In the first of our three-part series we looked at the overall look at how Lowell Area Schools (LAS) addresses mental health within the student population. A broad overview of how the mental well-being of elementary school students is undertaken was provided. Many would agree that middle school years can be awkward at best as this developmental stage comes with changing emotions, bodies, and a transition from kid to young adult. It is often looked at as the toughest years of school because of these challenges.
Middle School Students
Lowell Middle School (LMS) is home to nearly 900 students. Two counselors work with general education students. Additionally, the building houses one social worker and one intervention counselor who both work with a specific caseload. Katie Erickson has been a counselor at the middle school for 12 years. “I do think that mental and emotional health are connected. In order to be able to express one’s feelings/emotions appropriately, it’s important for a person to be mentally healthy.” she says of what she’s seeing at LMS. “For example, for people diagnosed with depression, it may be more difficult for them to express how they are feeling because parts of their processing center might be blocked.”
Erickson sees concerns middle school students deal with as being the same as they’ve been in past years which include friendship issues, self-esteem, navigating self-awareness. However, she has seen an increase in anxiety in recent years saying more and more students are not able to cope with daily challenges of being a middle school kid. She doesn’t believe social media is the sole culprit but does believe it has a big impact. She cites the fear of missing out, the need to constantly check for notifications, seeing friends post images portraying a perfect life, and cyber bullying as contributing social media factors in the anxiety students deal with at this level.
According to Erickson, LMS students are able to reach out to counselors or other adults in the building at any time. In addition to individual counseling, mentorship groups, small counseling groups based on individual need, and classroom guidance lessons provide opportunities for help with mental health. The school also has 10 students participating in the Bridging the Gap program. The district also paid for an outside counselor to run groups when time constraints make it so school representatives need additional help.
When asked whether kids who need help are able to graduate from needing assistance as they continue to high school, Erickson says, “I think some kids definitely become more mature, more self-aware, and develop the coping strategies they need to move forward from needing assistance. However, there are a handful of students each year that have had so much trauma in their lives or do not have the consistency of reinforced positive thinking at home that they continue to struggle all the way through [high school].”
While talking about mental health hasn’t been on the forefront of conversation in the past, Erickson feels it is getting better but there are still times when the topic is faced with resistance. But being able to bring in guest speakers on mental health, offering outside counseling services, and having parents be accepting of outside referrals are all signs that those in education, students, and parents are more comfortable with mental health.
Erickson encourages parents to be willing participants when it comes to the mental health of their child(ren). She says kids want to open up and get help from adults when given the chance. Oftentimes a key first step is recognizing there may be an issue. Sometimes students will “keep it together” during the school day but can “collapse/melt down” at home. It can often be the case that parents and teachers need to work together to realize a problem exists before setting up a plan to help a student.
Erickson is thankful for a school district that values mental health. She is seeing more support at the middle school than ever before. She also encourages parents to have real face-to-face conversations with their kids rather than communicating through texts and messaging. With kids being under more pressure than ever before she’s eager to help students and parents maintain positive mental health and address issues when they arise.
The first part of this series looked at mental health at the elementary school level. The third, and final part of this series will focus on high school students.
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