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18Nov

Using a Trauma-Informed Lens as an SLP with Rachel Archambault: SLP Stress Management Podcast

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Career Advice Stress Management
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trauma-informed lens as an slp

As SLPs, we are faced with a lot of uncertainty, feelings and emotions – from ourselves and those we serve. It is not rare for us to be face to face with trauma – either our own or with a patient/client/student who has faced trauma and is working through it. This is why it is important,a s clinicians, to acknowledge, learn, and approach our work from a Trauma-Informed Lens and Perspective. 

Using a Trauma-Informed Lens as an SLP is not about providing mental health counseling to those in trauma, but instead is about being  respectful, supportive and mindful to the experiences, challenges and struggles that others (and yourself) might have experienced. It is easy to think that the people we work with have never experienced trauma, but the truth is, we often don;t know. 

And, it is worth mentioning, in 2020, most people are dealing with a bit of trauma due to the sudden and swift life and daily changes from COVID-19. 

Relias describes the Trauma-Informed Lens as this: Trauma-informed care shifts the focus from viewing trauma as an injury, ‘what is wrong with you?’ to ‘what has happened to you? What have you experienced?.’ 

trauma-informed lens as an slp

In the latest episode of the SLP Stress Management Podcast, I have the honor of speaking with fellow SLP, Rachel Archambault, to discuss how we can use the Trauma-Informed Lens as an SLP. You might know Rachel from her IG account, PTSD.SLP, or from her conference presentations on PTSD and Trauma-Informed Approach to Therapy.

Here is a little more about Rachel:

Rachel Archambault, a.k.a. The PTSD SLP is in her fifth year as an SLP at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. After the traumatic event on 2/14/18, she has implemented trauma-informed practices during her speech sessions to create a safe learning environment. Rachel has also created an instagram page @PTSD.SLP to give SLPs and other professionals the tools to work with students that have experienced trauma. She has presented at FLASHA and has recently been awarded the distinction of Early Career Professional by ASHA.

As Rachel says in the interview “There is no rule book for this“.

During the episode, we discuss what you can do for trauma-related stress for yourself and your students (clients, patients). Here are a few things we talk about:

  • Rachel’s story and how it shapes her work as an SLP
  • Trauma-informed approach to your own stress management and reductions (because, yes, this year has dealt a LOT of trauma to many people)
  • Trauma-Informed Care for your students and those you work with
  • COVID-19 trauma (it’s real and most likely affects you or someone you know)
  • ACEs and resources to learn more about them
  • Resources to learn more about incorporating this approach to your work

Here are some of the resources discussed in the episode:

You can listen below or on your favorite podcast app:

You can also catch up on all the episodes of the SLP Stress Management Podcast here.

If you are looking for some ways to work on managing your own stress as an SLP, make sure to check out the SLP Stress Management Course (you can get info here) and sign up below to subscribe to the SLP Toolbox, a FREE resource library full of tools to help SLPs reduce and manage stress.

Much Love,

Jessi

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22May

Take 10 Breaths: Mindfulness Meditation for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation Reduce Stress Self Care
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10 breaths mindfulness mediation for SLPs

Do you ever have those moments, as an SLP or just as a human, where you need to pause and maybe even hit a reset button? With a lot of chaos and uncertainty going on, now and even before, it can add to the feelings of overwhelm and stress that happen for many SLPs. And it can make you feel like you aren’t able to be present to the moments you are in.

On a really long day, one that has me pulled in a lot of different directions or is just mentally draining, I like to take a brief moment of self-care to check in and hit “reset”, before I leave my office and head into family time. One way to do this is to go on a walk or practice yoga. These help me feel refreshed and clear my head.

But one other thing that helps, especially when I am limited in my time and need a reset on the go (or even in the midst of therapy sessions, family time, my kids, my dogs, or just stress from the day and the world) is to stop, close my eyes, slow down and take 10 breaths.


In those 10 breaths, I can check in with myself and see how I am feeling underneath it all. Those 10 breaths allow me to slow my breath and calm my nervous system. And in 10 breaths, I can take a mini-break before I jump back in.

