Mindset Coaching

A unique aspect of our coaching model at Empowering Scholars is our whole-child approach. Our mindset coaching integrates our deep knowledge of child psychology and development as well as our understanding of the interplay between social-emotional health and learning. Many of the students who come to us struggle with their confidence and have developed identity myths, such as, “I’m bad at Math,” or “I’m not a good writer.” Some students come to us with a diagnosed learning disability or ADHD, and other students we work with struggle with mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety. In all of these cases, we work closely with the student to help them understand their unique brain wiring and learning profile, interpret their neuro-psychological testing (if applicable and appropriate), reframe internalized myths about their skills and potential, and develop a richer and more nuanced perspective on their strengths and challenges.

Our specialized, holistic coaching method helps students cultivate a growth mindset and incorporates strategies to reduce anxiety, practice distress tolerance skills, and identify and anticipate assignments and situations that trigger a student’s feelings of anxiety, perfectionism, and self-doubt. We help students to better understand why they find certain aspects of school challenging and to process the root causes of underlying behaviors like procrastination, avoidance, and other maladaptive coping strategies; this understanding is an essential first step in developing the metacognitive tools necessary to become successful, independent learners.

Our mindset coaching can be interwoven with the academic and executive skills tutoring, with some sessions leaning more heavily towards the mindset work and metacognitive skill development and other sessions focused more heavily on academic content and executive strategies.