minute Tier 3 session, a 4th grade student will learn to identify common cognitive distortions and reflect on their own thoughts to improve emotional regulation. This lesson helps the student recognize and challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, building self-awareness and coping skills.

This lesson introduces 4th-grade students to the CBT triangle, which connects thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and its relationship with brain function. Through engaging activities, students will learn how their thoughts can influence their emotions and actions. This lesson is important as it empowers students with self-awareness and emotional regulation skills, fostering resilience and mental well-being.

This lesson aims to help 9th grade female students reduce symptoms of OCD through trauma-informed teaching strategies. By focusing on mindfulness and self-awareness, students will learn techniques to manage their symptoms, allowing them to better access classroom instruction. This lesson is important as it empowers students with tools to improve their mental health and academic performance.

In this Tier 2 group lesson, 10th grade counseling students collaborate to create a fictional client case from scratch and then draft a complete SOAP note. This fun, hands-on game strengthens clinical documentation skills and encourages creativity within a structured format. Audiences: 10th Grade Counseling Group, 1 session of 40 minutes.

This counseling session is designed to help a 5th-grade student learn and practice emotional regulation skills. By focusing on coping strategies such as deep breathing, positive self-talk, and visualization, the student will gain tools to manage emotions effectively. These skills are crucial for personal development and can enhance the student's ability to handle stress and emotional challenges.

This lesson is designed to help a 3rd-grade student with emotional disturbance learn coping skills for managing anxiety. Through a creative and experiential approach, the student will use a coloring worksheet to identify and express where they feel emotions in their body. This activity is important as it provides a non-verbal way for the student to connect with their emotions, fostering self-awareness and emotional regulation.

A one-on-one counseling session for 5th graders focused on identifying emotions and learning coping strategies. This Tier 3 individualized lesson empowers students to understand their feelings and practice tools for emotional regulation within 30 minutes.

A guided individual counseling session using open-ended questions and reflective exercises to help a student articulate and manage emotions. This Tier 3 session is designed for an 8th grade student and takes 30 minutes, focusing on individual counseling techniques to foster self-awareness and emotional regulation.

This lesson is designed to help a 10th-grade student develop and implement personalized coping strategies to manage anxiety related to attending school. Through a combination of discussion, activity, and quiz, the student will explore their feelings, create actionable strategies, and assess their understanding. This lesson is important as it empowers the student to overcome barriers and improve their ability to complete assigned tasks.

A one-session, 30-minute individual counseling lesson for 6th graders focused on mental health counseling and building personal coping strategies. This Tier 3 lesson helps students identify emotions, learn coping tools, and practice self-talk to manage stress and anxiety.

This three-session lesson is designed to help an anxious third grader develop effective coping skills, identify and overcome barriers, and improve communication and listening skills. Through engaging discussions and activities, the student will learn to manage anxiety and stress, empowering them with strategies to handle challenging situations. Each session is 15 minutes long, focusing on individual support for a student with undiagnosed anxiety.

This lesson is designed for 1st to 3rd grade students with special needs and behavior challenges. The objective is to engage students in a fun, collaborative, and hands-on activity that helps them understand the connection between helpful and unhelpful thoughts and their feelings and behaviors using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles. The lesson is designed to be completed in 15 minutes.

This 6-session individual lesson for a 6th-grade female student focuses on reducing anxiety, excessive worry, and overthinking using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions. Each 45-minute session is designed to empower the student with practical skills to manage anxiety, fostering emotional well-being and resilience.

In this lesson, students will learn about the various tools and resources that a school counselor uses to help with problems and emotions. The students will then create their own 'toolbox' of coping skills and resources that they can take home. This lesson is essential as it helps young students understand the support available to them and equips them with basic emotional tools for resilience.

An individualized CBT session guiding an 11th grade student through identifying and disputing core beliefs using targeted reading, worksheets, and reflection. This Tier 3 lesson deepens self-awareness and equips the student with practical CBT strategies in a single 55-minute session.

A 4-session, 30-minute psychoeducation series for a 4th-grade girl to understand anxiety and learn coping strategies. This individual (Tier 3) lesson supports a single student in recognizing anxious feelings, exploring triggers, and practicing calming tools.

This lesson introduces students to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), focusing on the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Students will explore how these elements influence each other and learn practical strategies to manage stress and anxiety. This lesson is crucial for developing self-awareness and emotional regulation skills, which are essential for mental well-being and academic success.

