11. Neurological Coregulation

Effective residential treatment for troubled children and youth depends upon teamwork among both staff and residents. The goal is to transform a group of struggling kids into a supportive team. Many kids in these programs crave friendship, which is often lacking due to their life challenges and the displacement of residential treatment. A major goal in treatment programs is to help the child and youth clients learn how to make and keep friends. 

Residential treatment does a lot of that teaching through various group activities, including recreational, therapy-based, and house meetings. These gatherings require active participation from staff, beyond just facilitating. Staff members play roles like maintaining order, offering support to individual kids, and helping resolve conflicts. They also assist in therapeutic activities, like group explanations, where kids take responsibility for their actions and receive feedback.

In recreational activities, staff involvement goes beyond observation. They engage as cheerleaders, referees, coaches, or announcers, aiming to boost kids' confidence and social skills. The concept of "therapeutic error" guides staff to adapt their participation level to the kids' abilities, fostering a positive experience for them.

In therapy-based groups, staff provide support and modeling, helping kids manage their emotions and engage in the therapeutic process. While therapists lead these sessions, staff contribute by creating a supportive environment and assisting kids in staying focused. The most effective groups combine the role of the therapist in uncovering emotional pain with the role of the counselor in helping clients tolerate that pain. 

Overall, effective residential treatment relies on staff members actively engaging in various group settings, contributing to the therapeutic process, and fostering a sense of teamwork and support among the residents. Staff involvement goes beyond facilitation; it involves actively participating in activities, providing support, and guiding kids towards positive interactions and growth.

This podcast mini-series aims to aid residential staff who find themselves supervising shifts and providing individual supervision for residential counselors. It explores various aspects of these roles through the Seven-Directions Meta-Compass Model.

Each episode focuses on a cardinal direction, representing different perspectives. Episode one emphasized supportive supervision (East) and the role of the supervisor as teacher (South).  Episode two focused on coaching (West) and focused on teamwork (North).

The current episode delves into the Upward perspective, addressing the relationship challenges of transitioning from peer to supervisor and maintaining professional boundaries.  The importance of refraining from participating in negative venting among staff and instead focusing on problem-solving and promoting teamwork is stressed. The supervisor must navigate new boundaries and ensure that relationships with colleagues remain professional.

The podcast then shifts to the Downward perspective of task responsibilities. It emphasizes the importance of checklists to keep track of various tasks, the importance of delegating effectively,  and potentially addressing personnel issues involving productivity, attendance, and conduct.

Next, it explores the Inward perspective, emphasizing self-care and professional development for both supervisors and supervisees. It highlights the role of the supervisor in supporting staff well-being and facilitating their growth.

Finally, it offers a model for conducting individual supervision meetings, incorporating elements from all cardinal directions. It suggests starting with emotional support, moving to teaching and coaching, and then addressing teamwork, engagement with clients, and any other issues specific to any one supervisee.

The series concludes by acknowledging the complexity of the supervisor role and the transformative impact it can have on both staff and clients in a residential treatment setting. It emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and growth in this role.

In this podcast episode, looking at the role of the Residential Supervisor shifts to the perspective of the West cardinal direction in the Meta-Compass Model.  The West is the direction of behaviors, physiology, and for this podcast, especially is concerned with setting behavioral goals for supervisees. 

It’s suggested that setting behavioral goals be based on encouraging Residential Counselors to develop their own executive skills.  Focusing on executive skills, and using the language of executive skills, helps separate out asking supervisees to develop their professional skills, versus language that makes supervisees feel like their supervisor is judging their character or personal development.

Thus the supervisor encourages specific behaviors in staff members that correspond with exercising executive skills such as reaction inhibition and stress tolerance, crucial for maintaining emotional control during challenging situations.  Likewise, the supervisor focuses on helping their supervisees improve their own planning, prioritizing, organizing, time management, initiation, and other cognitive executive skills. 

This focus on executive skills development, and really breaking it down to the behaviors that demonstrate an exercising of these skills, continues with helping supervisees with their goal-directed persistence (highly relevant to the reality that a lot of residential interventions only work after hundreds of repetitions), their self-awareness (which is the foundation of self-directed development), and meta-cognition (which corresponds with understanding the “thinking” of the program – its philosophy, treatment approaches, etc.).

