Tag Archives: Montana

Happiness, Suicide Assessment and Intervention

Eudaimonic Happiness is Coming

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This is a fact-focused post. I’d like to be verbally clever, but I’d like even more to get you all this information on what’s happening at the Phyllis J. Washington Center for the Advancement of Positive Education.

We’re building our staff, our website, and plans for this fall. You may want some or all of the following on your calendar. . .or to share them with people whom you think would be interested.

A New University of Montana Course

Kim Parrow and Tammy Tolleson-Knee developed a syllabus for a EDU 291 course called, The Psychology of Happiness. This is a late-start, face-to-face course that begins the week of September 15. If you’re a UM student or know one who might want to experience a positive psych course, here’s the flyer:

EDU 291 Flyer Fall 2025Download

Dylan Wright and Kim Parrow will be taking the lead on the fall semester Happiness for Educators (HFE) course. Data attesting to the value of this course continue to pour in. With 150+ enrolled this summer, we’ve now had well over 400 Montana educators complete the course. A big thanks to the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation for supporting Montana educators. And Go Falcons! Here’s a flyer for the HFE course:

Happiness for Educators_Fall 2025 Flyer with QRDownload

Dylan and Tammy are also working with local schools to infuse principles of positive education as methods to improve educator well-being. They’re starting with the Potomac School District. . . and have named their approach, “The Potomac Model.” Thanks to Emily Sallee, the shiny new Potomac superintendent for collaborating with us. If your school district would like to collaborate with us, Dylan Wright is your best contact: dylan.wright@mso.umt.edu

As for myself, I’ve got a few gigs coming up as well. Below are the ones I’m thinking about today!

September 16 – Youth Summit Keynote in Kalispell – 9:15-10am – Flathead Valley Community College – Thanks to the Nate Chute Foundation for organizing this.

  • The Bad News Brain: Why It Feels So Hard and What You Can Do

Maintaining positive mental health is naturally difficult—for nearly everyone. The good news is that if you struggle with mental health, you’re not alone. The bad news is that your brain often likes to focus on bad news, bad moods, and bad social interactions. The other good news is that after this presentation, you will know several ways your brain tries to trick you into feeling worse. You will also know several strategies for dealing with your pesky bad-news-brain.

September 25 – Presentation at the State CASA Conference in Butte – 11am-12:30pm – Finlen Hotel. Thanks to the Montana State CASA people for their support of Montana children.

  • Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Children’s Mental Health and Happiness

After 40+ years as a mental health professional, John Sommers-Flanagan has discovered an array of myths that inadvertently contribute to ever-rising mental health problems in children and teenagers. In this presentation for Montana CASA, we will go on a rollercoaster ride through three principles of positive psychology and 10 (or maybe 11) misconceptions about mental health and happiness that will knock your socks off (not literally). And perhaps, as we engage in the learning process together, you may be inspired to think a little differently about how to grow positive mental health and happiness in youth.

September 27 – Presentation on Happiness in Absarokee, MT – 2-5pm – Cobblestone School. Thanks to the Cobblestone Preservation Committee for sponsoring this event.

  • Tools for Living Your Best Life: A Happiness Primer

October 9 – Grand Rounds presentation on Strengths-Based Suicide, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock, AR – 4pm

October 10 – Full-day workshop on Strengths-Based Suicide for the Arkansas Psychological Association in Little Rock, AR – 8:30am-4pm – Holiday Inn Presidential. Thanks to Dr. Margaret Rutherford, President of the Arkansas Psychological Association for making these presentations happen.

  • Integrating Strengths-Based and Traditional (Medical Model) Approaches to Suicide Assessment and Treatment

Traditional suicide assessment tends to be a top-down information-gathering process wherein healthcare or prevention professionals use questionnaires and clinical interviews to determine patient or client suicide risk. This approach may not be the best fit for clients who are suicidal, who have experienced historical trauma, or are experiencing current oppression or marginalization. In this presentation, John Sommers-Flanagan will review principles of a strengths-based approach to suicide prevention, assessment, and treatment. He will also discuss how to be more sensitive, empowering, collaborative, and how to leverage individual and cultural strengths when working with people who are potentially suicidal. You will learn at least five practical strengths-based strategies for initiating conversations about suicide, conducting culturally-sensitive assessments, and implementing suicide interventions.

October 11 — Round Table presentation with Tammy Tolleson-Knee and Umit Arslan at the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision conference in Philly.