For you, these 10 breaths can help you to feel more grounded and steady throughout your day an an SLP, even in the middle of chaos, hectic schedules, and life at home.

Here is how to take 10 breaths:

  • Find a seat or stand still
  • Close your eyes or soften your gaze
  • Maybe bring one hand to your belly and one to your heart (so you can feel your breath moving in and out)
  • Take a deep breath in and then a deep breath out
  • Repeat 10 times

That’s it!

If you prefer a guided meditation, or want to follow along and learn this practice, you can check out 2 of these “10 Breath Meditation Practice” in the SLP Toolbox.

Not a member of this FREE resource for SLPs? You can subscribe below for access to these meditations audios, as well as other meditation and movement audios, and more.


If you are looking to dive even deeper into managing your stress, look for the upcoming SLP Stress Management Course, enrolling Summer 2020, and check out these CEU/CMH Professional Development courses:

Much Love,

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11May

How to Have a Better Morning as an SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Reduce Stress Self Care
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Morning routine

You may have heard of morning routines before, and felt that either they would be awesome to have, you absolutely love having one, or you in no way saw that happening for you and it’s not important anyway, or somewhere in between.

I am someone that dreams of having a morning routine – I wake up before the kids, do some quiet time (like meditation, stretching or journaling) with my coffee, and then get a little bit of writing and creating done before the kids are awake.

In my mind, I am up before anyone else in the house for an hour or so and then everyone slowly wakes up to a productive, put together, and awake mom. And then I am ready to take on the day and rock it as an SLP, without having to worry about fitting in coffee, moving, getting dressed, journals, etc.

Right now, it is more like, roll out of bed when the baby wakes up or the kiddo comes in to my room. Sleepily try to get breakfast, feed a baby, make coffee and then get dressed mid-morning and squeeze all my work into small windows throughout the day, eventually just working at night.

It’s less than desirable. And each day I plan to make it different, but usually end up in the same routine. Change is hard, especially when things are this uncertain (at the time of publication, there is a global pandemic going on).

But on a recent morning, I woke up 10 minutes earlier – not on purpose. I did a quick meditation, got dressed and had more time to get everyone else ready. It wasn’t my ideal, dream morning routine, but it ended up giving me MUCH more time throughout the day, and I could use my energy to do things I wanted, instead of feel overwhelmed, stressed and constantly “behind” (on what, I’m not sure).

I hope to keep this small shift going, and slowly lead to bigger shifts and changes in my morning as I can.

Morning routines are important, even though they sound a little fluffy and superficial, because they can set the tone for your day – either rushed and lacking energy or calm and energizing – and help you to have those small moments to check in, set up your day, and see what you have going on (or do something for yourself), without feeling pulled in a million directions immediately upon waking up.

Here are a few ways to create a morning routine:

  1. Wake up just a few minutes earlier, and then build on it.You don;t have to go all out right now. That amount of overwhelm can set you up for a pass/fail mindset, where you feel like if you don;t do it exactly, then it isn’t worth it at all. INstead, keep building up on small changes that will make it happen easier.
  2. Use the time to check in with yourself. See how you are doing that day, before you have demands from work, family and life floating in. Are you feeling good, tired, stressed, overwhelmed, energized, motivated, etc? From there, you can see what you need from your day and what you can expect from yourself. (it is ok to not be 100%).
  3. Do a little self-care. Move, meditate, journal, create, anything goes here. You could even sit in silence with a cup of coffee or go for a walk in your neighborhood (if it is safe to do so where you live).
  4. Set an intention. You could think of this as a to-do for the day. This gives you a little extra motivation and awareness as you move though, so everything you do can be in alignment with that intention and purpose for your day. 
  5. Get some sleep. I know this sounds counterintuitive to telling you to get up a little earlier. Make sure you are still getting sleep. If needed, go to bed a few minutes earlier. You could maybe set an alarm when it’s time to start getting ready for bed, or decide to watch just 1 or 2 shows in the evening.

