HEALTH & WELLNESS
spotlight on the brimmer wellness team Leading important conversations about how we meet the needs of our students. We sat down with our Wellness Team to get their perspective on the health and wellness landscape, both how it is changing and what is ahead for mental health clinicians in the coming years.
Dr. Beth Meister, Director of Counseling Services School Counselor (PK-8) Licensed Psychologist EDD from Boston University MED from Tufts University BS from Cornell University Training & Prior Experience Hall Mercer Children’s Center, McLean Hospital, Psychologist; Harvard/ McLean joint appointee; Instructor, Harvard Medical School; Brookline Public Schools, doctoral research; Private psychotherapy practice, Belmont and Winchester; Harvard Business School, assistant instructor in self-assessment; Longterm member of Boston Marathon medical team; Masters rower, Head of the Charles Regatta “It has been my pleasure to be Brimmer’s Dr Beth over the past 38 years. I have a strong background and interest in developmental psychology and try to view our students from that perspective. I believe we need to keep in mind children’s individual developmental levels, which vary from child to child, in order to personalize academic, social, and personal goals. I join Brimmer teachers and administrators in our carefully thought through plans to honor students’ strengths, while supporting individual areas of challenge. True equity in education requires the unique needs of each child to be recognized and addressed, for example, feeling accepted and included in the peer group, feeling one’s personal abilities and interests are valued, wanting to have opportunities for leadership, needing specialized help with academics, and more. I like to approach my work at school with humor, kindness, patience, and appreciation of how even young children view their world, whether I am meeting with an individual, a group, or a classroom. Growth Education is the Middle School weekly Wellness class I have taught over the years, and it has been a great venue for teaching relevant skills such as managing stress, expressing opinions, goal setting, strategies for managing relationships and feelings, and others. Recently, I enjoyed outdoor talks/walks with some of our younger students, meeting with small groups to talk about the concepts of planning, inclusiveness, empathy, and taking the high road in friendships, and partnering with Middle Schoolers to complete and hand in work. Research has indicated that social-emotional learning considerably enhances academic performance. I will continue to help our students attain high levels of positivity, resilience, self-awareness, patience, and empathy for others as they strive for academic success each day.”
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Fall 2021
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