  • Shifting from Risk-Focused to Resilience-Oriented Approaches in Youth Mental Health Assessments

Traditional suicide assessments often focus on pathology and risk, overlooking client strengths and resilience. Effective prevention goes beyond simply identifying suicidal thoughts—it involves fostering awareness, developing coping skills, and strengthening a person’s belief in their ability to navigate challenges. This session examines strengths-based suicide assessment from three perspectives: (1) distinguishing scientific research from myths and implementing evidence-based steps, (2) recognizing countertransference as a barrier to strengths-based suicide intervention and developing effective coping strategies, and (3) evaluating how strengths-based approaches can promote a holistic, resilience-oriented approach to youth mental health. Participants will engage in discussions, case vignettes, and interactive learning activities, gaining practical applications for counselor education and supervision.

October 29 – Keynote for Montana Healthcare Foundation in Bozeman – 10:05-10:55am – Strand Union Building, Montana State University. Thanks to the fabulous staff of the Montana Healthcare Foundation for organizing this amazing event.

  • The Bad News Brain: Why We Must Force Ourselves to Embrace Well-Being and Positivity

The human brain is naturally interested in bad news. Several deep psychological truths make this so. In this keynote speech, we will focus on what makes it so hard to maintain a positive focus. Then, we will force ourselves to orient toward the positive—even if only briefly—to explore practical ways we can grow well-being in Montana together.

October 29 – Breakout Workshop for Montana Healthcare Foundation in Bozeman – 2-3:50pm – Strand Union Building, Montana State University.

  • Evidence-Based Strategies for Integrating Strengths-Based Approaches into Mental Health Care

Beginning with a cognitive-behavioral model of mood management, this breakout workshop will focus on evidence-based strategies that can complement traditional medical model approaches to mental health care. Evidence-based strategies will include: (a) witnessing inspiration, (b) therapeutic writing, (c) savoring, and more. Discussion and reflection will include how to collaboratively leverage individual, family, community, and cultural strengths when providing mental health support.

November 12-13 – 1 credit college course for Blackfeet Community College in Browning, MT – 8am-4:30pm (two days) at BCC. Thanks to Charlie Speicher WBH school counselor and founder of the Firekeeper Alliance for creating this opportunity.

  • Strengths-Based Suicide Assessment and Interventions in Schools

Traditional suicide assessments tend to be top-down information-gathering procedures wherein healthcare, school, or prevention professionals use questionnaires and clinical interviews to determine suicide risk. This approach may not be the best fit for schools, students, youth who are suicidal, or people who have experienced historical trauma, or are experiencing current oppression or marginalization. In this course, John Sommers-Flanagan and Tamara Tolleson-Knee will review principles of a strengths-based approach to suicide prevention, assessment, and interventions. They will share background research and historical practice, including the growing rationale for using strengths-based approaches with people who are feeling vulnerable. This course will include counseling and assessment demonstrations, video clips, and opportunities for participants to practice specific strengths-based suicide assessment and intervention strategies. In particular, there will be discussions about how to leverage individual, family, community, and cultural strengths when working with students who may be suicidal. Participants will learn numerous strengths-based strategies for initiating conversations about suicide, conducting strengths-based assessments, and implementing suicide interventions.

December 5 – Zoom Lecture for North Carolina State University – 5:30-7pm EST. Thanks to Dr. Angel Dowden for organizing this presentation.

  • Effective Approaches to Suicide Intervention and Prevention in Schools

Traditional suicide assessments tend to be top-down information-gathering procedures wherein healthcare, school, or prevention professionals use questionnaires and clinical interviews to determine suicide risk. This approach may not be the best fit for schools, students, youth who are suicidal, or people who have experienced historical trauma, or are experiencing current oppression or marginalization. In this Zoom workshop, John Sommers-Flanagan will review principles of a strengths-based approach to suicide prevention, assessment, and interventions. This workshop will include at least one assessment demonstration, a video clip, and brief opportunities for participants to practice specific strengths-based suicide assessment and intervention strategies. The overall focus is on how to leverage individual, family, community, and cultural strengths when working with students who may be suicidal.

If you’ve read this far, I am completely gob-smacked. Have a fabulous day!

Happiness, Love, Personal Reflections, Writing

Come Join Us in Early August in Billings Montana for a Workshop on Happiness for Educators

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A friend and colleague in the Counseling Department at the University of Montana forwarded me an article by Lucy Foulkes of Oxford University titled, “Mental-health lessons in schools sound like a great idea. The trouble is, they don’t work.”

That is troubling. My friend knows I’ve been thinking about these things for years . . . and I feel troubled about it too.

Children’s behavioral or mental or emotional health has been in decline for decades. COVID made things worse. Even at the University, our collective impression is that current students—most of whom are simply fantastic—are more emotionally fragile than we’ve ever seen before.

As Craig Bryan says in his remarkable book, “Rethinking Suicide,” big societal problems like suicide, homelessness, addiction, and mental health are “wicked problems” that often respond to well-intended efforts by not responding, or by getting worse.

Such is the case that Lisa Foulkes is describing in her article.  

I’ve had a front row seat to mental health problems getting worse for about 42 years now. Oh my. That’s saying something. Mostly it’s saying something about my age. But other than my frightening age, my point is that in my 42+ years as a mental health professional, virtually everything in the mental health domain has gotten worse. And when I say virtually, I mean literally.

Anxiety is worse. Depression is worse. ADHD is worse, not to mention bipolar, autism spectrum disorder, suicide, and spectacular rises in trauma. I often wonder, given that we have more evidence-based treatments than ever before in the history of time . . . and we have more evidence-based mental health prevention programming than ever before in the history of time . . . how could everything mental health just keep on going backward? The math doesn’t work.

In her article, Lisa Foulkes points out that mental health prevention in schools doesn’t work. To me, this comes as no big surprise. About 10 years ago, mental health literacy in schools became a big deal. I remember feeling weird about mental health literacy, partly because across my four decades as an educator, I discovered early on that if I presented the diagnostic criteria for ADHD to a class of graduate students, about 80% of them would walk away thinking they had ADHD. That’s just the way mental health literacy works. It’s like medical student’s disease; the more you learn about what might be wrong with you the more aware and focused you become on what’s wrong with you. We’ve known this since at least the 1800s.

But okay, let’s teach kids about mental health disorders anyway. Actually, we’re sort of trapped into doing this, because if we don’t, everything they learn will be from TikTok. . . which will likely generate even worse outcomes.

I’m also nervous about mindful body scans (which Foulkes mentions), because they nearly always backfire as well. As people scan their bodies what do they notice? One thing they don’t notice is all the stuff that’s working perfectly. Instead, their brains immediately begin scrutinizing what might be wrong, lingering on a little gallop in their heart rhythm or a little shortness of breath or a little something that itches.

Not only does mental health education/prevention not work in schools, neither does depression screenings or suicide screenings. Anyone who tells you that any of these programs produces large and positive effects is either selling you something, lying, or poorly informed. Even when or if mental health interventions work, they work in small and modest ways. Sadly, we all go to bed at night and wake up in the morning with the same brain. How could we expect large, dramatic, and transformative positive outcomes?

At this point you—along with my wife and my team at the Center for the Advancement of Positive Education—may be thinking I’ve become a negative-Norman curmudgeon who scrutinizes and complains about everything. Could be. But on my good days, I think of myself as a relatively objective scientist who’s unwilling to believe in any “secret” or public approaches that produce remarkably positive results. This is disappointing for a guy who once hoped to develop psychic powers and skills for miraculously curing everyone from whatever ailed them. My old college roommate fed my “healer” delusions when, after being diagnosed with MS, “I think you’ll find the cure.”

The painful reality was and is that I found nothing helpful about MS, and although I truly believe I’ve helped many individuals with their mental health problems, I’ve discovered nothing that could or would change the negative trajectory of physical or mental health problems in America. These days, I cringe when anyone calls themselves a healer. [Okay. That’s likely TMI.]

All this may sound ironic coming from a clinical psychologist and counselor educator who consistently promotes strategies for happiness and well-being. After what I’ve written above, who am I to recommend anything? I ask that question with full awareness of what comes next in this blog. Who am I to offer guidance and educational opportunities? You decide. Here we go!

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The Center for the Advancement of Positive Education (CAPE) and the Montana Happiness Project (that means me and my team) are delighted to be a part of the upcoming Jeremy Bullock Safe Schools Conference in Billings, MT. The main conference will be Aug 5-6. You can register for the conference here: https://jeremybullocksafeschools.com/register. The flyer with a QR code is here:

2025 Flyer_J BullockDownload

In the same location, beginning on the afternoon of Aug 6 and continuing for most of Aug 7, CAPE is offering a “Montana Happiness” infused 7-hour bonus training. Using our combined creative skills, we’ve decided to call our workshop: “Happiness for Educators.” Here’s the link to sign up for either a one-credit UM grad course (extra work is required) or 7 OPI units: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=763&pc=13&mc=&sc=

The flyer for our workshop, with our UM grad course or OPI QR code is at the top of this blog post.

In the final chapter of Rethinking Suicide, Craig Bryan, having reviewed and lamented our collective inability to prevent suicide, turns toward what he views as our most hopeful option: Helping people create lives worth living. Like me, Dr. Bryan has shifted from a traditional suicide prevention perspective to strategies for helping people live lives that are just a little more happy, meaningful, and that include healthy supportive relationships. IMHO, this positive direction provides hope.  

