High School Counseling Conversations®

Can you believe that in 150 episodes of this podcast, I've never taken a week off from releasing episodes? Well, the time has come! High School Counseling Conversations will be on an official break from November 2024-January 2025. I'll return with new episodes in February 2025.

We talk about a lot of sensitive topics as school counselors, and today is no exception. We’re taking a deep dive into child sex trafficking. Heavy, I know. But with sex trafficking happening all around us, this just might be the conversation you never knew you needed to hear.

I’m joined by Krystal Nierman of Switch, an organization fighting to end sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. Krystal shares what sex trafficking really looks like…and there’s a good chance it’s not what you think! Plus, you’ll hear how to spot the red flags among students, what to do if you suspect it’s happening, and actions we can take (and teach to others) to help prevent sex trafficking.

Be sure to check the links below for more valuable resources on this topic. This is something that could be affecting students at your own school in various ways, so keep asking questions and follow your gut if you feel like something is off. Share this episode with fellow counselors to help spread awareness around child sex trafficking!

Resources Mentioned:

What do you do if a student tells you they’re pregnant? There’s a good chance you were asked this question during a job interview because it’s a situation that you will probably run into sooner rather than later. In fact, if you’ve been a high school counselor for any length of time, it’s highly likely that you’ve already supported pregnant students! 

The truth is, you want to be prepared to not only support your students during their pregnancy but also throughout their journey as a teen parent. As we know, the challenges your students will face don’t end after having their baby. There are interventions you can put in place to help your pregnant students transition to parenthood and reach their future goals.

You may not realize this, but you have a unique superpower in your role as a high school counselor! You have the ability to nurture your students and walk them through four of the most important years of their life. One practice that will help you strengthen this superpower is cultural competency.

Today’s guest, Jocelynn Hubbard, is here to help us develop cultural competency at work and in our personal lives. It starts with becoming more aware of your beliefs, your biases, and all of your lived experiences. Then you start to see how this compares with your students and how you can use that information to better support them as individuals. 

Have your students ever expressed interest in taking a gap year? A gap year is more than just time off! It’s a deliberate period to explore personal, practical, and professional interests before transitioning to post-secondary education. Under the right circumstances, and with intentional planning, a gap year could be the perfect option for some students.

This is a topic we’ve never discussed on the podcast before, so I’m excited to talk about it today. Gap year education expert, Julia Rogers, joins me in this episode to break down exactly what a gap year is (and isn’t) and to share various gap year opportunities for your high school students. 

From traveling in Europe to working locally or taking a structured experiential semester, the possibilities for a gap year are endless. After listening to this conversation, you’ll have plenty of resources to share with students and parents…and you might even find that you’re interested in taking your own gap year!

Resources Mentioned: