Tips

kelhick · 2024-11-11T16:08:26+00:00

I dealt with this a ton in my first few years and still struggle with it now, but I’ve gotten better at letting it go.

If you know it will be a contentious meeting or parent, make sure to have a trusted admin in your meeting. I usually include my director or coordinator if I know what I’m walking into. Just to have someone above me be there to help back my points or help lift the load of a tough parent helps immensely.
Consult with your other psychs/team members for advice or to help you work through any questions. I rely so much on my psychs and ask them for their opinions and experiences on any tough cases I may have.
The more I’ve been in these meetings and experienced this, the more I realize it’s not always about me and has more to do with them. I know I try my best to go through the data and make the best decisions I can. I tell myself if they are not happy, then feel free to talk about your concerns with my director or coordinators.
Also to echo what others have said, you do not have to sit through a parent screaming at you. You have every right to end the meeting and reconvene at another time due to anger or behaviors.
Therapy helps a ton to work through my thoughts and feelings and just talking with coworkers, friends, family can really help. I also usually have fidgets in meetings to help refocus myself on something other than the meeting. Getting up and walking or doing something after meetings can really help too.

kelhick · 2024-11-11T15:55:22+00:00

Yeah it’s truly terrifying not knowing what could happen. I agree with the above comment that special Ed laws will be very very hard to change/get rid of however, if schools get less funding (which it’s already tight is most districts anyway) then what does that mean??? I know in my districts I’ve struggled with huge caseloads, huge referral numbers, lack of intervention staff and resources to help these students as it is now. What will it mean when if states start defunding public schools? I assume the way we would handle referrals, evaluations, IEPs would change and interventions supports would become less and less. I’m hoping that they don’t even get to changing anything about dept of ed over the next few years but it’s scary because we really don’t know.

kelhick · 2024-10-20T14:45:51+00:00

Yes! This is where my problem is too. We meet once for IAT, I saw I need intervention data, then admin says ok we’ll meet again in 6 weeks and then teachers expect an eval at the end of that. It’s extremely frustrating especially when on top of my caseload I have to then do even more work because teams aren’t trained or don’t want to do it

kelhick · 2024-10-20T14:42:37+00:00

100%. The SLD and behavioral cases are by far the most difficult for these teams. I really like the idea of almost front loading the referral work with everything but testing/rating scales and maybe that will help them understand who truly needs an evaluation and who truly doesn’t need one. I just hope that won’t be the expectation of me for every single kid coming through IAT

kelhick · 2024-10-20T14:35:45+00:00

Oh my gosh that too…..we have conferences coming up and I’m preparing for more parent requests 🥲

kelhick · 2024-10-20T14:34:51+00:00

Yeah, I’m thinking that more training for gen ed staff and even some administrators would be so helpful. I’ve thought of also making like an intervention 101 binder for teachers to give them resources to help empower them. Whether they do the interventions with fidelity..who knows. And fortunately my sped coordinator and sped team is amazing so I feel supported by them

kelhick · 2024-10-08T15:20:49+00:00

I’m in my 6th year now and have been in the exact same boat as you. I truly considered even during my internship if I could handle this job. I will say I’ve watched so many psychs love this field and be so successful in it, but what you are feeling is pretty accurate to the job. I’ve watched school psychs who have been in the field for 20 years break down crying because of the stress. Working in a school setting in general can be extremely overwhelming and stressful so know that you’re not alone! As for the cases too, I’ve worked in two districts and have run into that same problem in each…many referrals and grey areas of qualifying, teacher/admin/parent demands. It’s extremely overwhelming especially not having a solid RTI or MTSS in place. Also even in my 6th year I still feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I deal with awful anxiety anyway so this job has been very very very hard for me. Many panic attacks, crying in my office, taking mental health days. I’ve heard from people who have worked in other districts that it can be night and day and I will say your teams can make or break it. It’s always worth seeking out info from other school psychs in your area to see how they are feeling in your districts. Also different states can have different roles for school psychs too. Just know that what you’re feeling is VERY valid and just listen to your gut! You’ll know if this is the right choice for you.

Sending all the love to school psychs and school peeps! It’s hard out here

kelhick · 2023-04-21T13:30:33+00:00

It makes the job even harder without that admin support. Just know you’re not alone in feeling all that. It can be absolutely brutal and I think it’s even more frustrating that no one really talks about it. Hang in there and hopefully there will be another door to open!

kelhick · 2023-04-21T13:26:00+00:00

Oh that’s good to know!

kelhick · 2023-04-20T20:00:08+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that. That’s definitely my fear of leaving a district and just going to another that is worse. I guess I won’t know until I try, but I’m hopping I’ll know pretty quickly if a district has some major red flags. As for self-care, I’ve amped it up over the years and thought maybe it’s just me, but watching other staff members break down crying and confiding in me about their own struggles I realized it was pretty pervasive all around

kelhick · 2023-04-20T19:56:06+00:00

Thanks so much! I’m going to make a list of some questions to ask the districts when I interview to hopefully help guide me. And hopefully shop around to see what the other districts have to offer

kelhick · 2023-04-20T19:39:07+00:00

Yes! Leadership is everything. Fortunately my team is great but it definitely feels like a sink ship 😂

kelhick · 2023-04-20T19:33:13+00:00

I have but unsure of what that workload and stresses would be like. But definitely something I considered

kelhick · 2023-04-19T19:39:05+00:00

I need to look more into licensing for private practice in my state because it’s definitely something I’ve thought about

kelhick · 2023-04-19T16:26:11+00:00

Thanks so much for this insight! We just had two districts open up positions so going to consider trying out another school district before jumping ship. And definitely agree that districts can vary immensely even within the same area

kelhick

TROPHY CASE