In our Billings workshop, we’ll share, discuss, and experience evidence-based happiness strategies. We’ll do this together. We’ll do it together because, in the words of the late Christopher Peterson, “Other people matter. And we are all other people to everyone else.”

Come and join us in Billings . . . for the whole conference . . . or for our workshop . . . or for both.

I hope to see you there.

Happiness, Personal Reflections, Research

That Time When I Found A Parallel Universe Where People Like Statistics

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Earlier this week I found a parallel universe wherein I was able to convince three people that it would be terribly fun to sit with me in a classroom for 2+ hours and work through the post-course data from our most recent “Happiness for Educators” class. This involved me figuring out how to screencast my computer onto a big screen where I went through the process of accessing our Qualtrics file and exporting the data to SPSS. Then, while experiencing intermittent fits of joy, we cleaned the data, used the “recode” function to reverse score all the items requiring reverse scoring and then calculated our 16 different outcome variables.

In this parallel universe, the three people who joined me (you know who you are), asked great questions and acted interested the WHOLE time. Of course, one of the “people” is a well-established Missoula actor, so there’s the possibility that I was fooled by some excellent acting or feigning or pretending. That said, finding a parallel universe where people act interested in stats remains a feat to brag about.

We made it through all the post-test data. To maximize the fun and bring us all to a place of breathless excitement, I ran a quick descriptive analysis. At first glance, the data looked okay, but not great. Of course, we didn’t have the pretest outcome variables analyzed, and so we were forced to leave with bated breath.

Today, access to the parallel universe was briefly adversely affected by a slight temporal shift; nevertheless, I found one of the “people” and she enthusiastically embraced another 2 hours of stats. . . . At the end, she shouted from her office, “That was fun!”

I know at this point, I am, as Freud might say, “straining your credulity” but I speak the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

And the rest of the truth gets even better. Tammy (my new best stats friend) and I found the following statistical results.

  1. 89 of 100 students completed the pre-post questionnaires.
  2. We had statistical significance on ALL 16 outcomes—at the p < .01 level (or better).
  3. The effect sizes (Cohen’s d with Hedges adjustments) were among our best ever, with top outcomes being:
  4. Improved positive affect (feeling more cheerful, etc): d = .900 (a LARGE effect size)
  5. Reduced negative affect (feeling fewer negative emotional states) d = 885. (a LARGE effect size)
  6. Improved total self-reported physical health (a compilation of better sleep, reduced headaches, reduced gastrointestinal symptoms, fewer respiratory symptoms) d = .821 (a LARGE effect size)
  7. Reduced depression (as measured by the CES-D): d = .732 (an almost LARGE effect size)

If you’re reading this, I hope you’re skeptical. Because if you’re skeptical, then I’m sure you’ll want to know whether this is the first, second, third, or fourth time we’ve found this pattern of results. Nope. It’s the FIFTH consecutive time we’ve had all significant outcomes or nearly all significant outcomes that appear to be happening as a function of our happiness for educators course.

Although I am in constant fear that, next time, the results will be less impressive, I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking: These results are not random error, because we now have data across five cohorts and 267 teachers.

If you’re reading this, I also hope you’re thinking what I’m thinking. That is: You should take this course (if you’re a Montana educator) or you should tell your Montana educator friends to take this course. If you happen to be thinking what I’m thinking, here’s the link to sign up for our summer sections.

https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=712&pc=13&mc=&sc=

It’s a pretty good deal. Only $95 to experience more positive emotions, fewer negative emotions, better physical health, reduced depression, and more!

Clinical Interviewing, Happiness, Love, Personal Reflections, Suicide Assessment and Intervention

What Happened This Week and PPTs for the U of Montana Psychology Club

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This past week I had the honor and privilege of offering four presentations, one each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Monday was a Zoom date with a counseling class at West Virginia University.

Tuesday was an exciting in-person presentation for the University of Montana MOLLI program, kicking off our small group experiential Evidence-Based Happiness course for older adults. It was phenomenal. The older adults always bring it. One–among many–highlights was an 88 -year-old guy who, in the midst of the Three-Step Emotional Change Trick, shared about how he “Honored” his emotions by joining a grief group after his wife died (3 years ago). His sharing was beautiful and perfect.

Wednesday was my annual visit to Dr. Timothy Nichols’s Honors College course on LOVE. Dr. Nichols happens to be the Dean of the Honors College and one of the coolest and kindest and most enthused people on the planet. Mostly I go every year just to hear him introduce me. In truth, I also go because the topic and the students are INCREDIBLE. I think it may have been the best LOVE lecture EVER. I’d post the ppts here, but my computer crashed yesterday, and the U of M IT people (who are always very nice) are now attempting “data recovery.” Argh!

