Nate
Nate is a wonderful bright 7 year old that asks amazing questions. He was just “diagnosed” with ADHD and is beginning to learn (with his parents) the best ways to minimize his weaknesses and maximize his strengths. Nate tends to be very active, competitive and emotionally sensitive. Nate is learning all about personal choices and responsibility. He has decided to work on
- Listening more and talking less in the classroom
- Eating very little sugar
- Using “hook-ups” from Brain Gym to control his anger
- Learning to be a good sport & respectful to other playmates
Nate’s coaching program involves immersion sessions when he visits from out of state, phone calls, letters and teaching others about what he learns especially with his success with Brain Gym tools.
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Kyle
Kyle began working with Michelle when he was in 5th grade. His nervous system seemed very keyed up and he had “meltdowns” when he felt he couldn’t cope with the school and life pressure. Kyle and his family are very active and put an extremely high value on school performance. Since Kyle was struggling with his test anxiety you can imagine the tension he was feeling as an eleven year old!
Kyle’s coaching involved:
- Test taking techniques with anti-anxiety strategies
- Self-confidence uilding
- Perspective taking
- Increasing his tolerance of “failure”
- Learning to talk with his parents about the pressure he felt
- Putting more emphasis on activities that him happy like playing guitar in a band!
- Bibliotherapy! Kyle is an avid adventure reader and we used book content for life lessons
- Waking up his emotional awareness (I’m feeling ___ right now)
Kyle worked his coaching program during the school year(s) and one summer for 5 years (on & off). Kyle preferred weekly sessions for consistency and habit building. He is now a successful high school junior. He has a full arsenal of skills and knows he can always call for a session if he feels the need. He still loves playing in the band.
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Jennifer
Jennifer was ten years old when Michelle first met her. Jennifer had come from a traumatic family situation and was living with a foster family. In addition to the life trauma Jennifer struggled with dyslexia, ADHD & depression. She was in treatment with a good psychologist and coaching was a perfect complement to her needs. Jennifer enjoys cheerleading, gymnastics and sharing her bubbly personality. Her coaching program started off with consistent meetings to build trust and a sense of safety. She needed a lot of support in navigating the academic demands of her public school and in dealing with the results of her abusive early years.
Jennifer learned
- to believe in herself
- the values of persistence & finishing tasks
- relational skills
- using movement & other techniques to manage her emotional states
- to restore her trust that there exists some safe adults in the world
- time management
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Jordan
Jordan came to coaching when she was 19. She struggled with severe anxiety which was impacting her performance in some of her college classes. An attractive and articulate young woman, Jordan was making strong progress in therapy but wanted the additional support a coaching relationship could provide. Jordan really benefited from the body/mind integration techniques and strategies used in our coaching process. As an adolescent, Jordan was able to incorporate the techniques that were most useful in reducing her anxiety around performance and test taking.
Jordan’s program included:
- email and phone check-ins reporting her concerns and wins!
- Brain Gym balancing integration sessions
- Developing Emotional perspective taking
- Learning to use Positive self-talk
- Affirming choices
- Test-taking strategies
- Body/mind relaxation skills
Jordan worked with our program for 4 months and successfully passed her classes, while increasing her self-confidence, coping ability and satisfaction with her life. She has continued on successfully in college and checks-in periodically via email and phone.
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Madeline
Madeline started coaching when she was a 15 year old freshman. A bright creative prize winning competitive equestrian, Madeline struggled with social anxiety and non-verbal learning issues. She also had a challenging dynamic with her parents regarding realistic performance expectations and the ever increasing stress of horse-show competitions. Madeline benefited from a coaching relationship that:
- Utilized her innate creativity and dramatic skills to improve school performance
- Taught test-taking skills
- Introduced body relaxation techniques
- Focused on the social and emotional aspects of peer relationships
- Provided decision making guidance
- Used visualization practice for competition
- Included skill-based learning using kinesthetic & visual modalities
- Helped with school placement counseling
Madeline benefited from in person coaching for her freshman and sophomore years. She switched high-schools so that her natural strengths were maximized and continued her involvement in charitable work, her debutant debut and increased success in her equestrian competitions. Today, Madeline is a successful, happy college student.
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Marisa
Marisa came to coaching due to stress from delayed reading ability. A delightful, vibrant, adventurous 8 year old, Marisa responded rapidly to a body/mind integrative coaching program. At the beginning of her sessions, Marisa often used negative self-talk showing her low self-esteem. With a high level of active movement and integrated with cognitive activities, Marisa “switched-on” for reading! *She began at a kindergarten level and 5 months later was reading at the 3rd grade level. Her self-concept equalized and she regained her natural “can-do” attitude.
- Marisa’s program included:
- Brain gym learning processes
- Journal work
- Art exploration
- Play (full-body and cognitive/strategic)
- Reading intervention
*Marisa was tested by her charter school. The reading intervention was provided in an educational therapist capacity. Currently we refer out for academic remediation or intervention. We still use cognitive/strategic play in coaching to improve thinking skills.
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Christopher
Christopher came for body/mind integrative coaching to help with school performance in reading. Christopher was doubtful at first that Brain Gym coaching could help his reading and improve his soccer game. But he gave it his 9 year old best shot and was pleasantly surprised. His coaching included a 3 month program of reading intervention and Brain Gym activities. With his rapid progress all were pleased with Christopher’s improvement in self-concept, stress management and reading speed.
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Sean
Sean was having a really difficult young life. He was diagnosed with rapid-cycling bipolar disorder at age 8. He was being treated by a top doctor in the field and was making some progress. Sean was able to attend school after having to stop participating when his symptoms became too severe. Michelle began coaching Sean when he was 9 years old and back in school. His coaching program included many on the spot creative improvisations as well as:
- Calming strategies
- Coping skills
- Help with managing transitions and changes in daily routines
- Cognitive-behavioral coaching
- Art, writing and play modalities
- Movement integration
Sean benefited from coaching during his 9th and 10th years of age. He continued to improve in school and in coping with his illness.
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Roberto
Roberto was a happy, sweet 9 year old attending public school. He was bilingual with English/Spanish (Good thing Michelle is also!) and receiving language support. His academic skills were a bit behind in English skills and math. Roberto enjoyed sports and computer games. He was fortunate to have parents that devoted a lot of time and attention to him and his younger sister. The parents’ proactive involvement was key to Roberto’s successful outcome. His coaching program revolved around body/mind integration and sport-like play activities. Roberto responded instantly to Brain Gym processes that improved his reading and writing abilities. He also received reading and math skill intervention. Roberto’s coaching program lasted throughout 4th and 5th grades. He finished his program with great success and confidence!
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