This lesson aims to introduce the school counselor to third-grade students. The session will include a fun and interactive activity, watching a brief video, and a group discussion to help students understand the role of their counselor and learn some personal facts about them. This will build a foundation of trust and familiarity, which is crucial for students to feel comfortable seeking help from their counselor in the future.

This lesson is designed to support Grade 9 students returning from psychiatric hospitalizations by focusing on distress tolerance and reintegration into a school routine. Through trauma-informed teaching and inquiry-based learning, students will explore strategies to manage stress and anxiety, helping them transition smoothly back into their academic environment. This lesson is crucial for building resilience and confidence in students as they navigate their return to school.

This lesson introduces 4th-grade students to tools for managing anxiety through engaging activities. Students will participate in a game-based learning activity to explore different anxiety management strategies, followed by a collaborative project to create a 'toolbox' of these strategies. The lesson concludes with a worksheet to reinforce learning and an exit ticket to assess understanding. This lesson is important as it equips students with practical skills to manage anxiety, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.

This lesson serves as an introduction to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for middle school students. It aims to help students understand the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Through discussion, group activities, and a CBT exercise, students will learn how to identify and challenge negative thoughts. This foundational lesson is important as it equips students with basic CBT skills that can be built upon in future sessions.

An individual digital escape-room challenge where students solve logic puzzles to uncover missing SOAP note sections, reinforcing their understanding of counseling progress note documentation. This Tier 3 intervention is tailored for 12th graders and delivered in a 35-minute session to master SOAP note components.

This 8-week program uses a story-based approach to help 3rd grade students understand what anxiety is and how it might feel. Each week, students will engage in activities that build on their understanding and coping strategies for anxiety. Parent letters will be sent home weekly to keep families informed and involved.

This lesson will introduce students to their school counselor through interactive activities and discussion. It's essential for students to feel comfortable approaching their counselor for support, and this lesson aims to build that familiarity and trust.

This individualized support guide equips a 7th grade student with personalized coping strategies and crisis response steps to build resilience and emotional regulation. Through targeted coaching and self-reflection activities in one 20-minute session, the student will develop a practical toolkit for managing stress and anxiety

This lesson series aims to help 4th-grade students independently identify when they are dysregulated. Through a combination of activities, discussions, worksheets, and readings, students will learn to recognize their emotional states and develop strategies to manage them. This is crucial for their social-emotional development and will aid in creating a supportive classroom environment.

This lesson is designed for 12th grade students to help them assess their mental and emotional health while dealing with college applications and making significant career decisions. The objective is to equip students with strategies to manage stress and make informed decisions. The lesson will last 45 minutes.

This five-week series aims to help 3rd-grade students reduce anxiety related to school performance through experiential and collaborative learning. Each session will introduce new techniques and reinforce previously learned strategies, promoting stress management and emotional regulation. This series is important as it equips students with essential coping skills, fostering a positive mindset and enhancing their overall well-being.

In this individual counseling session, the student will engage in personal storytelling and reflection to explore their emotions and perspectives. This session is important as it helps the student develop self-awareness and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for personal growth and emotional well-being.

This lesson focuses on empowering 12th grade female students to manage symptoms of depression through collaborative discussion. By engaging in a supportive dialogue, students will explore strategies and share experiences in a safe environment. This lesson is important as it fosters a sense of community and understanding, helping students to feel less isolated and more equipped to handle their emotions.

This lesson plan is designed to help a 9th-grade girl with Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder (DDD) develop effective coping strategies. Through a series of three 30-minute sessions, the student will engage in activities, readings, and worksheets that focus on understanding her symptoms and learning practical techniques to manage them. This lesson is important as it empowers the student with tools to navigate her experiences, fostering resilience and emotional well-being.

This lesson plan is designed to help a 9th-grade girl with Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder (DDD) develop effective coping strategies. Through a series of three 30-minute sessions, the student will engage in activities, readings, and worksheets that focus on understanding her symptoms and learning practical techniques to manage them. This lesson is important as it empowers the student with tools to navigate her experiences, fostering resilience and emotional well-being.

This lesson aims to help 4th-grade students identify and manage anxiety through collaborative discussion and active exercises. Addressing anxiety at a young age is crucial as it helps students develop coping mechanisms and contributes to their emotional well-being, promoting better classroom engagement and overall mental health.