Thursday I got to hang out for two hours with the Graduate Students of the University of Montana Psychology Club. This was yet another fun experience with a group of students who are all simply brilliant. To top it off, a couple of my favorite people (and Psych faculty), Bryan Cochran and Greg Machek also attended. . . providing the precise level of sarcasm and humor that made the experience practically perfect. Here are the Psych Club’s ppts, which I happened to have on a flash drive:

Traditional and SB for Psy Club 2025Download

Happiness

The Happiness for Teachers Course Starts Again the Week of January 20

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If you’re an educator, you can sign up for the “Spring” version (starting in January) of our Happiness for Teachers course. This course has been very popular among teachers who have taken it. Here’s what one Montana educator emailed me first thing on January 1:

John, your course is fantastic!  It absolutely exceeded my high expectations, and I find myself reflecting on and applying things I’ve learned all the time.  There’s likely some recency bias, but I’m trying to think of another college course I have taken that is as meaningful and applicable for me. It has helped my overall happiness and well-being both personally and professionally, and it has given me the ideas and language to share with and support others (wife, children, students, coworkers, etc.).  Thank you! 

If you’re an educator or you want to share this information with an educator, read on for the details.

To Register

This semester, we have a reduced price for Rural Montana Educators: $95. We also have our usual extremely reduced price for Montana Educators for the Big Seven School Districts: $195. Either way, thanks to a grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the price is a bargain for 3 Grad Credits from the University of Montana.

Here are the links:

Big Seven Educators Open-Enrollment Section: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=712&pc=13&mc=&sc=

Rural Educators Section: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=732

Grading Options

Because we want to support teachers, our approach to grading is flexible. Teachers can select from one of three grading options.

  1. Teachers can receive 3 graduate credits from the University of Montana – graded using a Credit/No Credit system. That means you need to complete enough course assignments to obtain 70% (you can do more). Then you will pass the course and receive the credits. Even if you get an NCR in the course, you can qualify for a pro-rated number of OPI credits based on your percentage completion.
  2. Teachers can receive 3 graduate credits from the University of Montana – graded using a traditional “letter” grading system. Some school districts require a letter grade to count the course toward your payscale.
  3. You can receive up to 48 OPI credits. This option is especially useful if you find you’re unable to complete at least 70% of the assignments. You can receive a pro-rated total of OPI hours . . . depending on how many hours of the course you complete.

How Much Work will the Course Be?

This is a graduate-level course, and so there’s a significant workload. If you can take the course for credit/no credit (see above), then you only need to obtain 70%, which makes the workload lighter.

At the ½ point in the course, we will ask all participants to inform us how they want to take the course (for credit/no credit; for a letter grade; for OPI hours). If you get ½ way through the course and you think you’re not going to pass (or get the grade you want), then you can take it for OPI hours. In the end, even if you get an NCR in the course, you can still qualify for a prorated number of OPI hours.

To complete the whole course, teachers need to complete the following assignments:

Initial and Final Happiness Assessments (20 points each; 40 points total): During the first and final days of class you’ll be given a link to a happiness assessment packet via Qualtrics. We’re collecting this data to support the grant we have that enabled us to offer you this course at a steep discount.

Active Learning Assignments (complete 10 of the 14 options available; 10 points each; 100 total points): These are short assignments designed to get you in the habit of incorporating happiness-related activities into your life. These assignments are graded pass (10 points) or not pass (0 points). To get your 10 points you need to complete the bare minimum of a thoughtful response.

Weekly Discussion Board Postings and Comments (30 posts; total 60 points): We want you to engage with each other on how you might apply what you’re learning in this course. To encourage this, you’re assigned to make two posts each week (30 total posts). We’d like you to make one post about the weekly course content (lectures and other assigned content) and one post commenting on the post of someone else.

Development of One Educational Lesson Plan (3-5 pages; 40 points): Pick a topic from class (e.g., savoring, gratitude, acts of kindness, etc.) and then write a lesson plan that you could potentially use in your educational setting. You DO NOT need to implement these lesson plans; the assignment is only to create them.

Live online or recorded final pub quiz (30 points, plus prizes): During the last Unit of class John Sommers-Flanagan will hold a live and synchronous open pub-style happiness trivia quiz. If you participate live you can win prizes. Whether you participate live or watch the recording, you can earn 30 points by turning in the answers to the 30 happiness trivia questions.

Substitute (or Extra) Credit (40 points): You can engage in 5 or more sessions of individual counseling with a Master’s student at the University of Montana. You can use these points to substitute for another assignment, or as extra credit.

How Much Time will This Course Take?