The podcast then shifts to the North cardinal position perspective on the Meta-Compass.  The North, the domain of the Chief, is very concerned with teamwork and the well-being of their team-mates.  Guidelines are presented for effectively encouraging the development of a high-functioning team. 

The Chief also has to, sometimes, set limits.  It falls on the supervisor to monitor staff interactions with both clients and colleagues to ensure safety and adherence to workplace laws and program policies, procedures, and practices.

This podcast aims to guide residential staff taking on the role of supervising a shift, emphasizing the complexities involved in managing a group of kids and supporting a team of direct care staff. The role of a Residential Supervisor involves overseeing shifts, and in some agencies includes providing one-on-one office-based supervision, which includes conducting performance appraisals, managing personnel issues, and facilitating communication between staff and management.

To organize this wide-ranging topic, the 7-Directions Meta-Compass Model, inspired by Native American concepts, is used as a framework to explore different aspects of the supervisor's role.

The East represents emotions, focusing on the importance of emotional support, resilience, and passion for leadership. Values associated with the East are Respect and Caring.  The Supervisor provides the staff team with executive functions, including Reaction Inhibition and Stress Tolerance.  This sets the tone for their using those same executive skills with the kids.  The importance of debriefing after intense experiences and fostering Stress Tolerance is highlighted.

Moving to the South, which represents cognitions, the podcast emphasizes the role of the supervisor in imparting knowledge about program structures, schedules, behavior management, and treatment components. The Values associated with the South are Truth and Honesty.

This episode delves into team-building, emphasizing the role of communication, feedback, appreciation, and celebration in developing a high-performing team. The Values associated with the South are Truth and Honesty.

The Supervisor is responsible for providing the team with cognitive executive functions like Planning, Prioritizing, Organizing, Sustained Attention, Working Memory, Time Management, Task Initiation, and Flexibility. These functions are crucial for effective shift supervision.

Upcoming episodes will explore the West, North, Upward, Downward, and Inward directions, covering behaviors, physiology, setting goals, relationships, tasks, and self-care. This mini-series provides guidance for Residential Supervisors, acknowledging the challenges and growth opportunities associated with the role.

This podcast episode presents a system for managing behavior problems, utilizing a variety of interconnected tools and techniques. 

The concept of contagion is introduced, explaining how behaviors, feelings, and thoughts can spread among individuals. The importance of interrupting behavioral patterns is highlighted, particularly using a technique known as "pattern interrupts." These interrupts aim to prevent escalation and promote a return to baseline functioning.  A detailed example of a structural pattern interrupt is provided, involving a campaign to reduce swearing among middle-school boys in a residential cottage.

The podcast suggests the use of three types of time-outs: Structured Centering Break, Independent Centering Break, and Resets. Each type serves as a therapeutic consequence for a lack of self-control, allowing individuals to practice coping activities and centering exercises. The importance of tailoring interventions to individual needs, avoiding shaming, and promoting consistency is emphasized.

Additionally, the establishment of a clear Code of Conduct based on values is recommended, with examples provided. The distinction between major and minor violations of the Code is discussed, along with a range of staff responses to minor violations. The goal is to intervene effectively while minimizing disruption to the group and the activity.

The podcast underscores the developmental importance of allowing individuals to progress from Structured Centering Breaks to Independent Centering Breaks and Resets. The ultimate aim is to empower clients to independently manage their behaviors and develop self-control, contributing to their growth and success outside the treatment program.

Structured Centering Breaks, which are used for all instances where major violations of the Code of Conduct have occurred, include a processing of the incident that focuses on taking responsibility for one's actions and feelings, followed by a discussion on relationship repair, restitution, fines, group explanations, and executive skills development as ways to achieve higher responsibility levels.

This episode also takes a look at the use of restrictions, differentiating between those related to safety concerns and those as direct consequences of problem behaviors. The goal is to frame restrictions in a way that aligns with program goals beyond punishment, connecting them to therapeutic and treatment-driven objectives.

