Ira Hays’ Post

🎉 Highlight of My Day: Attending Monmouth County ASAP! Every time I get the chance to attend the Monmouth County ASAP meetings, it’s a privilege—and today was no exception! 🏫✨ Spending time with the Monmouth County school teams is always rewarding. I love hearing about their challenges and sharing the work we’re doing at Center for Wellness. From the very first time I attended, I was warmly welcomed 🤝, and the experience left such a positive impact that I make it a point to attend whenever possible. Now, when I walk into these meetings, I see familiar faces—incredible school professionals and community programs working tirelessly to meet the mental health needs of the kids we serve 🧠❤️. It was also a pleasure standing with Kenneth Pecoraro today, a friend and mentor for over a decade. 🙌 I was thrilled to see familiar faces from the schools like Joy Przywara and @nancy bailey 😊, and to connect with folks from Monmouth County NJ4S and Preferred Behavioral Health Group —shout out to Lauren Casas, LPC, ACS! 🫶 Meeting people in person is always a reminder of how valuable our work is, and it’s these connections that make our efforts even stronger. Looking forward to the next one already! 💙 #MentalHealthMatters #CommunitySupport #CenterForWellness #ASAP #MonmouthCounty

👐 Helping Others Isn’t Just a Job—It’s a Lifestyle 🔊 There’s a lot of pressure these days from influencers telling us to avoid late hours or extra work to protect our personal time—and I get it. ⚖️ Work-life balance matters. But for my wife and me, both of us therapists with multiple jobs, helping people isn’t just something we do—it’s who we are. 💙 Whether it’s 📅 Tuesday night with clients or ⚽ Saturday morning at my kid’s sports game, it’s all part of the life we’ve built. Our boss doesn’t demand it—our values do. I carefully juggle family and work 🎪, and my kids know that helping others isn’t just important to me—it’s essential to our future as a family and as a society 🌍. That’s why #SocialWorkIsDifferent. It’s not just about personal fulfillment 💡; it’s about building a healthier society for our kids 👧🧒. The mental health crisis we’re facing today reflects a world in need of care—and for my children to grow up happy and healthy, they need to live in a world where people step up to help each other 🤝. Helping others doesn’t detract from my family—it adds meaning. 💪 And that’s what matters most. What are your thoughts? 🗨 Comment Below! #MentalHealth #SocialWork #HelpingOthers #FamilyAndWork #ValuesDriven

💪 Teach Your Kids to Do Hard Things – It’s the Best Gift You Can Give Them 🎁 As both a parent and a therapist specializing in anxiety disorders, I’ve learned that the key to raising resilient kids isn’t shielding them from discomfort—it’s helping them face it head-on. Simple tasks like raking the yard aren’t punishments or tests; they’re opportunities. Doing hard, uncomfortable things helps kids build resilience, protecting them from anxiety and stress, not adding to it. If your goal is to give your child a comfortable, stress-free life, you might unintentionally increase their anxiety. Instead, focus on building strength and resilience. The more kids succeed in overcoming challenges, the more confident and capable they become. In therapy, I often assign "hard things" as homework. What's "hard" will vary for each child—and that’s okay. As they grow stronger, so do the challenges. Of course, we protect them from trauma, but uncomfortable experiences are not the same as traumatic ones. Encourage your children to face difficulties. The reward isn’t just a clean yard—it’s a lifetime of reduced anxiety and a stronger, more resilient mindset. #Parenting #Resilience #MentalHealth #ChildDevelopment #Therapy

