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​Please scroll down to read our Unconditional Education blog posts.

​You can click the button below to learn more about our Unconditional Education and School Based Services!

OUR UE MODEL AND SERVICES

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Priscilla Chan

1/17/2023

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Position: Student Support Counselor
What led you to your current position: I was at a crossroad in my life when I found this opportunity with Seneca. I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue a master program in counseling or whether I wanted to get more experience within the workforce. In accepting this position with Seneca, I've learned that there are more specialties within this line of work that I have yet to explore. I'm still figuring out my next steps but the support from Seneca to discover my path is motivating! 
What inspires you to do this work: Life can be hard and as a person that has experienced the lack of a healthy support system and proper tools, I want to equip people with this knowledge to help them learn and grow in the future. 
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: In order to be in this line of work, it requires a lot of introspection and consistent self-care. Showing up to serve others reminds me that I also need to do the same for myself. In the end it all comes full circle. 
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: Be you! Be so relentlessly you! It's weird that these words are coming from me because I was in a very different place last year but I'm proud of how far I've come, and I want to be there to witness the growth in others!

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Financial Wellness in 2023

1/17/2023

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Oh HI, Linzy here with the Operations Strand. Come over here, I have something that your future self will love…
2023 has arrived and the Ops team has their money on their mind during this season of intention!
We are making 3 big money moves for this month’s PLC sessions. Read on and join us on the journey.
  1. On 1/27 from 10 – 12, we are attending Seneca’s Financial Wellness Presentation and Q & A on retirement options and benefits.  This will be led by HR Director, Lori Slominski and a representative from The Standard (that company that runs our retirement accounts).  The session will include a full walk through of what the agency offers, plus how to navigate available resources within the Standard website.  All staff are invited, so keep an eye out for an email from Lori next week to get registered.
  2. Wanna do something for YOU? Right NOW?!  Take a look at how your 403B is doing by logging onto https://portal.standard.com/my-home/.  Once you log in, go to “My Account” and check our your “Retirement Readiness Snapshot”. You can make real time adjustments to your score from that page – your future self will thank you!
  3. Check out this quick article by the Career Contessa on creative money saving techniques and tailor your plans to your personal financial goals.​
When it comes to Financial Wellness, diversifying your approach is the way to go – so go toward the green money making light and design a plan that works for you!​
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Blog Post Written By: Linzy Gustafson, Director of Implementation 


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What if the Adults Didn’t Always Need to Stay Calm?

1/9/2023

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Is it realistic to always remain calm when we’re working with youth?  Nope. And guess what?  It can be productive, instructive, and ideal for us to be honest about our own dysregulation.  When you pretend to be calm with youth, you are not fooling them: they see it, feel it, and might chalk it up to one more reason adults are not safe. Here is an explanation of this neurological phenomenon:   
“When another person gets dysregulated, we are designed to feel the dysregulation too!  Think of it like your nervous system and their nervous system are saying “hello” to each other.  We can partly thank our mirror neuron system for this phenomenon. When we see someone experiencing emotions, we actually imagine having the same experience. The wisdom in this is that it supports our ability to attune and have empathy.  It also gives us information about what might be going on for the other person. One of the other reasons we get dysregulated is because our brains are constantly scanning our environment for safety clues and whether or not there is a challenge to overcome.” (Dion, L., 2022)   ​
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Staying honest about your emotional state when you are dysregulated in interactions with youth can lead to trust and the always important feeling of connection. First, own your feelings: “When you climb on that wall it makes me feel really nervous.”  “When you hide the Uno cards it makes me feel frustrated.” Second, model the way you regulate “Wow I’m going take a break here to calm down and do three deep dragon breaths.” “I need to just stop a minute and ground myself with this fidget.” This not only demonstrates ways to regulate but also models self-awareness and expression of emotional states for our clients. The icing on the cake here is you become more attuned to your own triggers and challenges while remaining authentic. That’s self-care! 
 
Once a youth learns that you are honest about your emotions and willing to regulate yourself when with them, they are much more willing to join in or experiment with it themselves. Co-regulation becomes an incredibly useful touchpoint when a youth is distressed. “Yikes, you seem really frustrated, I can feel it, let’s do some breaths together and see if it helps.” 
 