This episode focuses on Beliefs as a powerful regulatory mechanism. Beliefs act as filters through which individuals perceive reality, and the host emphasizes the importance of consciously choosing beliefs. The key idea is that beliefs need not be evaluated based on their imagined truth, but on their usefulness and how well they serve an individual.

Empowering and healthy beliefs can be consciously cultivated through two main strategies:  tasking your brain to find evidence supporting the new belief, and taking action as if the belief were already true.

Twelve Transformational Beliefs are presented:

1.   People are not their behaviors.
2.   All behavior happens for a reason.
3. People are my most valuable resource.
4. Everything happens for a reason and somehow serves me.
5. There’s no such thing as failure, only unintended results.
6. I can take responsibility for everything I impact.
7. I don’t have to completely understand something to use it.
8. Work can be fun.
9. Commitment and hard work makes for a better product.
10. We’re all works in progress.
11. Intentions matter.
12. We’re all spiritual beings on a physical journey.

Overall, the podcast encourages listeners to adopt empowering beliefs, actively seek evidence supporting them, and act in alignment with these beliefs for personal and professional growth.

This podcast episode is intended to increase your awareness of Self-Talk and how you can coach your clients to use more effective and healthier Self-Talk.  It uses the Aspect Compass (part of the Meta-Compass Model) to present different qualities of Self-Talk that appeal to the four cardinal aspects of your psyche called The Artist, The Scout, The Warrior, and The Chief.

Using the Aspect Compass begins with the Artist (in the East), representing the domain of emotions.  As children explore the world, the Scout (in the South) emerges, making associations and developing thoughts. The Warrior (in the West) handles challenging behaviors, responding to emotional cues from the Artist and thoughts from the Scout.  Finally the Chief (in the North) emerges to coordinate and regulate the four aspects of your psyche. 

The Chief uses executive skills, like Reaction Inhibition and Stress Tolerance, to regulate the Artist.  The Chief uses other executive skills, like planning, prioritizing, time management, and sustained attention to regulate the Scout. The Chief also regulates the Warrior with skills like goal-directed persistence, self-awareness, and meta-cognition.

The Chief using Self-Talk, begins with caregiver messages early in life. The Chief internalizes this caregiver talk which turns into Self-Talk.  For the Artist, with its limited vocabulary, tone of voice and simple words work best.  On the other hand, The Scout responds best to coaching Self-Talk, which can be delivered in several different styles.  The Warrior parts of the brain and psyche also don’t have a lot of vocabulary.  The Warrior responds best to Self-Talk that is simple, direct, and directive.

Residential staff using the Labeling technique support the development of the clients’ Chief aspect, which has to learn to monitor the other aspects, in other words to be self-aware of feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. 

Clients also benefit from increased awareness of negative Self-Talk.  The Scout parts of the brain are designed to come up with observations, theories, and beliefs that explain the world.  Asking yourself negative questions, like “Why am I so stupid?” will cause The Scout to look for explanations, evidence, and an answer.  That answer is not based on any kind of objective truth and is likely to be demoralizing, disempowering, and self-destructive.

The skilled residential counselor models empowering self-talk and uses it for personal stress management. The Chief's Self-Talk encouraging you to perceive others as whole beings, to act with integrity, and to encourage kindness teaches clients to develop their own Self-Talk to manage their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. 

In this podcast episode, the focus is on aiding children and youth in residential treatment to develop executive skills, which are crucial for regulating emotions, thinking, and behavior. Developing residents executive skills is essential because it’s their deficits in being able to regulate their own feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that accounts for why they need to live at a treatment program in order to receive services, instead of living in the community / with their families. 

Executive skills begin developing in childhood but can be delayed or overwhelmed by environmental challenges, trauma, deprivation, insufficient parenting, or neurological conditions. The key to improving executive skills lies in practice, with the brain becoming more adept at whatever skills it regularly engages in.

The podcast introduces 13 executive skills, two of which are primarily focused on regulating emotions, eight of which are primarily focused on regulating thinking, and 3 of which are focused on regulating behaviors. 

Strategies are presented for developing reaction inhibition and stress tolerance, crucial for emotional regulation, include labeling and check-ins. Stress tolerance is further fostered through empathic listening, creative arts, journaling, and coping activities.

