The Good Neuron

The Good Neuron Evidence-based mental wellness for real people with real lives. Mindset shifts & psychoeducation so you can feel more grounded, kind to yourself, and connected.

(Oh, and NCMHCE tips and tricks for counselors because even helpers need help sometimes) My name is Hannah Salazar, the owner and founder of The Good Neuron. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida and a Certified K-12 School Counselor as well as Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Ohio. I specialize in neurodevelopmental disorders and pediatric mental health. I am also a mom and a military spouse. I have a passion for helping others succeed as well as advocating for the mental health space. Follow along for tips & tricks for the NCMHCE and my random babblings about the mental health field with everyday mom things thrown in. Looking forward to meeting you!

03/29/2026

Hiii!

So things have been wild over here but we’re making it! Being a military spouse is not something I often share on here but this deployment has been the toughest deployment and I’ve had days where I have not been okay. That’s okay to say because we all have days where it’s okay to not be okay. Thankfully things are looking much better now even if my husband’s deployment is extended. We are getting back into a normal routine over here. I am still seeing tutoring clients, but just kind of got thrown off my kilter for a little bit.

In other news, I will be stopping tutoring completely by the end of April unfortunately. We are gearing up to move overseas to Japan and I just have a lot of things going on that I have to focus on for that move. There will still be study guides, there will still be videos about the test, but just the live Zoom sessions will stop.

Let me know what you guys have been up to! I’d love to hear from you guys and see kind of where you’re at with your studying or if you need me to go over anything, just let me know! 🫶🫶

02/27/2026

What do you guys wanna see!? Help a girl out lol. I don’t wanna change the theme of this page but I also will have a completely new life pretty soon! Being a military spouse, I feel like we make new lives a hundred times and moving forward with the change is such a learning curve/process.

So, let me know in the comments 💬🫶🏼

02/27/2026

Paraphrasing and summarizing are not interchangeable skills. Let’s break it down.

Here’s the difference in plain terms:

Paraphrasing = restating ONE idea the client just said.
It’s immediate. It’s concise. It stays close to the client’s exact content.

Summarizing = pulling together MULTIPLE themes across time. It connects patterns and often shows up at transitions or before moving into treatment planning. It also uses direct quotes and words from the client.

NCMHCE Test tip:
If the answer choice reflects a single recent statement → think paraphrase.
If it weaves together several concerns → think summarization.

The NCMHCE is both knowledge and application. Learning into the “how/why” of things helps a ton!

What skill is challenging for you? Which one should I break down next? 💬 let me know in the comments!

Also, yes, my coffee cup is a paid actor.

02/18/2026

Alright, pull up a chair. Let’s talk confidentiality in couples counseling. Now, I’m not a couples counselor but I have worked with couples and families before. I dug into the actual ACA code of ethics to give you guys a breakdown. According to them, couples are considered a multi-client situation.

That means:

• Your primary responsibility is to both partners
• You must clarify who the client is
• You must define who holds privilege
• You must explain how records are accessed
• You must state your policy on secrets before treatment begins (intake)

The ACA does not require a “no secrets policy.”

But it does require that you clearly explain your policy in informed consent (A.2.a, A.8.b, B.4.b).

If you don’t clarify this upfront, and one partner discloses something privately, you could be an ethical issue.

✨ Clinicians — do you use a no-secrets policy? Why or why not?

Also, what setting should I do next? 👀

Confidentiality with minors can be a bit complex given the setting of where the therapy takes place. As a licensed ment...
02/13/2026

Confidentiality with minors can be a bit complex given the setting of where the therapy takes place. As a licensed mental health counselor that specializes in working with pediatrics, I have almost seen it all. I have also worked in various settings where confidentiality leans itself to new expectations and rules. It can be tough.

In therapy with minors, the minor is the client. But parents or guardians typically hold legal rights to treatment decisions and records.
That creates a delicate balance between:

• Protecting the child’s therapeutic trust
• Respecting parental rights
• Following state law
• Prioritizing safety

Session details can often remain private to preserve the therapeutic alliance/rapport…unless there is risk of harm, abuse, or a legal mandate requiring disclosure.

The key is practicing ethically within the law while being transparent from the very beginning.

If you’re a clinician: set expectations clearly at intake.
If you’re a parent: confidentiality supports honest, effective therapy.
If you’re studying for the NCMHCE: safety + law + clinical judgment will guide the best answer.

Ethics is allll about informed balance.

What would you add!? Let me know in the comments 💬

02/10/2026

Let’s talk confidentiality in different settings! Confidentiality changes by setting, and EAP counseling is one of the most misunderstood. Given that agencies may do things a little bit differently according to their policies, take all of this as more generalized information. There’s a lot of nuance-y type of things that may happen..but in general, this is what I’d important and expected.

