WTH Just Happened to School Counseling in Florida??!!?

In this episode, I HOPE I AM WRONG about what appears to be a systematic dismantling of school counselors in Florida. Less than a month ago, the Florida First Lady announced an initiative to "reframe mental health education with a focus on resiliency" and teach students to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.As part of this initiative, Florida is inviting literally anyone off the street to take a short "counseling course," go into schools, and serve as unqualified "coaches" in lieu of students accessing school counselors."Coaching" isn't counseling. And if that wasn't bad enough- there's more.Listen in on the details of the plan (which has already been approved by the Florida Department of Education), the discrediting of school counselors as school-based mental health providers, and discussion about WHY ON EARTH our representatives aren't making noise about this.It's a modern tragedy in the making, and something we should ALL be talking about.Referenced in this episode:Florida Dept of Ed article: "First Lady Casey DeSantis Announces Florida Is First in Nation to Reframe and Rethink the Way Mental Health Is Taught in Schools"Orlando Spectrum News 13: "Florida to reframe mental health education with a focus on resiliency"Florida School Counselor Association comments from their Advocacy Committee (Mar 28, 2023)*********************Our goal at School for School Counselors is to help school counselors stay on fire, make huge impacts for students, and catalyze change for our roles through grassroots advocacy and collaboration. Listen to get to know more about us and our mission, feel empowered and inspired, and set yourself up for success in the wonderful world of school counseling.Hang out in our Facebook groupJump in, ask questions, share your ideas and become a part of the most empowering school counseling group on the planet! (Join us to see if we're right.) Join the School for School Counselors MastermindThe Mastermind is packed with all the things your grad program never taught you IN ADDITION TO unparalleled support and consultation. No more feeling alone, invisible, unappreciated, or like you just don't know what to do next. We've got you!Did someone share this podcast with you? Be sure to subscribe for all the new episodes!!Connect --> schoolforschoolcounselors.comSupport the show This work is part of the School for School Counselors body of work developed by Steph Johnson, LPC, CSC, which centers role authority over role drift, consultative practice over fix-it culture, adult-designed systems and environments as primary drivers of student behavior, clinical judgment over compliance, and school counselor identity as leadership within complex systems.