Even just doing one of these morning routines can start to create that small shift that leads to you taking charge of your day, instead of feeling like the day is taking charge of you. It can help to better manage your stress and bring you more balance during your day. Start trying them and see what works best for you. Change isn’t easy, but this shift is worth it.

Looking for more resources? Try the SLP Toolbox. It is a FREE resource library full of useful tips and tools, perfect for morning routines, such as meditation and movement audios, journal templates, self-care guides, and daily “must-do” checklists, designed to help you reduce the stress you feel as an SLP.

You can sign up below.

If you are looking to check out more SLP Stress Management, make sure to check out theses courses: SLP PD

Much Love,

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19Mar

4 Ways to Find More Ease as an SLP

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out Career Advice Gratitude Journal Techniques for SLPs Meditation Reduce Stress Self Care
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SLP Ease PinterestAs an SLP, you are probably more familiar than you want to be with feeling stretched a little too thin on a daily basis. You are trained in so many different aspects of communication (and swallowing), you probably have a pretty varied caseload (that is most likely way too big or way too small), and you are constantly between direct and indirect therapy services. Plus, you have become a pro at multi-tasking all day, every day.  All of this has become part of your routine (or soon will be if you are a student or CF), and it can, honestly, be quite exhausting at times. Or most of the time.

There are reasons for that.

Sometimes you might feel like you are loaded down with more work than there is time in the day. Other times you might get a new student or patient and feel like you just don’t have the skills or knowledge to fully treat them. And there will be times that you just feel run down and tired (or perhaps even sick), and you just don’t have the mental energy to do your work, but you still show up and do it anyway.

There is a ton of paperwork. Productivity levels change constantly in all settings. Caseloads are often out of your control. Multi-tasking causes you to do mental jumping jacks all day. You are physically and mentally exhausted. Add all of this together and you might notice that your outlook on your work, career and even your daily life might have shifted for the negative.

Being stressed and feeling stuck can cause your brain to start to work in overdrive to protect you. This is a beautiful and wonderful system that can keep you safe when you are in danger. But when you aren’t in danger, and life is just constantly feeling stressful, it only sets you up for more stress and more exhaustion each day. It stops you from being able to find more ease as an SLP, and leaves you feeling more and more stressed each day.

When you are chronically feeling stressed, your brain starts to stay on “high alert” to look out for threats and stress around you. If you have a stressful job, or lots of work piling up, stress is everywhere and your brain is constantly seeing it, signaling to your body to release hormones and keeping you in a state of anxiety and stress, which can eventually lead to burn out in your body (adrenal system), your energy (mental and physical) and your job.

To help shift out of this mode, you can do a few practices that help you to find more ease as an SLP, even when your day and schedule haven’t changed one bit. These practices are designed to help you calm the signals in your body that alert your brain to stress (deep breathing), help you to find space in your thoughts (movement), finding positive moments in your day (gratitude journal) and reducing the amount of task switching each day (no more multi-tasking).

Here are 4 ways to find more ease as an SLP, every day:

Gratitude Journal:

  • Helps you find some good in the day
  • Helps your brain to notice more good
  • Gives you a pause in the day
  • Write down 3 positive things from your day

Movement:

  • Clears your head
  • Blood and breath flowing
  • Energy lifts
  • Take 5-60 minutes to walk, stretch or move mindfully

Deep Breathing/Meditation:

  • Sends signal to bran and body to be calm
  • Decreases stress response
  • Gives you a break in your day
  • take 1-5 minutes to focus on your breath

Drop Multi-tasking:

  • More efficient work
  • More mental energy
  • Less strain on brain to constantly switching from task to task
  • Instead bulk like tasks together and check email at set times

When you incorporate one or all of these tings into your day, you’ll start to create new habit and patterns that help reduce stress, but also train your brain to be less affected by the stress that is around you each day. They teach you to manage stress better.

For more on stress management, make sure to check out the “SLP Toolbox” where you’ll find more strategies and tips to build ease in your day. You can sign up below for access.

