The Wellness Center has unveiled several different programs designed to bring forth an awareness of mental health and mindfulness in the student population, as well as offer help and support to those who need it. These include Book Balance discussions, wellness crafting events at lunchtimes, and frequent group sessions that focus on mindfulness and wellbeing. Most recently, the Wellness Center has announced peer counseling, available to all students.

The peer counseling program is currently composed of two students, trained in peer counseling curriculum and coping strategies for a semester. The program is available to all students during the fifth period. A student can make an appointment for fifteen minutes during this period to talk to a peer counselor if they’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anything similar. The trained counselors would provide coping strategies or simply be present as someone for the student to vent to and be comfortable with. The idea behind this program is to reach out to students who may not be comfortable asking an adult for help, and would rather speak to their peers.

“I came up with the idea sometime last year, and I reached out to [the students] whom I knew were passionate about this from clubs and organizations,” Dr. Deja Anderson explained. She hopes to expand this program for the next year, especially because of the attention that it has received so far. 

“As soon as we sent out the flier, we immediately got a lot of responses from students that wanted to meet with a counselor,” Dr. Anderson said.

As soon as the program was unveiled, Dr. Anderson said that several students have reached out to the counselors and have benefited from the program.

Counselors in this program were trained specifically in anxiety and coping with it, in order to give their peers coping strategies. They also took a course on Everfi about mental health and balance, especially focusing on the balance between school and everyday life. 

Senior Jelani Enoch is one of the peer counselors in the program and really enjoys being able to help her peers find success in mental health. During the pandemic, Enoch wanted to focus on her mental health, joining a club called Refine Your Mind. She utilized coping strategies that improved her life, and wants to help others do the same.

“I wanted to help people that are on the same journey,” Enoch explained. “It’s been a really great experience. It’s a sweet experience to see people open up about vulnerable things and come out with the opportunity to improve.”

Junior Taanish Alam is the other counselor, and really enjoys helping his peers through situations and the personal aspect of the meetings.

“My favorite part is being able to make connections and knowing that I’m helping them,” Alam said. “Just meeting new people and trying to understand what they’re going through.”

The peer counseling program is just beginning— in its future lies the possibility of expansion, a dual focus on college and career, and much more. In its current state, the program helps several students with their mental health journey, and will no doubt continue to do the same as it grows.

Photo courtesy of Wellness Center