  • The video-recorded lecture component of the course takes about 45 hours to view.
  • If you complete the whole course, assignments outside of class will take approximately an additional 100 hours.
  • For the Fall, 2024 version of the course, there will be 15 weeks—although you’ll be working at your own pace. Assuming you worked at an even pace over the 15 weeks, anticipating about 10 hours a week for the course is a reasonable estimate.

Our Goals

We want to support teachers because we view them as unappreciated, underpaid, and highly stressed by the demands of their jobs. We have three objectives:

  1. Offer a high quality and low-cost course to Montana teachers and other school personnel. The fee is $195 for 3-credits.
  2. Focus the course content on emotional wellness—teachers can apply this content to themselves, and possibly also apply it in their classrooms.
  3. By offering a 3-credit graduate course through the University of Montana, teachers may qualify for a salary bump.

Here are a couple of un-flashy memos describing the courses, just in case you want to download and share them. First, the Rural Educator section:

Memorandum on Winter-Spring 2025 Rural EducatorsDownload

And here’s the flyer for Big Seven School District Educators.

Memorandum on Winter-Spring 2025 Educator CourseDownload

Personal Reflections, Writing

My Post-Election Letter to Educators

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Earlier this week, I had an amazing Montana educator tell me, among other things, about how the election results ignited fears for the future of public education. In response, I wrote the following piece. I know it’s a little intellectual, but that’s what you get from a college professor. I’m sharing this with you mostly because I think you’re all amazing Montana educators and want to support you in whatever way I can.

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In this moment, I’m aware that while some are celebrating this morning’s election outcome, others are experiencing despair, sadness, anger, betrayal, and fear. After an election like this one, it’s easy to have our thoughts and emotions race toward various crisis scenarios. If that’s what’s happening to you, no doubt, you are not alone.

We all have unique responses to emotional distress. If you feel threatened by the election outcome, you may have impulses toward action that come with your emotions. In stress situations, we often hear about the fight or flight (or freeze) response, but because we’re all complex human beings, fight or flight or freeze is an oversimplification. Although feeling like running, hiding, freezing, or feeling surges of anger are natural and normal, most of the fight or flight research was conducted on rats—male rats in particular. For better and worse, our emotional and behavioral responses to the election outcomes are so much more complex than fight or flight.

As humans we respond to threat in more sophisticated ways. One pattern (derived from studies with female rats) is called tend and befriend. Although these are also simplistic rhyming words, I translate them to mean that if you’re feeling stressed, threatened and fearful, it’s generally good to reach out to others for support and commiseration, to support others, and to gather with safe people in pairs or families or groups.

If you work in a school, I encourage you to be there for each other, regardless of your political views. For now, it will probably feel best to stay close to those with whom you have common beliefs. Eventually, I hope that even those of you with different beliefs can recognize and respect the humanity within each other. The most destructive responses to stress and threat are usually characterized by hate and division. The more we can connect with others who feel safe, the better we can deal with our own rising feelings—feelings that may be destructive or hateful.

Another complex thing about humans is that we can have a therapeutic response to focusing on our pain, grief, anger, and other disturbing emotions. There’s clear evidence that letting ourselves feel those feelings, and talking and writing about them, is important and therapeutic. But, in an odd juxtaposition, it’s also therapeutic to intentionally focus on the positive, to imagine and write about the best possible outcomes in whatever situations we face, and in looking—every day—for that which is inspiring (rather than over-focusing on that which is depressing or annoying). To the extent that you’re feeling distressed, I encourage you, when you can, to take time going down both those roads. That means taking time to experience your difficult and painful feelings, as well as taking time to focus on what you’re doing that’s meaningful in the moment, and whatever positive parts of life you can weave into your life today, tomorrow, and in the future.

My main point is that you are not alone. Many people, right alongside you, are in deep emotional pain over the outcome of the election. As you go through these bumpy times, times that include fears for the future of children, families, education, and communities I hope we can do this together. Because in these moments of despair and pain, we are better together.

Or, as Christopher Peterson said, “Other people matter. And, we are all other people to everyone else.”

You matter and your reactions to this immense life event matters. Please take good care of yourself and your colleagues, friends, and family.

All my best to you,

John SF

Happiness

The Department of Redundancy Department

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I know this saying dates me, but sometimes I feel like a broken record. However, as I’ve said before (and I’ll say it again), redundancy works.

In this post, I’m sending out yet another call for Montana educators to register for our bargain-priced “Happiness for Teachers” course, offered through the University of Montana’s UMOnline program.