Much Love,

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15Dec

Should You do SLP Work on Your Holiday Break?

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Burn Out New SLP Reduce Stress Self Care
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SLP Work on Your Holiday Break (1)It’s the holiday season! Many SLPs are either about to be on a Winter Break for a few weeks, or are perhaps taking a few days off, finding the work load to be less, or having to juggle shorter days of work when their kids are off from school. For these SLPs, the lighter and often shorter schedule can be like a light at the end of the tunnel, especially if you schedule was a little hectic with meetings, make-up sessions, and getting it “all” done right before the break.

While this is a time to sit back and relax for a few weeks, perhaps traveling or spending time with your loved ones (or just a good book), a lot of SLPs find it hard to turn off their productive side and spend a lot of the time off catching up on work, and not finding much time to relax at all. Or, you might find that your burn out is full-blown and you spend the break denying (to yourself that you even have a job you have to go back to in a few weeks. Either way, it does not bring about much balance in your life, and will often lead to more anxiety and stress once you head back into work after your break.

So the question is, should you do SLP work on your Holiday Break?

The answer is dual-sided, and comes back to this –  You have to find (the seemingly mythical) balance. When you are on your break, there are times that doing work will be extremely beneficial for you, but too much of it means you don’t get a break at all.

Here is how you can break down what type of work is best for you, and when to do it (or not):

  • Beneficial to Work:
    • Completing a Project: If you have something that you don’t usually have time to complete, and it is not just paperwork, this might be a good time to work on it. make sure it is something that you enjoy doing, so it doesn’t feel like a lot of work, and that you set a time limit to when you will begin and end working on it.
    • Something Stressing You Out: If not planning for the month/week.year ahead stresses you out, go ahead and take some time to plan out your next month or so, but limit the amount of time you have by setting a timer. This way, you work on it, but you do what is most important and within a given time frame.
    • Passion: If you have something that you are passionate about and want to learn more about, create or launch, this is a great time to dedicate some of your time to work on it. Again, make sure to set up some specific days or hours, so you aren’t working your entire break, even if it is something you enjoy doing.
  • NOT Beneficial to Work:
    • Family Time: If you find you are spending more time working than with your loved ones, you might need to take a step back and re-evaluate. Go ahead and make a plan for when you will work, and when you won’t. Mark it on your calendar, along with any other family events that you have going on during your break (school plays, dinners, recitals, parties, etc), so you are giving yourself plenty of time and space to enjoy both things.
    • Vacation: If you have planned a vacation somewhere, whether a cruise, road trip, or visiting family and friends, give yourself some time to unplug from work. Allow yourself to be present during this time, so you can enjoy and benefit from it fully. Then, when it is over to before you go, carve out some time to take care of the work related tasks you have or would like to do.
    • The Entire Break: It might sounds silly, but if you don’t watch out, you might spend your entire break doing work, or thinking and ruminating on the work you need/should be doing. If you find this happening, get your calendar and mark down some specific times you will do work, along with what you will work on. The rest of the time, try to focus on what you are doing in that moment – whether it is a trip with family or sitting down to a cup of hot cocoa. This will give your brain some much needed rest and help you to feel less stressed and overwhelmed, during break and after.

Of course, this might be a bit different for you and your circumstances, but use this as a guide to help you decide if working during your break is something that will help reduce your stress and bring back some passion for your work, or if it is something that you are doing in order to feel productive and could cause burn out to flare up.

For more resources, make sure to sign up for the SLP Toolbox below. You’ll get free meditations to help you release stress and unwind, templates for your “Must-Do” lists, and even some journals and Self-Care guides.


Much Love,

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13Nov

Quick and Cheap Pumpkin Spice Latte for SLPs

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Nourishing Recipes for Busy SLPs Self Care
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PSL for SLPs Pinterest

#butfirstcoffee

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen that on my Instagram feed, mostly from other moms of toddlers and other SLPs. As SLPs who are stressed out, tired and often running on empty, coffee seems like the cure for it all, and pumpkin spice is the flavor of the season.

