How to Build Genuine Rapport in Individual Sessions (beyond Jenga!)
Listen to the full episode below:
Don’t get me wrong…playing games like Jenga can be a fun and effective way to build relationships with students. To make the greatest impact in the lives of our students, we’ve got to build rapport with them. While playing games is great, it can be easy to get stuck when it comes to finding new ways to relate to our counseling students and get to know them on a deeper level, especially since we only see them for short amounts of time.
In today’s episode, I’m sharing 4 things you may not be doing that will help you build rapport in your individual counseling sessions. These tips I’m sharing today are simple and most require very little prep work.
My hope is that these strategies will be useful to you as you develop deeper relationships in your individual counseling and that you’ll see how simple it can be to incorporate these into your daily routine. Don’t stop playing Jenga! Just add these into what you’re already doing.
Some topics covered in this episode are:
How simply checking in with parents and teachers builds rapport with students and what you can learn from these quick checks
The importance of checking in with students outside of counseling sessions and how to incorporate these check-ins while you’re going about your day
Why you need to build deeper relationships with your students by taking an interest in their hobbies and personal life and how to remember that information about all of your students
Ways to customize your curriculum to fit the individual needs of your students and tips for making it relatable for your students
Resources Mentioned:
Episode 73, How to Create a Schedule That Doesn’t Overwhelm You
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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!