For more information check out some of Lisa Dion‘s podcast and YouTube videos; she started Synergistic Play Therapy, which draws on neuroscience, neurosequential work, play therapy, and psychotherapy. 
​https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/

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Blog Post Written By: Laurie Kindel, Clinical Supervisor
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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Ford Elementary

1/9/2023

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When we start our partnerships with schools using the Unconditional Education Model, we are upfront with our partners that the goal is to work ourselves out of a job.  Research has shown that school change takes between 3-5 years.  During this time, we hope to help schools develop, implement, and maintain sustainable systems that they can continue holding on their own.  Ford Elementary, located in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, is an example of success in this regard.  We started the partnership at Ford with a full time Unconditional Education Coach for the first four years.  In the next two years, we stepped back our support and had a coach on site 3 days a week to maintain the systems and continue to build capacity of the school-based staff.  This scaffolded support was especially helpful as it fell during the two years of distance learning. For the current school year, we have a consultation model where school staff are running the systems that have been put in place while receiving weekly consultation and guidance from Seneca to maintain and continue to improve on those systems.  The school has been able to sustain may of the structures that were put in place by the Unconditional Education Coach including:
  • Monthly all day Coordination of Services Team meetings to help problem solve, plan, and coordinate student interventions
  • Bi monthly Office Discipline Referral meetings where staff examine data from behavioral discipline referrals and create interventions based on the patterns that are occurring.  They are also able to get feedback from teachers regarding the interventions that are implemented
  • Monthly Culture and Climate Team meetings where a diverse team uses data from the Tiered Fidelity Inventory, Trauma Informed Index, and School Climate Assessment Index to develop a year long plan to improve culture and climate.
  • Beginning of year Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) expectations lessons, with a mid year reteach event scheduled for January
We are so proud of the long term impact that the Unconditional Education Model has had on this school community, and hope to continue creating these sustainable systems on our other school campuses.  


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Blog Post Written By: Laura Lin, Director of School Partnerships ​
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STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Shakera Buchanan

12/19/2022

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 Name: Shakera Buchanan
 Position: Clinical Intervention Specialist
 What led you to your current position: I don’t feel as though I was led to this position, it was   more like a calling. Growing up as a system impacted youth, I experienced and witnessed   many flaws, wrongdoings and downright injustices towards youth that were impacted with     mental health symptoms. Oftentimes, the treatment and care that was provided was   insensitive, uncaring, and mundane. As I navigated my way through these systems, with the   support of providers that really showed up for me, I was able to beat all odds and statistics   that were “predestined” for me. I know firsthand how having access to quality mental health services, genuine care, and commitment, children and youth life trajectories can be altered. So here I am, doing the work!
What inspires you to do this work: The resilience of the community that I serve. The resiliency in the children and families that I am privileged to work with. They have taught me so much about this work, far greater than I could have learned in any graduate program. My kiddos are amazing!
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: This is my fourth year at my school site, and several students have been on my caseload for most of that time. Therapeutic rapport and trust have been solidified in relationship with these kiddos and their caregivers and as result, I have been able to really get to the heart of issues that brought them to services. I have so many rich, hearty and “aha” moments during sessions this school year. Without the prior work and time of building and strengthening trust in the relationship, these moments would not have occurred. Never underestimate the power of the therapeutic relationship.
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: This too shall pass! No matter how grim the circumstances may look, as long as there is breath in the body and a willingness to change, hope is possible and obtainable. 

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Elmhurst Middle School

12/19/2022

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Our clinicians at Elmhurst are taking a truly collaborative approach to providing services to students and families and we love to see it! Lilly Conboy and Adriana Camacho are teaming up to provide more holistic and equitable therapeutic services for a student and his family in a way that feels unique and supportive. Lilly started providing clinical services at Elmhurst United Middle School in Oakland, California in January 2022 where she began building her caseload of students in need of individual therapy. She began working with one particular middle schooler who had a variety of emotional and physical health needs. While she was able to build a connection with him, she struggled to establish clear and effective communication with his family as there was a language barrier. The family expressed a desire to work with a Spanish-speaking clinician if possible. Utilizing the support of translation services in order to collaborate with and support our families is a reality that many clinicians have to navigate.  
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When Adriana arrived at Elmhurst this past October as a second clinician on site, she was eager to support the students and families in this community. Adriana found that sharing a cultural connection with a family (both Adriana and this family identify as Mexican-American) can have a great therapeutic impact that goes beyond a common language and communication. Lilly and Adriana discovered an opportunity to collaborate around what this particular family was asking for to best meet their needs. Here was a family that really wanted to work with a Spanish-speaking clinician and a client (a middle schooler) in a different developmental state in which he was trying to become more independent and requesting his own therapist separate from the family therapist. How exciting that we were able to meet both the family’s needs and honor the client’s request to continue with his therapist that he had been building a good therapeutic relationship with! Lifting and integrating student and family voice is a big part of our program’s goal, and this collaborative therapeutic approach is aligned with that!  Working to build a truly collaborative and holistic team of providers, Lilly and Adriana also partner with the medical center on campus to support this youth and family. We are so excited to see the wonderful work Lilly and Adriana are doing to jointly hold this client and family in a way that feels equitable and supportive!

