“It was truly a pleasure to have Inner Strength help us address the feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed and assist us with identifying the effects of secondary trauma. I am happy to report that since our training, our team has shared techniques with our youth, as well as employed self-care techniques in the workplace.”
Effective Stress Management Helps Teachers & Students Thrive
Teaching is rewarding . . . and hard. It’s fast paced, with precious little time to catch your breath, process a challenging moment, or celebrate a success. Students come with all kinds of needs, well outside your subject expertise, and yet you still are there to tend to their concerns. You also have your own life, with its celebrations and stressors, which often gets squeezed into the edges of your time. No wonder you feel tired.
According to a 2022 poll, 90% of nearly 3 million educators reported that feeling burned out is a serious problem. Teacher attrition is a serious problem as we lose years of experience, expertise, and passion. Newly trained teachers entering the field are not enough to fill the gaps. Being able to implement actionable self care is crucial to support talented educators and to prevent personally and financially costly mental, emotional, and physical health issues.
Who cares for the caretakers?
That’s where our teacher wellness and stress management programs come in. Having worked with more than 3,200 teachers, school counselors, and school leadership, we know how much the adults need–and benefit-from time to process and easy-to-implement strategies that add a little give into the system.
The well-being of teachers is integral to student success. When teachers feel supported and have some ease, they are better able to support their students. There’s more room for laughter, creativity, play, and love. Students experience the connection and in that space of care learning can send down deep roots that nourish a child for their entire life.
Inner Strength offers an a variety of customizable programs and resources to support educators to thrive:
- Stress Management workshops for school leaders, teachers and staff.
- Monthly staff sessions to establish stress management as a foundation and build a school culture of care.
- Staff day retreats for team-building.
- Virtual Self-Care programs and toolkits.
- Train-the-Trainer Teen Mindfulness course to bring Inner Strength strategies into your classroom.
Adaptable Self Care Programs
Embedded in our programs are discussions that help dismantle culturally conditioned barriers to self-care, removing obstacles without adding pressure-producing routines to already busy schedules. Staff learn to recognize small moments each day that contribute to their overall wellbeing. They learn how to implement effective stress management strategies into the regular school day.
Programs integrate mindfulness-based tools, systems thinking, trauma-sensitive protocols, and evidence-based compassion building techniques.
Teachers build their capacity to skillfully – and healthily – respond to the demands of the classroom as models of calm centeredness and self care. Our students absorb who we are as much as they absorb what we teach. Being well rather than stressed helps them develop those positive habits and self-value too.
In Inner Strength’s Stress Management Workshops, educators learn:
- Easy to implement self care habits.
- Evidence-based stress reduction techniques.
- Mindfulness-based tools to de-escalate high stress in the moment.
- Awareness-building strategies to help identify and defuse triggers.
- Conscious movement to unwind the body and reset.
- Context-setting perspectives to de-mystify and de-personalize barriers to well-being.
- Simple approaches to create calm and focus in the classroom.
In these sessions, teachers laugh, release, gain perspective, and enjoy time with their colleagues. They regularly say, “I love the people I work with and being able to be together when we are all caring for ourselves and each other is such a gift!”
Bring an Inner Strength Stress Management Workshop
to your school!
Stress Management Programs (self-paced)
Mindfulness Teacher Training
Ongoing Learning
“It was truly a pleasure to have Inner Strength help us address the feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed and assist us with identifying the effects of secondary trauma. I am happy to report that since our training, our team has shared techniques with our youth, as well as employed self-care techniques in the workplace.”
Kimberly Stephens
Vice President of Programs Philadelphia Education Fund
"Inner Strength has supported South Philadelphia High School students for three years with mindfulness tools. One of our star Seniors stated, 'I learned about separating myself from my thoughts and how to calm down. I have been using the skills now as I transition into adulthood.' Many of our students come with emotional baggage. Having a program like Inner Strength is an asset for the emotional growth of our students.”
Janelle Harper
Community School Coordinator, Mayor's Office of Education
"I felt so personally and professionally supported…Everything about the Teacher Training both challenged and encouraged me. From the clear way the lessons were delivered, to the thoughtful reflection questions that really helped me grow, to the way Amy brought the whole group together...I've taken so many continuing education courses, but none that I can truly say helped me grow from the inside the way this one did. And I feel well prepared me with such an actionable skill set. Wow and Thank you!
Jennifer Kerrigan
Temple Univ, School Instructional Coach
Kimberly Stephens
Vice President of Programs Philadelphia Education Fund
“Inner Strength has supported South Philadelphia High School students for three years with mindfulness tools. One of our star Seniors stated, ‘I learned about separating myself from my thoughts and how to calm down. I have been using the skills now as I transition into adulthood.’ Many of our students come with emotional baggage. Having a program like Inner Strength is an asset for the emotional growth of our students.”
Janelle Harper
Community School Coordinator, Mayor's Office of Education
“I felt so personally and professionally supported…Everything about the Teacher Training both challenged and encouraged me. From the clear way the lessons were delivered, to the thoughtful reflection questions that really helped me grow, to the way Amy brought the whole group together…I’ve taken so many continuing education courses, but none that I can truly say helped me grow from the inside the way this one did. And I feel well prepared me with such an actionable skill set. Wow and Thank you!
Jennifer Kerrigan
Temple Univ, School Instructional Coach
“Our Reducing Secondary Stress & Self-Care training with Inner Strength was excellent. Amy took time and care to craft a workshop that met the unique needs of our organization. Everyone left the training empowered to weave simple, yet effective strategies into daily life. Even those in our organization who were skeptical or hesitant at first ended the day feeling refreshed. We look forward to working more with Inner Strength in the future!”
Christine Witkowski
Chief Program Officer
ArtistYear: Philadelphia, New York & Colorado
“Educators devote much of their time and effort to the wellbeing of their students; thus, often forgetting to consider their own needs. Inner Strength introduced the concept of mindfulness, and took us on a journey through meditation exercises that helped us become enlightened to our present state of mind. These tools helped us become aware of our emotions and stressors, and allowed us to reflect on how they may influence our decisions.”
John Dicicco
Health & Physical Education Teacher
Horace Furness High School, Philadelphia, PA
“The Inner Strength Stress Management program really changed my outlook on self-care for the better. I’m a better person and teacher after this program.”
P.W.
School District of Philadelphia
“Inner Strength picked my spirits up during a time where I didn’t know how desperately I was lacking and helped me in ways I now know were necessary to my life as a school employee.”
A.A.
School District of Philadelphia
“This program helped me to get off the hamster wheel. I felt like I was going round & round and not able to stop and just breathe. I am able to relax now!”
C.W
School District of Philadelphia
“As a result of the program, I will check in on my colleagues more. I will make taking care of myself a routine and I will teach this to students.”
N.C.
School District of Philadelphia
“Taking time for self-care used to make me feel guilty because I thought I should have been doing something more productive. This program made me see the value and that if I do not take care of myself, then I can’t take care of others.”
R.G.
School District of Philadelphia