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Counseling Corner

Clarissa HastingsWelcome HOPE Families! I am happy to serve you and your students this school year! I am a Master level professional counselor and have over eleven years experience working as a high school and elementary school counselor. I am also a licensed mental health therapist.

In my practice, I work with adults, teenagers, and children. I have many certifications, including art therapy, brief therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy, to name a few. Additionally, I will share resources and links on this site to communicate and support our families at HOPE Christian.

Hello, HOPE Families!

My name is Clarissa Hastings, and I am excited to be the school counselor at HOPE Christian High School this year. I wanted to write this letter to help introduce myself and outline what counseling services will look like on the high school campus this school year.

My husband, Ken, and I have been married for 36 years. We have been blessed with two amazing daughters and two sons-in-love, one sweet little granddaughter and another granddaughter on the way. Both of our grandchildren will be attending HOPE Christian School. I have been a counselor for over 11 years, and I was a high school  teacher for 16 years. I also have my own practice as a clinician and work with adults, teenagers, children, and families. I am a published author, writing books about healing from grief and trauma, and I am currently writing a children’s book.

Below, I will outline how I plan to organize the counseling services at HOPE Christian High School this year:

Classroom Guidance for all students: I will be teaching in the Bible classes monthly. Some of the lessons will include building healthy relationships/friendships, hope and despair, building our emotional toolboxes, developing healthy boundaries when demonstrating the five love languages, regulating our feelings, conflict resolution, using
the wellness wheel, and demonstrating kindness.

Check ins: I have an online referral form as well as a referral form in front of my office. In addition, staff members have access to the online forms as well as printed forms. I am available to students every day, during school hours.

Groups and Individual meetings: I can meet with groups of students during lunch and during the school day. I can help students with grief, with family situations (for example, divorced or blended families), and with relationship issues.

Need to make an appointment with me? Parents and students are welcome to call, text, or email me. My contact information is provided below.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to support your
students, or you, as we navigate this school year.

All my best wishes,
Clarissa Hastings, M.A., LMHC
[email protected]
505-822-8868, extension 302 (call or leave a message)
505-903-7282 (call or text)

Practical Ways to Solve Minor Problems (Kelso's Choices)

There are eight choices to solve minor problems in a relationship. They are broken down into verbal choices and nonverbal choices.

Verbal Choices:
 
Make a Deal
Tell them to stop
Apologize (ask forgiveness)
Talk It Out
 
Nonverbal Choices:
 
Take time to Cool Off
Walk Away
Go to a safe place
Ignore it


At HOPE Christian, it is our goal to reconcile differences. It is very important to walk away or go to a safe place when emotions escalate. When everyone is calm, then talk it out. A safe adult can intervene and help with mediating the problems when students cannot resolve the problems themselves.

It is important to remember to be unified when solving problems. Do not become the problem and do not look at others as the problem. The problem is the problem. We learn to solve problems by reconciling differences. Even if each student experiences the problem differently, the solution is the same. Being problem solvers is an important skill to have in life.

Quotes relating to making mistakes:

  • "I am strong because I have been weak. I am fearless because I have been afraid. I am wise because I have been foolish" (Anonymous).
  • "No regrets in life. Just lessons learned" (author unknown).
  • "Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations" (author unknown).

Student Resources for Healthy Relationships

Parent Resources

 

FAQs

A school counselor is a licensed professional with a master's degree who is trained to provide academic, career, and social-emotional support to all students. They work with students, teachers, administrators, and families to promote lifelong learning and holistic health in a manner that is appropriate for a school setting. The role of a school counselor involves addressing the academic, psychological, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being of students to help them succeed and thrive both in and outside of the classroom.
Nope. School is not the best setting to do long-term therapy.  Instead, a counselor provides solution-focused counseling support like listening, goal setting, praying, empowering, guiding, and advocating for you. It is usually short-term (4-6 meetings) with follow-ups and check-ins. Most of what we talk about can remain confidential with exceptions*. 
  • A meeting with a school counselor is usually at most 30 minutes as needed.  Therapy usually meets weekly for about an hour. 

  • A school counselor will never diagnose or treat mental disorders because, again, that is not appropriate in a school setting. 

  • They can send referrals to outside clinical providers for long-term treatment.


* A school counselor is kind of like the school nurse in this regard… we triage needs, refer to specialists, and support recovery, but we do not diagnose or “set broken bones”. 


  • If you already have support outside of school, school counselors connect with your outside providers to be an extension of what you are already getting.


*Although I am a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), I am also dual licensed as a school counselor. My school counseling license allows me to follow a national model that provides support for students based on research that supports the value of school counseling. I am a member of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

  • Academic pressure, challenges, and stressors
  • Creating healthy relationships
  • Future planning
  • Conflict resolution
  • Overcoming bad habits/patterns
  • Balancing life responsibilities
  • Communication
  • Social stressors and isolation
  • Emotional dysregulation support
  • Social skills
  • Grief & Loss
  • Organization
  • Big life changes 
  • Fear and anxiety
  • Decision-making and wise counsel
  • Emotional processing (aka. venting=)
  • Concerning thoughts, fe
  • Parenting education and support (parenting is hard; as a counselor, parent and grandparent, I can be a resource for those challenges)
  • Outside Resources and Referrals
  • Parent/child conflict resolution
  • Education on Social/Emotional/Cognitive development of the adolescent brain
  • Communication
  • Grief & loss
  • Crisis intervention and support
  • Family Advocacy
  • Coordinating family and school meetings
It depends. If you are coming to see a counselor and disclose any of the limitations to confidentiality, parents/guardians WILL be contacted. I  support students with any contact made with the family to promote Agape love for both the student and parents. 
  1. If you are being hurt by someone.
  2. If you are currently, or planning on hurting yourself and/or another person.
  3. Extreme health or safety concerns.
  4. Group settings (it is hard to keep confidentiality if there are other students involved)
  5. You give consent to share.
  6. Consultation and supervision (getting help from other counselors or collecting more information to give context to challenges).
You can make an individual appointment with me using INDIVIDUAL LINK and select a time and date that works best for your class schedule.  If your parents/guardians would like to request a meeting with me, your teachers, or any other adults,  please contact me at school, 505-822-8868. Extension 302, so I can invite and coordinate the different schedules.