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Blog Post Written By: Tiana Dudley, Director of School Partnerships ​
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Practicing Radical Self-Care During the Busy Season

12/12/2022

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“The tree is only as healthy as the root.” - @decolonizingtherapy

As we step into December, we get ready to end the Gregorian New Year, wrap up work with our clients and their families, and prepare for the holidays.  We keep in mind ways to hold our clients and their families through the winter break.  We often put ourselves on the back burner as we tend to others.  We play multiple roles in our families (chosen or biological and sometimes both). We are the nurturers. We are the “listening ear.” We are the ones who hold compassion. We are the “understanding ones.” We are the givers.  We can be challenged to give to ourselves what we generously offer to others – compassion, love, kindness and grace.
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In Audre Lorde’s collection of essays, “A Burst of Light,” she reclaims self-care as self-preservation and “an act of political warfare.”  She invites us to tend to our hearts and soul – as means to heal.  That is the essence of radical self-care. Inviting us to say “no” and re-prioritizing ourselves, which is crucial in order to continue doing our work.  We’ve all been bombarded with “self-care activities” such as getting our “me time.”  While that is a start, we must step further into the act of radical self-care in order to heal ourselves, those who were unable to heal in past generations and our seeds, so they carry a little less than we do in this lifetime.  For example, for many first generation folx like myself, we tend to over-work and often hear family members telling us “Not be lazy” and not to take time off when we are really “not that sick.”  Value is placed on working and taking a day off is considered a luxury.  I invite folx to reclaim their time and deconstruct how this has shown up in their personal lives.  As Audre Lorde reminds us, “it’s self-preservation.”  I invite readers to deconstruct and challenge the narratives that have been passed down through generations and become societal norms. 
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Here are some tips to consider as we get ready to take some needed rest:
  • Be intentional – what does your heart and soul need?
  • Practice self-compassion – don't measure your “productivity” on “how much” you get done. Be gentle with yourself.  Maybe your body needed to just binge watch and not necessarily get “anything” done.
  • Tap into your joy. What makes you laugh? What makes you smile? Find one thing that taps into your joy and do it. Then do more of it.
  • Play music that makes your soul smile.
  • Tap into your creativity whether it’s drawing, painting, coloring mandalas, writing, acting etc.
  • Move.  Stretch. Dance. Spend time connecting with your body.
  • Set time aside to unplug to tend to your soul.
  • Connect with nature. Walk barefoot on grass, sit outside and let the sun kiss your face. Feel the breeze. Breathe.
  • Eat food that helps bring balance. Remember that foods like hummus, grapes, nuts and oranges help when feeling stressed.
  • Increase serotonin by practicing gratitude at the beginning and end of your day. 
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Helpful tips on “how boundaries can sound like during the holidays” from @selfloverainbow:
  • “I’m not able to attend this year.”
  • “I appreciate the invite but this year, I'm going to be staying home.”
  • “I would love to bring that dish, but my schedule is full. Maybe next time?”
  • “I’m not discussing politics.”
  • “I’m focusing on my mental health and doing xyz...”
  • “I can come, but I need to leave by...”
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Things To Stop Apologizing For (source: LinkedIN - Anonymous)
  • Asking questions
  • Not being available at all times.
  • Feelings
  • Vocalizing your needs
  • Outgrowing a place or situation.
  • Your accomplishments
  • Not looking “presentable”
  • Doing things that make you happy.
  • Having boundaries. 

​Resources to consider:
  • @selfloverainbow – will give you reminders on how to take care of your body, soul and heart.
  • @thetappingsolution – it's a great resource on using tapping for anxiety and helping you sleep.
  • Set up a monthly calendar of acts of self-care. Check out the calendar on Light the Change’s (LTC) monthly newsletter, “In the Kitchen."
When all else seems too hard, maybe you just need a pep talk. Call (707) 873-7862 for a pep talk from some of our youngest teachers from K-6th grades from West Side Elementary School. AND above all, be kind to yourself and show yourselves some grace. 
​“It can be scary to rest.  To slow down can feel terrifying. Also liberating. Be in your body. Intuit more. Breathe more. Tap on your energy centers more. Consciously & constantly clear your space. You are building a Growth map. One that leads to your best Self. This is magic too.” - @DrJennyJennM (Decolonizing Therapy) 
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Blog Post Written By: Karina Gonzalez, Clinical Supervisor 

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SCHOOL HIGHLIGHT: Hayward High