🍂 Keeping Busy This Fall with School Phobia Trainings! 🏫 It’s been an amazing season providing education and support to school districts across New Jersey! I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with districts like Edison, helping counselors feel more equipped to address challenges like school phobia and nonattendance. A special thank you to Randy Flaum and the Monmouth County Special Education Directors for inviting me to present at their recent meeting. It was a pleasure connecting with so many passionate professionals working to positively impact the lives of students struggling with school phobia. At Center For Wellness, we are proud to offer free "Assessment and Treatment of School Phobia" trainings to any NJ school district. Fall is the perfect time to get these sessions scheduled and ensure your team feels prepared to support students through the school year! Let’s work together to create safe, supportive environments where students can overcome anxiety and thrive. 📅 Contact us today to set up a training for your district! #schoolphobia #schoolcounseling #professionaldevelopment #educationmatters #mentalhealthinschools #wellness

🙏 I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Middlesex County ASAP for inviting me to present on school phobia at their meeting yesterday. Opportunities like this are incredible because they allow me to reach multiple districts at once, helping more students and educators. 🏫 Providing insights into school phobia is something I’m deeply passionate about, and I’m truly grateful to everyone who took the time to host me, as well as those who attended and actively engaged in the discussion. Whether through my work at Center for Wellness or in my own practice, I’m fully committed to helping kids overcome anxiety disorders and return to school with confidence. 😃 If your team is looking for a training on school phobia, feel free to reach out to me at ihays@centerforwellnessnj.com. I’d love to help! 📨 #SchoolPhobia #AnxietyDisorders #MentalHealth #CenterForWellness #ProfessionalDevelopment

Thank you to Intermediate Unit 20 in Pennsylvania for inviting me to deliver a comprehensive training on school phobia. 🏩 As many of you know, I’m passionate about supporting students who struggle in this area. It was a great experience leading a 3-4 hour session with their team, but I can equip school-based or community staff with the right tools in as little as 60-90 minutes. With proper access and intervention, we can often create long-term success for students. ⏱ If you're interested in this training, feel free to reach out! Schools in NJ may be eligible for free training. I also offer other trainings related to school and mental health, including trauma-informed education and fostering a growth mindset. Let's work together to help students thrive! #SchoolPhobia #MentalHealth #TraumaInformed #GrowthMindset #Education

📢 It's always an incredible experience working with Red Bank Regional High School! 🏫 One of my absolute favorite trainings is focused on helping schools integrate the growth mindset 💡. Watching it impact every student and the entire school population is truly inspiring. I firmly believe that educating with a growth mindset can address some of the largest school-related concerns, including: Anxiety 😟 Bullying 🛑 School violence 🏫 Attendance 📈 If I were in charge of providing staff with the knowledge and tools they need to excel, I'd start with one of our trauma-informed care trainings 🧠. This ensures everyone is on the same page and ready to support students. The next step? Growth mindset training! 💪 Together, these two can create lasting, positive changes in the entire school climate 🌱. Of course, there are other issues that specific trainings can address—but no combination has as comprehensive an impact as trauma-informed care and growth mindset together. 💥

I know Alex is likely talking about business, but he could just as easily be talking about our mental health, especially Anxiety and School Phobia. Often, I see children, teens and even adults label every sympathetic nervous system response as negative, even those that might be excitement! Stress is inevitable and setting a goal or "zero" stress is resulting in increased anxiety disorders and certainly a raise in the phobic response to things like school! Let's help kids do tough things even in a world with significant stress! 💚

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the teams at Rutgers University Behavioral Health and NJ4S of Middlesex County for inviting me to train their school-based services on the assessment and treatment of school phobia. 💚 As a social worker and leader who has designed and trained staff at a therapeutic school, it was a pleasure to work with such passionate teams. 👥 Their dedication is clear, and I applaud their efforts in supporting vulnerable students. 👏 If you're at a public school in NJ and interested in a free training on school phobia, please reach out! 🏫 📞 📱 📨

💚 A Gentle Reminder to All School Counselors and Teachers 😃 As we welcome our students back, let's remember that not all of them have a supportive environment at home. For some, summer break means time away from the only place where they receive positive reinforcement. Your smile might be the first they've seen in a while. The praise you give them on day one could be the first they've heard in months. The care you show might be the only warmth they feel. Let’s make this school year a safe and encouraging space for all! 💙✨