253. Sustainable Self-Care for School Counselors with Joyce Harduvel
Listen to the full episode below:
Welcome back to School Counseling Simplified! Summer Summit may be over, but the value continues. Today, I’m chatting with one of our incredible Summit speakers, Joyce Harduvel, about a topic every school counselor needs—sustainable self-care.
If you missed the Summit, it’s not too late! All the recordings and PD hours are still available when you join the IMPACT membership. You’ll get access to this session and so much more.
Joyce is a licensed clinical social worker. She is a passionate advocate for youth and the school counselors and social workers who support them. She worked in Chicago Public Schools for seven years, where she specialized in evidence-based and trauma-informed behavior intervention for students with chronic challenging behaviors. Joyce is an advocate for proactive professional self-care that allows school-based professionals to build the sustainable careers of their dreams so that they can do what is really important: support their students! She now works with school counselors and social workers as a coach and clinical supervisor while pursuing a law degree to further her skills in championing youth.
In this episode, we talk about:
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How to create proactive, sustainable self-care routines
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Why burnout is a systems issue, not a personal failure
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Simple ways to make your workspace more peaceful for you and your students
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The power of building a support system at work and at home
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What it means to reconnect with your "why"
Joyce shares what a typical day looks like for her now:
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Seeing 2–3 private practice clients (individuals, couples, kids)
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Attending clinical supervision sessions with small counselor/social worker groups
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Reading (a lot!) for law school—she recommends Speechify for educators to save time
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Intentional self-care moments like unplugged lunch breaks, short naps, and reading for pleasure
Her routine emphasizes boundaries, rest, and balance, something we can all learn from.
Joyce’s biggest tip: Don’t wait to start taking care of yourself.
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Create a proactive self-care plan now, not once you hit burnout
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Give yourself grace and go slow; this work is a marathon, not a sprint
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Set boundaries around your time and energy (especially your lunch break!)
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Remember: You don't need to do everything all at once
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Connect with others who “get it” and lean on your community
As Joyce puts it, "If you want to stay in schools, I want to help you stay in schools and make it sustainable."
Don’t miss out!
Want access to this session and more? Join the IMPACT membership to get all Summer Summit replays, monthly PD trainings, downloadable resources, and a community of fellow school counselors.
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More About School Counseling Simplified:
School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.
You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!
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