This lesson helps students prepare for the emotional impact of receiving their report cards. By using trauma-informed teaching and restorative practices, students will learn to identify and manage their emotions effectively. This lesson is crucial for fostering emotional resilience and promoting a healthy response to academic feedback.

This lesson introduces 3rd-grade students to the concept of therapy in a simple and engaging way. Through a guided discussion, students will learn what therapy is, why people might go to therapy, and how it can help. This lesson is important as it helps normalize the idea of seeking help and promotes mental health awareness from a young age.

This 15-minute individual Tier 3 lesson guides a secondary student in designing a concise mental health screener to triage referrals into Tier 2 group or Tier 3 one-on-one counseling. It empowers the student to craft clear, targeted questions for quick identification of support needs, ensuring swift and appropriate district mental health services.

Students will meet the school counselor and learn about different feelings and emotions through storytelling and drawing. This lesson helps young students understand and express their emotions effectively, which is crucial for their social-emotional development.

This lesson is designed for a one-on-one counseling session with a 4th-grade student. The focus is on helping the student identify five coping strategies they can use when experiencing heightened emotions. This lesson is important as it equips the student with practical tools to manage their emotions, promoting emotional regulation and resilience.

In this 30-minute individual Tier 3 session, a third-grade boy with autism will learn how to identify and manage his thoughts in order to influence his behaviors positively. This CBT-based lesson helps him become a “mind detective,” spotting unhelpful thoughts and replacing them with helpful ones to reduce frustration and increase self-control.

This individual counseling session is designed to help 7th-grade students recognize and manage their emotions effectively. Through personalized discussion and activities, students will learn to identify their emotions, understand their triggers, and apply coping strategies. This session aims to enhance emotional intelligence and resilience, which are crucial for personal and academic success.

This lesson aims to provide a safe and supportive environment for homeless students to express and process their trauma. Through a guided discussion and a creative activity, students will have the opportunity to share their feelings and learn coping strategies. This lesson is important as it helps students build resilience and emotional awareness, which are crucial for their well-being and academic success.

In this lesson, students will explore the concept of art as a therapeutic tool to express grief and emotions. Through guided art projects, students will engage in personal reflection and emotional release. This lesson is important as it provides students with a creative outlet to process emotions, which can enhance emotional well-being and resilience.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the school counselor and learn about their role in the school. This lesson is important as it helps students understand the support available to them, ensuring they are aware of who to turn to for help with social, emotional, or academic issues.

This lesson introduces 6th graders to the basics of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework, focusing on understanding thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This foundational knowledge is crucial for developing emotional intelligence and resilience, helping students manage their emotions and reactions in everyday situations. The lesson is designed for a single 15-minute session and includes engaging activities and a game to reinforce learning.

This lesson aims to help 7th-grade students understand trauma and develop coping strategies. Through experiential and game-based learning, students will engage in activities that promote trauma-informed awareness and collaborative learning. This lesson is crucial for fostering resilience and emotional intelligence, equipping students with tools to manage stress and trauma effectively.

In this 15-minute one-on-one session, fifth graders will learn how to request support from the school counselor by completing a simple, student-friendly request form. This lesson empowers students to express their feelings and needs, ensuring they know how to access help when they need it (Tier 3 – Individual Support).

This 5-session lesson is designed for a 3rd grade student on an IEP, focusing on identifying negative and positive self-talk, understanding coping strategies, and exploring cognitive behavioral triangle connections. Each 20-minute session will empower the student with practical skills to transform negative thoughts into positive ones, enhancing their emotional well-being and resilience.

This lesson introduces 7th-grade students to coping strategies for managing feelings of depression. Through a combination of video content and interactive activities, students will explore various techniques to help them understand and manage their emotions. This lesson is crucial as it equips students with practical skills to handle emotional challenges, promoting mental well-being and resilience.

This lesson aims to help a 7th grade boy reduce anxiety through engaging activities and visual aids. By incorporating game-based and experiential learning strategies, the lesson will provide practical tools and techniques to manage anxiety effectively. This approach is crucial for building resilience and promoting mental well-being in middle school students.

In this detective-themed lesson, students will investigate common causes of anxiety and learn problem-solving strategies to address them. They will work in groups to create action plans for managing anxiety in everyday situations. This lesson is important as it equips students with the skills to recognize and handle anxiety, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.