Cognitive executive skills such as planning, prioritizing, organizing, sustained attention, time management, task initiation, working memory, and flexibility are explored. Practical techniques involve fostering autonomy in planning, using a choice model for prioritization, engaging in organizing tasks, and employing coping activities to enhance stress tolerance and several cognitive executive skills.

Coping activities are divided into eight categories, including diversions, tension releasers, organizing tasks, cognitive coping skills, social coping skills, physical maintenance strategies, limit setting, and spiritually fulfilling activities. The podcast emphasizes the importance of teaching children positive coping activities while being aware of negative coping actions.

Negative coping actions do work, in-the-moment, to help a person tolerate stress, however, they have longer-term self-destructive effects.  These are things such as drug use, self-injurious behaviors, over-eating, and blaming people and yourself.

Lastly, the podcast touches on additional executive skills such as goal-directed persistence, self-awareness, and meta-cognition. It highlights the role of residential staff in supporting children to stick to goals, improve self-awareness through labeling, and encourage meta-cognitive thinking by exploring motivations and intentions. Overall, the episode provides a comprehensive guide to helping children in residential treatment enhance their executive skills through intentional and practical interventions.

This podcast presents a system of eight values and fits them within the Meta-Compass Model.  This podcast explores the interplay between executive functions, values, and emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health, offering a practical framework for understanding and fostering these aspects in individuals, particularly children and youth.

Values, separate from Executive Skills, serve as a mechanism for your inner Chief to regulate the other cardinal aspects of your psyche, the Artist, the Scout, and especially the Warrior by providing boundaries for behaviors. 

A values system is presented that is inspired by Native American traditions, particularly the Seven Gifts of The Grandfathers, which include Respect, Love, Truth, Honesty, Bravery, Humility, and Wisdom.  An eight gift, Integrity, is added to represent the Eight Gifts of The Elders.

Each "gift" is associated with a specific direction on the Meta-Compass Model. For instance, the Gift of Respect, associated with the East, involves recognizing and attending to basic needs, fostering empathy, and countering the Fear-of-the-Cold. The Gift of Love, also in the East, is portrayed as a broad sense of caring, countering the Fear-of-Being-Alone.

Other gifts, such as Truth and Honesty, are linked to the South and counter the Fear-of-The-Woods and Fear-of-the-Dark, respectively. The West represents the Gifts of Bravery and Humility, countering Fear-of-Animals and Fear-of-Water. The North encompasses the Gifts of Integrity and Wisdom, countering the Fear-of-Rot.

A concrete code of conduct derived from the Eight Gifts, which turns each value into actionable behaviors, is available on the resources page of the website (www.BearClanllc.com).

The episode wraps up with an original story titled "Buffalo and The Eight Gifts of the Elders."

This podcast builds off of the concept that, overall, our brains understand the totality of our life experiences as a story.  It’s crucial for our mental health, and overall sense of becoming centered, to see ourselves as the hero of our own life-story.  This is the situation for children and youth in residential treatment. 

Upon entering residential treatment, kids often feel at a low point, viewing their challenges as insurmountable. They need to become part of a classic story-line in which our young central character faces personal tragedy, separates from parents, finds mentors and friends, and undergoes growth to become the hero.  The key quality for the hero needs is courage.

Actions in the face of dangerous situations can show bravery, with or without the significant presence of fear.  Courage, on the other hand, always involves facing fear.  There cannot be courage without fear. 

A way to gain power over one’s personal fears is to be able to talk about fear in a more generalized fashion.  This episode introduces the concept of the "Eight Fears of All Human Beings," placing them within the Meta-Compass Model used in other episodes of this podcast. These fears include the fear of the cold, being alone, the woods, the dark, animals, water, rot, and being judged.

The discussion delves into each fear, its metaphorical meaning, and how addressing these fears both requires courage and nurtures courage. These fears can also be understood in the context of the developmental stages of life, cognitive processes, and behavioral responses.

The goal is to empower clients in residential treatment to recognize their fears, recognize that they can face those fears with courage, and thus become more resilient.  By framing these fears as universal conditions, the counselor aims to create a non-judgmental space for kids to discuss their experiences and demonstrate courage in the face of adversity.