- Session content stays private
- Employers receive limited administrative info
- Standard legal/ethical limits still apply
- Management referrals = specific, consent-based disclosures

tip: Always ask who is the client and who receives information because they’re not always the same.

02/01/2026

Black-and-white thinking (or all-or-nothing thinking) is a cognitive distortion in CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, that increases during stress, anxiety, trauma, and burnout.

When the nervous system is activated, the brain prioritizes certainty and speed, not flexibility.
This temporarily quiets anxiety…but at the cost of flexibility, problem-solving, and self-compassion. Our brains are always trying to problem solve, sometimes at the cost of other systems.

This pattern is adaptive, learned, and reversible…you just gotta teach your brain!
Also, say prefrontal cortex a few times in a row because my brain almost couldn’t 🤣🤣

Which one should I do next!?
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As always, this is for psychoeducation only. As always, IG ≠ therapy.

01/30/2026

Cognitive distortions are automatic thought patterns that skew how we interpret situations. Think of them as bringing us data, not automatic truths.

Common distortions include:
• All-or-nothing thinking
• Catastrophizing
• Mind reading
• Emotional reasoning
• Overgeneralization
• “Should” statements
• Labeling and personalization

When left unexamined, these thinking patterns can increase anxiety, depression, and avoidance behaviors.
In CBT, the goal is to think more accurately vs “positively. “

Which ones should I compare or go deeper into!? Let me know in the comments 💬

01/23/2026

Let’s talk about therapeutic silence. Yes, it’s awkward.
Yes, your brain (and mine) is screaming “SAY SOMETHING.”

But the silence in the skill is actually active. It is used as an intervention to:

✨ give space to think
✨ lets emotions surface instead of getting rescued
✨ shifts the work back to the client (where the change happens)
✨ And sometimes… the most important insight shows up after the pause

So if you see your therapist quietly nodding (or looking super awkward) like this…they’re not judging you. They’re giving your nervous system room to talk.

(Still awkward though. We know.)

01/21/2026

If you’re taking the National Clinical MentalHealth Counselor Exam, otherwise known as the in 2026, here are 3 things I would focus on:

1. Focus on application of everything. On this exam, you’ll be applying everything. Think less “2+2=4” and more “why do we use addition to get to 4?” It really changes how you view everything and how you study. Knowledge does have its place as a foundation into application.

2. Structure study sessions to include knowledge + application. Focus on reviewing things you’re weakest in and how to apply those things. So split your study sessions into a ‘knowledge’ part (flashcards, readings, listening to podcasts, etc.) and a ‘application’ part (narratives, practice exams, or quizzes).

3. Use the Pomodoro technique when studying. It can be done a variety of ways but essentially, break your study sessions into smaller increments so you can really focus. 25-30 mins of studying, then take a 5-10 min break; come back and do another round. I never recommend studying for longer than 2 hours at a time (too much can lead to burnout and stress) and breaking into smaller, 30 min sections, helps to really make it manageable.

What else would you add!? 💬

That’s it. That’s the post. If you’re feeling burnt out and just like, how do I do this? You’re not alone. Things are to...
01/15/2026

That’s it. That’s the post.

If you’re feeling burnt out and just like, how do I do this? You’re not alone. Things are tough right now and there is so much going on. Sometimes, just showing up, listening, and being a human with empathy is sufficient enough. Which is why chat gpt could never.

Human connection > perfection. Every. Single. Time.
What do you think is the biggest problem we’re facing now as counselors in the U.S.? 💬

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01/13/2026

In therapy, reflection techniques come in handy when we hear a lot of information but minimal emotional or significant insight.

Let’s break them down:
1. Reflection of feeling-
This is when you name the emotion you’re hearing.
You’re adding in an emotion word and helping the client feel seen and understood.
“You’re feeling overwhelmed.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“You’re really anxious about this.”

This type of reflection answers the question: What is the client feeling right now?

2. Reflection of meaning-
This goes a layer deeper.
Instead of just naming the feeling, you pull out the significance of what the client said. You reflect why this matters to them and what it says about their values, fears, beliefs, or sense of self.

“It sounds like failing here would confirm your fear that you’re not good enough.”
“It seems like this situation hits a deeper fear of being abandoned.”
“This isn’t just stressful, it threatens something important to you.”

This answers the question:What does this experience mean to the client?
Reflection of meaning is what helps clients go deeper, make connections, and gain insight.

Skill to remember (and yes, this matters for the exam too):
• Feeling = label the emotion
• Meaning = name the significance

One says “I hear you.”
The other says “I understand you.”

What should I cover next? 👀 let me know in the comments!!

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