San Luis Coastal Unified School District (SLCUSD) has 12 school psychologists that each have students at different schools, whom they support. Greg Goodman, the psychologist at San Luis Obispo High School has 14 students, for which his role is to provide counseling services to. These services are strictly confidential, and students are referred to me through Student Support Services. Expressions reached out to Goodman to learn about mindfulness and what he does on a daily basis. 

Expressions: What does being mindful mean to you? 

SLCUSD Psychologist Greg Goodman: For many years, psychologists have known about biofeedback.  This involves control of the mind to enhance personal performance.  Sports psychologists have frequently used biofeedback to reduce sports injuries, improve performance, and generally enhance athlete’s success. Mindfulness is simply a new name for an old technique.  Sometimes referred to as one’s mental game, mindfulness is the willful control of one’s thoughts and decision making to succeed in life’s endeavors: learning, playing, or participating in relationships.

Expressions: How does being mindful in these trying times help you? 

Goodman: Today, using mindfulness to decrease stress is very important.  Using breathing exercises, yoga, or other forms or self-messaging can really help to become more centered and to increase success.

Expressions: What is the most important piece of advice about mindfulness you would give to SLOHS students? 

Goodman: I would tell SLOHS students that they can control and improve their performance by using these techniques.  Often what makes one person more successful than another (Say the Williams tennis sisters) is the mental aspect of the ‘game.’  I say, be open to learning techniques of mindfulness. 

Expressions: How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your perspectives on being mindful? 

Goodman: The coronavirus, COVID19, has shown me once again, that stresses come out of nowhere, and we need to be able to respond to the drama that any crisis can provoke.  The virus can evoke lots of different emotions, and mindfulness can help us to better cope with the feelings that are presented to us.

Expressions: What has been keeping you busy and content during the time of the pandemic and shelter in place order? 

Goodman: I have been reaching out to my students on an almost daily basis.  Because we’re not in school, it has been more difficult to connect with my students and their families, so I am working harder to try to bridge the gap created by our school closure.

Expressions: Is there anything else or other importances that you want students to know about you or being mindful? 

Goodman: After high school, I attended a special school called Outward Bound.  It is an outdoor adventure school that teaches its students that they can always find the strength to overcome obstacles that occur in life.  The school’s motto is, “To serve to strive, and not to yield.”  That’s a form of mindfulness, too.  Telling yourself, Don’t quit!  Never give up!  This doesn’t mean to forge ahead when you shouldn’t, like continuing to climb a mountain when the weather is deteriorating.  That would be bad judgment. Mindfulness means to use all of your abilities to make the best decision, and to have grit when you should apply it.  Have the courage to be your own person, and stick to your true values. 

Goodman included a resource document in his interview that Expressions has attached below. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=b962a9aca7&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1666612477202814598&th=1720ff37c9e85686&view=att&disp=inline