This lesson focuses on helping an 8th-grade female student manage anxiety through experiential and blended learning strategies. The lesson includes a discussion component to encourage self-reflection and sharing of personal experiences. This approach aims to empower the student with practical techniques to handle anxiety, fostering emotional resilience and self-awareness.

This lesson aims to introduce second graders to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to help them manage anxiety. Through a combination of game-based learning, experiential activities, and discussion, students will learn to identify anxious thoughts and practice calming strategies. This lesson is important as it equips young students with tools to manage their emotions, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.

This one-session, 30-minute individual lesson equips 11th grade students with practical skills—mindfulness exercises, cognitive reframing, and journaling—to help manage feelings of depression. By guiding students through hands-on activities and reflective prompts, this lesson empowers them to build personal coping strategies they can use anytime.

This 6-session individual lesson plan is designed for 2nd graders to help them process grief and work on emotional regulation and impulse control. Through engaging activities, worksheets, and games, students will learn to understand and manage their emotions in a supportive environment. This lesson is crucial for building emotional resilience and coping skills at a young age.

In this 30-minute, one-on-one session, a 7th grader will learn practical strategies to identify and manage anxiety. This individualized Tier 3 lesson helps students develop personalized coping plans, fostering self-awareness and resilience.

This lesson involves a simulation-based activity where students role-play as grief counselors and clients. Through this exercise, students will learn effective communication and empathy skills, which are crucial for interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence. The lesson includes feedback sessions to help students reflect on their performance and improve their skills, making it a valuable experience for personal and professional development.

A one-session, 30-minute individual lesson introducing 1st graders with autism to basic CBT skills by identifying feelings, finding calm thoughts, and practicing a simple ‘Catch the Worry’ strategy. This lesson helps students gain tools to manage anxious thoughts and build emotional awareness.

This lesson aims to help a 5th grader understand and transform negative thoughts into positive ones. Through a combination of inquiry-based learning and active learning strategies, the student will explore how thoughts influence emotions and behaviors. This lesson is important as it equips the student with tools to manage their thoughts, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.

In this lesson, students will create an 'Emotional Toolkit' using creative resources like mood boards, journals, and soothing activities. This lesson is important as it empowers students to identify their emotions and choose appropriate tools to manage them, fostering emotional independence and resilience.

This lesson introduces 5th grade students to coping skills for managing anxiety through active and collaborative learning. Students will engage in a project-based activity to explore different coping strategies, participate in a discussion to share personal experiences, and complete a worksheet to reinforce their understanding. This lesson is important as it equips students with practical tools to handle anxiety, promoting emotional well-being and resilience.

This one-on-one counseling session equips an 11th-grade student with the Inner Mirror Strategy, helping them identify and challenge unhelpful thought patterns through metaphorical mirroring. By guiding self-reflection and positive reframing, the session promotes healthier self-talk and emotional resilience. (Tier 3, 50 minutes)

A structured data collection form designed for social workers and teachers to systematically record 7th grade students’ emotional awareness and self-regulation skills during small group sessions. This single 30-minute session Tier 2 tool helps track progress on IEP goals by capturing identification of triggers, emotion expression methods, and interpretation of emotional cues across 5 opportunities.

This lesson plan aims to help 8th graders understand and manage anxiety through discussions, activities, and worksheets. By exploring the concept of anxiety, students will learn to identify their own feelings and develop strategies to cope with them. This lesson is important as it equips students with essential emotional regulation skills, promoting mental well-being and resilience.

In this two-session, 20-minute individual counseling series, the 2nd-grade student will become a “detective” of their own body, learning to recognize at least two physical responses tied to dysregulated feelings (anxiety, frustration, anger). This builds emotional awareness and self-regulation skills crucial for classroom success.

A targeted assessment that uses quick prompts and drawing exercises to capture a snapshot of a child's current emotional state; perfect for guiding personalized support. This session is designed for 3rd grade individual counseling in a 20-minute session and helps tailor personalized interventions.

This lesson introduces 5th-grade students to the concept of grief and provides them with strategies to cope with it. Using a combination of restorative practices, trauma-informed teaching, and game-based learning, students will engage in a discussion, watch a video, and complete a reflective activity. This lesson is important as it equips students with the emotional tools to handle loss and trauma, fostering resilience and emotional intelligence.