12/12/2022

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The Mosaic Outpatient School-Based Program has been in partnership with Hayward High School for nearly a full decade! Our current therapy team onsite includes Amber Keil, ASW, PPSC, Cristina Scott, Psy.D., and Julissa Navas, a clinical trainee from UC Berkeley who provides mental health services to students and families, including individual, group, and family therapy, as well as consultation and training to school staff and partners. Hayward High is rich with diversity and Hayward pride! The majority of students who attend Hayward High have a relative who also attended the school. We also have several school staff members who are alumni themselves. As such, the school has built strong relationships with families and the larger community, and it is a gift to us to be a part of it.
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Mosaic staff has had the unique opportunity of being at the forefront of developing the Coordination of Services Team, with one of our clinicians facilitating the meeting up until 2020. We also had the privilege of bringing many trauma-informed resources to support student and staff wellbeing in partnership with the Kaiser Permanente Resilience Initiative for many years. Our staff has also been part of a larger collaboration to expand social-emotional curriculum resources district wide. Currently, we work to provide key insight into our students emotional and behavioral needs as we navigate the ongoing trauma of the pandemic.  This can include classroom and staff presentations, consultation meetings with staff, and presentations for caregivers. Last month, we participated in HUSD’s parent power sessions by facilitating a workshop for more than 25 Hayward caregivers on the topic of Parenting Through the Pandemic and Beyond.
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The words from a couple of our Hayward High School partners illustrate the quality of the partnership and collaboration we have created and deeply cherish:
“Over the years it has been an invaluable program for our school, especially this year with the increase we have seen in anxiety, depression, and risk. Not just their counseling services, they have always gone above and beyond. They are reliable, dependable; it’s like a safety blanket knowing they are there. A lot comes up, and to have them available provides support and comfort knowing I can turn to them.”
“Our Seneca partnership is a major part of our school community. They are always helpful with situations and with information needed to help serve our school community better. They are always willing to collaborate on finding new ways, including Tier 1 supports, to help students and staff receive mental health support.”
We truly feel part of the school community and we have always been warmly welcomed as part of the Farmer family. We are proud of the work we do here on The Farm! 
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Blog Post Written By: Mosaic Outpatient Team

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SCHOOL HIGLIGHT: Community School for Creative Education

12/5/2022

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This year, Seneca has partnered with Community School for Creative Education (CSCE), a Waldorf public charter school located in the San Antonio district of Oakland, California. CSCE serves TK-8th grade with approximately 200 students. CSCE’s mission is to provide a rigorous college-preparatory program integrated into a culturally rich, arts-infused, highly personalized curriculum inspired by Waldorf education for the diverse students of Oakland, to promote equity and prepare culturally competent, well-rounded, lifelong learners to lead, contribute to, and successfully participate in our rapidly changing multicultural society. 

The Waldorf approach to education is an inclusive and holistic experience for all students, focusing on more than academics in hopes of providing students with the tools to navigate life. Staff work to understanding the developmental nature of the students as well as their lived experience both inside and outside of school. CSCE strives to be a vital community partner by cultivating robust connections for students and their families. CSCE’s core values are to take care of yourself, others, and space. Education for the hands, head, and heart enhances both social emotional and academic outcomes for all students. Similarly, Seneca’s Unconditional education (UE) model strives to provide opportunities for all students to be integrated into their greater school communities while working deliberately to close the immense educational opportunities and achievement gaps. Both the UE model and the Waldorf educational approach focuses on centering students and relationships. 
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CSCE chose to work in partnership with Seneca to boost overall culture and climate and to enrich their Coordination of Services Team (COST). In melding UE with the Waldorf approach, our work is to build consistent systems and structures, enhance CSCE’s relational approach to working with students, and to celebrate student and staff wins along the way. As in all of our partnerships, the work will be to support the school in integrating the behavioral, relational, and ecological approach to student support. This includes finding the balance between leveraging the power of individual relationships in support of student growth and development, while also creating a level of predictability and consistency in school-wide expectations for behavior and behavioral supports. All of this work is in support of creating a trauma-informed, and healing-centered learning environment where students, staff, and families feel safe, seen, and empowered to be their most authentic selves.

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Blog Post Written By: Devina Brooks, Director of School Partnerships

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Anisa Siddeeq

12/5/2022

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Name: Anisa Siddeeq
Position: Senior Mental Health Counselor
What led you to your current position: I've always wanted to get involved in work centering mental health and when I saw the opportunity to be a counselor, I thought it would be a great experience.
What inspires you to do this work: Some days are difficult in this work, but I believe in the impact of what we do and that is what keeps me grounded.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role: An important lesson I've learned in this role is accepting that you're human- it sounds silly but when you are in a position of being a role model it's hard to remember that. Showing up as my authentic self helps the students more than acting like you have it all figured out every single day. 
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: My life's motto is you don't have to show up perfectly because showing up as you are is enough. 

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