I’ve said it before: We’ve had over 150 educators complete the course and the outcomes have been rather stunningly positive. I could promote this like an advertisement:

“If you want to be less depressed, more hopeful, have better physical health (including better sleep), and experience greater hope and mindfulness . . . you should consider taking this course!”

The cost is $195 for 3 U of Montana graduate credits. Here’s the link to register:

https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=712&pc=13&mc=&sc=

And here’s a memo with more detailed info (and the link).

Memorandum on Fall 2024 Educator Course REVDownload

Happiness, Personal Reflections

Who Supports Educators?

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Hi All,

I’m writing for a little social marketing assistance to support Montana Educators.

As I’ve written before, because of the generosity and funding from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, we have funding to support Montana educators. The main way we’ve chosen to support Montana educators is to offer a highly subsidized three-credit course on “Happiness for Teachers” through the fantastically helpful UMOnline people at the University of Montana.

We believe this course supports Montana Educators in three ways:

  1. The course can be used to help increase educator pay (because we believe educators should be paid more).
  2. The course can help educators feel positive feelings more often, savor them, increase their sense of meaning, and possibly reduce depression and improve physical health.  
  3. Educators can use the information to support their students’ happiness and well-being.

We’ve got a large section of the course open and starting on June 17. I’d love to get it all filled up.

If you are a Montana educator or know a Montana educator you can register here and now at this link: https://www.campusce.net/umextended/course/course.aspx?C=712&pc=13&mc=&sc=

In addition, to support educators, please consider sharing this blogpost or the Memo to Montana Educators linked here:

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Personal Reflections, Politics

What To Do About Bad News? Organize, Sublimate, and Repeat

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This week, like last week, is saturated with bad news. As if racism, the pandemic, Ukraine, Buffalo, and Uvalde weren’t bad enough, this week we have the Supreme Court ruling on cases in stark opposition to public opinion.

When bad news strikes—especially bad news that feels beyond our control—it’s easy to feel helpless and hopeless. In response to my own helplessness (which feels even worse because I just tested positive for COVID-ugh), I’m reminded of Joe Hill’s old motto and song, “Don’t mourn. Organize!” To that, I’ll add that we should use the best of all the psychoanalytic defense mechanisms (sublimation) and channel our anger into constructive activities.

One lesson from politics over the past 30 years is: “Stay on message, repeat the message, and say it again and again until the message becomes truth.” Some of us have been reluctant to do this because we already have a good case and so why should we say it again? Besides, there are so many issues to address, it seems important to move on. . . which is why I’ve decided to linger a bit with my Superintendent message before I move on to firearms and private healthcare decisions.

Thanks for all the comments on and support for last week’s Missoulian Op-Ed piece on how our current Montana State Superintendent of Schools is a clear and present danger to Montana schoolchildren. Most of the feedback I received was positive, including many references to my phrase describing Superintendent Arntzen as having “Voldemortian-level malevolence.” Among other outcomes, this phrasing caused a pronunciation debate. Is it pronounced “Vold-uh-mort-ee-an” or “Volduh-morshan?” Although I prefer the former, I can see the case for the latter. Either way, I’m happy to report that if you Google Arntzen and Voldemortian-level malevolence you can find the article.

One person commenting on the Missoulian website suggested I should be put on the next list of the 101 most dangerous academics. If speaking up for children and school counselors makes me dangerous, count me in.

The big question about Superintendent Arntzen, firearms, private healthcare decisions and other world events is: What to do? Coming up with constructive activities for channeling our anger is difficult. The good news is that some responses to the Op-Ed included great recommendations for next steps, and so I’m posting them here. I’m leaving the names off, but if you read your content, feel free to claim it.

One reader wrote:

There are 2 Interim [Legislative] Committees that have meetings this summer & fall, and would respond to public outcry on this, especially from districts of Committee members. Dan Salomon (R) is on Education, from Ronan, and has been good on mental health, Medicaid expansion; worth talking to him directly about how to bring pressure. Education met today, June 14 (nothing like this on their agenda), will meet again Sept. 12-13. Children, Families, Health & Human Services is meeting twice this month, again in August, another good pressure point. Danny Tennebaum from Missoula is on it.

If anyone reading this has other ideas on how to advocate for School Counselors and Librarians and push back against Arntzen’s recommendations, please let me (us) know.

To close, another Op-Ed reader shared the following with me as an example of the Superintendent’s incoherence.