Honestly, I love coffee, but as a Stress Management Coach, have a love/hate relationship. Yes, it is delicious and I have a cup or two a day. But if I find myself for others using it as a way to get through the day, or the amount seems to skyrocket, then there might be and imbalance going on and some much needed self-care long overdue.

Even so, if you are a lover of coffee, or at least PSL, here is a recipe that is caffeinated and has some extra nutrition. Plus this cheap pumpkin spice latte won’t break your SLP bank.

Ginger and cinnamon help to aid in digestion and reduce stomach irritation that can accompany coffee. Nutmeg helps to calm any jitters (as does decaffeinated coffee) and the fat in the coconut whipped cream, even from a jar, helps you to absorb the nutrients in the pumpkin and even the anti-oxidants in the coffee.

Ready to try it? Grab your favorite brew and a blender, and give it a go.

Quick and Cheap Pumpkin Spice Latte 

Makes 1 large mug of coffee

1/2 cup hot brewed coffee (decaf works in the evening!)

1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond/soy/cashew/coconut milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

*optional 1/2 tsp vanilla extract if you use regular or non-vanilla milk

Blend all ingredients together in your blender until slightly frothy. Top with whipped cream (I used coconut whipped cream) and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired.

What is your favorite go-to for coffee? Leave it in the comments below and (if you love it) share this recipe on IG and FB using the hashtag #SLPPSL .

Enjoy!

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10Oct

Meditation to Help SLPs Fight the “Sunday Blues”

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Meditation
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SLP Sunday Blues Meditation Pinterest
This meditation is to help you reduce the anxiety and overwhelm that can come from “future-tripping” or the “Sunday Blues”. If you are feeling dread before work each week, often feel your thoughts are racing and spiraling to the future, or feel stuck in the “Sunday Blues” or “Scaries”, this meditation can help you to feel more present in your body and in the moment, so you can take action and reduce stress.

Want more meditations? Make sure to check out the Meditation and Audio library, and subscribe to the monthly newsletter for a free meditation practice straight to your inbox, as well as access to the SLP Toolbox, where you’ll find more meditation audios, journal templates and more.

Much Love,

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5Oct

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie To Go

Posted by: Jessi Andricks Categories: Goal Setting Nourishing Recipes for Busy SLPs Self Care
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Pumpkin Pie Pinterest

This season is all about the grounding flavors and spices of the Fall. While these flavors can be comforting, the season itself might have you feeling frazzled with all there is to do. You might even a little like you just want to curl up on the couch and check out for a bit, especially as the days grow darker. All in all, there can be an imbalance in your energy levels, which can make it difficult to maintain the energy you need for your work day, or to really fuel your day (something we talk a out a LOT in SLP Stress Management).

One simple way to make sure you get a lot of nutrients in a quick, portable meal (or snack) is to make a smoothie. This season, pumpkin pie smoothies are a great way to get the nutrition and fuel you need, while also taking advantage of those warm, comforting flavors of the Fall. It whips up in just a few seconds and you have a nourishing smoothie you can take with you on the go. If you need extra time, especially if you make this in the morning, you can prep your ingredients the night before, pop them in the blender when ready and blend it up in no time.

Pumpkin is a fantastic source of iron and fiber, and is said to be healthy for your heart, digestive tract, and even help prevent cancer. This smoothie recipe pairs all of these benefits with protein from high quality yogurt and natural sweetener from maple syrup. It blends together quickly and tastes just like a scoop of your favorite pie.

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (plain, vanilla, or coconut)

3/4 cup vanilla, unsweetened almond milk

1 frozen banana

1-2 tsp maple syrup (if using sweetened almond milk, leave out)

1/2tsp cinnamon*

1/8 tsp ginger*

1/8 tsp nutmeg*

sprinkle of cloves*

*You can add more or less spices. The more you add, the grittier your smoothie may get. 

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth. If needed, add more liquid or scrape the sides and blend again.

Enjoy!

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PS Not medical or nutritional advice. 

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