COUNSELING DEPARTMENT EXPANDS
MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS By: Carolyn Neuhausen ’04
In the last year, La Salle’s students have lived through a tumultuous time; one rife with a deadly worldwide pandemic, an economic crisis, a contentious political season and a summer of social unrest. Now, more than ever, the mental health and well-being of students and members of the Lasallian community are so critically important. For the past 25 years, La Salle has recognized the importance of offering counseling and support to its students. The School has prioritized mental health and developed a robust counseling department as part of its mission to support students’ holistic growth - mentally, physically and spiritually. As part of its ongoing dedication to supporting students’ mental health, La Salle’s counseling program has grown significantly, says Director of Counseling, Tam Ly. “Mental health is integral to the well-being of the whole child, whether in COVID or not, we must deliver lessons and incorporate a social-emotional component for all of our students. Adolescence is a time for students to gain independence, explore and form their identity, develop skills that will make them contributing members to the community, and grow as an individual. Mental health is the foundation for all of these aspects to be possible. It goes back to Maslow’s hierarchy needs, we need to make sure the students feel safe and are well prepared to support their on-campus and off-campus growth,” says Ly. One of the newest focuses within the mental health program is managing the unique anxieties and stressors of the COVID era, where normal life has been disrupted and students are
challenged to learn through screens instead of in-person instruction. “We’ve talked about COVID coping skills and how to explore loss. Peer connection is paramount at this age. Teens are more independent and build their identity through their extra curricular activities, performance at school, their friendship groups, so we talk about the loss they are feeling,” Ly said. Students can also partake in the Healthy Choices Curriculum, where they learn about setting boundaries, negotiating conflict, and relationship building, among other life skills. The number of COVID specific mental health lessons has quadrupled over the last year and Ly believes that the Healthy Choices Curriculum is vital to La Salle’s students, pandemic or no pandemic. “ I think this program is relevant and important no matter what - part of developing teens as a whole. Post - COVID we’ll continue to adjust and adapt our support,” she said. To keep students engaged, the counseling department brings in guest speakers who share different perspectives on mental health topics. To help students better understand and manage the grief and loss that has become a part of the COVID era, the department invited Dr. Justin Barker ’05 to share a presentation he called “Building Your Mental Health Toolkit During the Pandemic.” In this presentation, students were taught the benefits of journaling, meditation, mindfulness, and self compassion affirmations. Another program under the counseling department’s mental health curriculum is the Mentor program. The School places 5