This is the Montana State Superintendent of Schools speaking at a federal meeting on school safety:

“It is not so much what’s inside the plan because we are very unique. But to say that the plan needs to be revitalized every year. And then, it is not housed at the state level. It is housed within them. So it is their responsibility. Again, I come back to liability, responsibility flowing together. But in Montana, it is a belief. It’s very important for teachers as well. They are in the buildings. This is their livelihood. This is something that their children, their charges, regardless of what age of student that they have within their classrooms. Professional development on mental health is extremely important. We have Montana Hope as an initiative where we are working within the capacity that we have in very rural Montana who do not have social workers, who do not have counselors, psychologists at all, trying to employ something that a classroom teacher might be able to recognize. So to recognize what is happening in schools right now is very important to allow education to flow. Hardening buildings is a topic in Montana. But making sure that we have a quality teacher there that understands the capacity that they can, wherever they are located in Montana, is extremely important. Anything that we can do to instill that that teacher holds that child at that moment of wherever that child is, whatever that child comes into that school with or into that classroom with, to recognize that I think is extremely important. That’s where education is. We’re not growing children like we used to in Montana. They’re very precious resources to us. Professional development.”

This is not the voice we want heading up OPI.

Happiness, Personal Reflections

Savoring and Gratitude in Billings with Montana School Counselors

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Several months ago, Renee’ Parker Schoening, executive director of the Montana School Counselor Association, all-around master-organizer, and unstoppable inspirational force, asked me if I could provide a closing keynote speech for the MSCA spring conference that was evidence-based, uplifting, and funny. Channeling my internal family systems (IFS) inner scientist and entertainer selves (while ignoring my own good judgment), I quickly said, “Yes. Sure. Of course, I can do that.”

This exchange is an example of saying yes to ambitiously unattainable ideas, and then needing to find people to help me accomplish whatever it is I’ve agreed to do. In honor of my disdain for pithy, rhyming, oversimplification (think of trite things like, ugh, “fight or flight”), I’ve decided to enhance my influencer legacy by delivering profound wisdom using pithy, rhyming, oversimplifications.  In the case of today’s description of last week’s questionably unattainable commitment to providing an evidence-based, uplifting, and funny closing keynote speech, I’m saying (and you may want to write this down), “If you’re running out of steam, it helps to have a good team.”  

For the potential MSCA debacle, I asked two talented graduate students in Counseling at the University of Montana to help me create closing keynote magic. I suspect, because I’m a faculty member and technically one of their supervisors, the grad students may have experienced my “ask” as an offer they couldn’t refuse. Regardless of (or despite) their internal lamentations, they accepted the offer they couldn’t refuse . . . and planning started happening.

Turns out that Lillian Martz, one of the grad students, has a history of competitive Karaoke. She’s a current doc student, former M.A. student, and former school counselor. In honor of her expertise, I may or may not have suggested we infuse Karaoke into our keynote. You know how it is. With three people together generating bad ideas, it’s hard to discern where the blame belongs. Anyhow, Lillian agreed, later noting in an email that she felt “regret” for having made said agreement. But it was too late to back out; she selected a song, transforming it into a school counseling narrative (apparently that’s what competitive Karaoke people do), and suggested that the other grad student and I provide choreography.

Turns out the other grad student, Dylan Wright, has a strong theatre background, having worked a couple decades for Missoula Children’s Theatre, which is my way of saying Dylan thought him and me teaming to supply choreography for Lillian’s crooning was a fabulous idea, which is my way of admitting to, once again, saying yes to something that I might have had the good judgment to decline. All I remember is hearing Rita’s voice in the back of my brain saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.”

Dylan’s presence on our “closing keynote” team is why, somehow, we decided to weave in a brief improv experience. As many of you already know, I co-invented Karaoke, along with Mike Bevill, Neil Balholm, and Greg Hopkins, back in Mike’s basement back in 1974, and so saying yes to a Karaoke performance felt right. But, I’ve never done improv. Dylan was all-in on the improv, down with the Karaoke, and loved my terrible idea that we should open the keynote by spontaneously breaking into inappropriate songs.

Lest you worry, we did have content. Our main themes were savoring and gratitude, both being evidence-based practices popular in the positive psychology movement.

One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is that it’s not unusual to end up receiving the gift you’re trying to give others. What I mean is that, at the conclusion of our phrenetic, non-traditional keynote speech, I experienced big doses of savoring and gratitude. Lillian and Dylan were marvelous planners and co-presenters and Renee’ was moved to tears by the video Dylan and Lillian created for the ending. Thanks to being on a great team and thanks to presenting to a generous and amazing audience of nothing-less-than-fantastic Montana school counselors, my savoring and gratitude cup were full all weekend.

Although there may be concrete evidence of the magnificence of this event in the form of video clips and photos, I’ll leave you with two short testimonials.

So much FOMO. I can’t make out any of the audio, but the visuals are very impressive. At one point it seems as though they become Zumba instructors. – UM faculty member, watching via social media video clips

I feel like I’m in a fever dream! – UM M.A. student