Step Into My Sessions: More Than Just Facts - Growing Conversational Insight with “I Think”

Big thinking in small moments— helping students explore opinions, not just facts.

Last month, as I was dealing with a continuing family medical crisis, I realized I had to do some “ruthless prioritization.” I decided that December emails to all of you would have to be cut. As things are hopefully settling down, I am back for 2026! Thanks to all of you who wrote me cheery and supportive emails – they were very helpful. 😌💙

For 2026, I have decided to change things up just a bit. Now, every Tuesday email you get from me will be a Step Into My Sessions. 💡💬 Many of you have written that those small therapy activity suggestions and tips are super helpful, so I am going to focus on that for a while.

Mental State Verbs & Online Conversation

This week, I am focusing on conversation in conjunction with MSV (mental state verbs).

Let's think about a "different" type of conversation – posting on Discord. 📱 While not an in-person or verbal conversation, there is often quite a bit of back and forth, so it's another way for our students to connect with peers.

The particular student I am writing about loves posting photos on Discord 📷, and we have worked on the importance of taking a photo close enough so people can see what you are referencing.

Before we worked on taking photos – the text was about the flag…..What flag?

After we worked on taking a good photo – proximity makes a difference!

Okay, so we “checked the box” about the clarity of the photo. ✅

Now, let’s take a look at the accompanying text. While it is true that “This is a Christmas wreath and it has a ribbon on it!” 🎀 it’s not text that resulted in any comments or likes from this student’s peers. I wondered if changing the text might make it more interesting…

To do that, I thought about the MSV “know” and “think.” Both are important, but know is about the facts, while think lets us add our own take—how we interpret or feel about what we’re noticing.

Integrating CPPEV

In the CPPEV Practice Activities, there is a template for an activity that helps students flesh out this difference. I decided to experiment using it with my student and their Discord conversation… 💬

Well, we both thought it was a very helpful visual. The student quickly took over my keyboard and, quite easily, filled in the template (we have been working for several years on MSV). Here’s what it looked like:

With a great smile, the student chose several of their “new” ideas and edited the post. 😁

And boom! In a day, he gained several “likes.” 💕

It reminded me just how many creative directions CPPEV activities can go—sometimes even straight into a student’s Discord feed! There’s no single “right” way to share ideas, and CPPEV gives us endless ways to help students find their voice. 🗣️

Until next week, happy 2026 to you and those you treasure! ✨