About SMAART

 

So what are SMAART skills?  I’m glad you asked!

 

SMAART skills include:

  • Self-Awareness: Knowing your strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and barriers to success.
  • Metacognition: Thinking about thinking; understanding your own thought processes.
  • Adaptation: Your ability to respond appropriately and effectively to life’s changes and challenges.
  • Affirmation: Choosing activities that suit your values, goals, and desires.
  • Relational Functioning: Choosing healthy relationships and dealing with conflict effectively.
  • Thought Modification: Replacing negative, dysfunctional thought patterns with healthier, more productive thought processes.

Click here to learn more about the SMAART Skills program.

What to expect from the SMAART Skills program?

 

Your first appointment begins with a detailed assessment of your history, personality, thinking patterns, and current challenges. After I gain an understanding of these issues, I create an individualized plan that works for you.

We meet on a weekly basis, either in-person or via VSee (similar to Skype, but it’s secure, HIPPA-compliant, and meets privacy laws). If you choose the VSee option—which is perfect for students who live outside the Central Texas area—I do require that we meet in person for the initial meeting.

After our first meeting, I create an individual program for you that we work through each week. Since the program is tailored for each individual client, there are no set number of sessions, but I usually ask that clients commit to ten weeks; after that time we re-evaluate your progress and determine if you are ready to launch, or if you need more help gaining your SMAART skills.

Each week I help you build your SMAART skills. You work through your goals and develop the life skills necessary to achieve college success. We create an action plan for each goal and then meet the next week to discuss how you applied that action plan to your life. I track your progress and keep you moving through your goals, which might include:

 

  • Time management
  • Stress management
  • Procrastination
  • Adjustment to college
  • Roommate difficulties
  • Forming healthy relationships
  • Choosing a major or career path
  • Coping with setbacks
  • Practicing healthy habits (i.e. healthy eating, exercise, and sleep).

How is SMAART Skills different from counseling and other programs?

 

The SMAART Skills program is different from traditional counseling because we focus on setting and meeting goals relating to skills development—skills you need to achieve academic success. While we address necessary skills, the program differs from conventional skills training classes, such as stress management and study skills, because it addresses your unique needs and takes into account your individual background, personality, strengths, and growth areas. 

Students often feel discouraged and give up on academic advising, tutoring, or skills classes because they don’t experience quick results. This leads to continued poor grades, low self-esteem, and frustration. Not to mention, students waste precious college years trying to find the right solution. 

Through years of counseling college students, I learned that personalized coaching is the most effective and efficient way to address an individual’s needs and then identify how to improve their core psychological skills. When you begin the SMAART Skills program, I develop a unique skill-building plan based on your personality and individual needs.

Let’s get Started!

 

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If you want to gain SMAART Skills and overcome your current challenges, sign up today to begin the program. You’ll be on your way to achieving the success in college that you desire.