Pictured: Melissa Johnson, M.Sc.Ed. – Emotion Coach at WiseMind
“For many of these kids, it’s the first time they’ve had someone just sit with them, hear them, and focus completely on their experience.”
In classrooms across Marion and Polk counties, students are navigating a world that feels more intense, more distracted, and more overwhelming than ever. Teachers work hard to meet student needs, but rising class sizes, behavioral challenges, and growing mental health concerns have created a gap that many schools struggle to fill.
WiseMind Educational Services is stepping into that gap with support from Willamette Health Council. Through grants and donations over the years, WHC has partnered with WiseMind to expand their reach and bring critical services to youth and educators in our community, specifically in rural areas.
Simple Tools with Lasting Impact
Founded by Jenifer Trivelli, WiseMind blends neuroscience, trauma-sensitive practices, and coaching into an approach simple enough for a child to understand, yet powerful enough to create lasting change. “If you can’t teach it to a 6-year-old, you don’t know it well enough yourself,” Jenifer explained, quoting Einstein. “It’s intentionally simple, so it works for everyone, whether it’s an educator, a 6-year-old, or a teenager at the Kroc Center’s iBuild program.”
WiseMind’s 1:1 Emotion Coaching sessions begin with relationship-building. Coaches take time to understand each student’s experience before introducing tools like “heart breathing” and other stress regulation techniques. Biofeedback helps students see their bodies shift into calm, and over time they learn to notice those changes on their own.
“It’s a short window, just 30 minutes a week for eight weeks, but in that time we’re fully present,” Jenifer said. “For many of these kids, it’s the first time they’ve had someone just sit with them, hear them, and focus completely on their experience.”
From Classroom to Calm: Results That Last
The results are striking. Students stay in class instead of being sent out, share tools with peers, and even use them in moments of conflict. One student practiced heart breathing as a classmate approached who had been a source of tension. “The biofeedback tool showed they were able to shift into a calmer state. They stayed out of fight-or-flight. They stayed in that ‘Wise Mind’ place,” Jenifer said.
Educators also benefit. WiseMind offers staff workshops so teachers can reinforce the language students learn. Mary Carlisle, who supports WiseMind through her business Virtual Bizy Bees, explained: “[WiseMind] is a low-burden program. We support as much of the referral, scheduling, and logistical pieces as possible, so schools don’t have to. The more students and staff who know the tools, the more informed the culture of the school becomes.”
That combination of relationship-building, simplicity, and logistical ease is why 100 percent of participating schools have asked WiseMind to return. In the past year alone, they served more than 140 students, 25 educators, and 150 pre-K teachers.
Teaching Resilience, One Breath at a Time
Looking ahead, WiseMind is building a certification program to expand their approach statewide while continuing workshops for parents and partnerships with workforce programs. Their vision is a future where every child, family, and educator has meaningful tools for managing stress and building resilience.
“In a post-2020 world, youth mental health is more of a crisis than ever,” Jenifer said. “We think emotions are this big scary thing… But if we can change the physiological message the body is sending the brain, we are able to access problem-solving in a constructive way instead of reacting. That’s resilience. And it’s teachable.”
Learn more at www.wisemindservices.com.