Lesson 10- Barriers & The Coping Power Toolbox

Welcome back the Coping Power Classroom series. This video will review classroom lesson ten and all of the amazing learning your students are doing.

Your students are spending this week reviewing all of the coping strategies that they have learned so far. This includes understanding others’ perspectives, problem identification, or PICCing apart a problem, exercising self-control and active coping strategies, disrupting negative thought patterns, utilizing relaxation techniques, and honing their assertive communication skills. All of these strategies have the potential to help them better manage their emotions and navigate challenges effectively.

Students are now reflecting on the coping tools that resonate most with them, or that they find most effective. This personalized approach allows them to construct their own unique coping toolbox, tailored to their individual needs and preferences. Ideally, students will select a range of different coping tools and strategies that they feel comfortable using in a variety of situations. They should have some strategies that function as their go-tos, but should also feel encouraged to keep trying out new techniques!

Ultimately these tools will empower them to better manage their emotional responses and navigate various situations with confidence, and decide which tools have been the most helpful to them, and begin to create their personal “Coping Power Toolbox.”

It’s important for students to develop this “Coping Power Toolbox” so that they have a variety of strategies and methods for solving problems in different situations. Unfortunately, barriers do come up that can hinder your students’ ability to access their favorite tools when they need them most. Therefore, students are planning out a variety of different strategies that might be more effective for different contexts. For example, they can’t pet their dog or kick a soccer ball on the school bus, or sing out loud during a math test, but they can practice deep breathing or positive self-talk.

Planning ahead for situations like these, when their preferred coping methods might not be readily available, is so important. Students are working on creating a backup plan to support them in these tough situations, such as engaging in paced breathing exercises or meditation.

As we’ve mentioned before, your help in the classroom throughout the week is so important in making sure your students are developing and understanding these concepts!

This week, we encourage you to talk with your students about preparing for potential barriers to coping in advance, so students can swiftly transition to an alternative coping strategy when needed. Talk to students about their coping power toolbox. If they’re comfortable sharing a preferred strategy, give them time to share and then help them brainstorm ways they can begin to incorporate coping strategies into the classroom environment. You might even share an example of your own coping strategies and how you utilize them to overcome challenging situations.

Thank you for watching this video, and we'll see you next week.