Psychologists: The School Service You Didn't Know About
NEIRAD enilno edition
High school is a difficult time for a lot of people; most likely everyone in their academic lives will encounter some sort of roadblock on the way to graduation. The matter could be stress, family struggles, or emotional issues. For several students, some hurdles are too difficult to overcome alone. Some may feel as though they are forced to tackle these problems unassisted, that the school doesn’t have any means of understanding or aiding their issues. Frankly, even I was in the dark about any emotional resources organization existing beyond guidance counselors.
Yet, the school does provide special services for high schoolers undergoing difficult times - there is an entire crew of experts at their disposal. Eileen Whalen, Beth Shapiro, Kathy Gilbert, and Kris Kumpf make up the psychiatric staff. Their responsibility lies with those students who are experiencing struggles with high school or home life. I spoke with them recently to uncover more about their tasks here.
The team is divided into different sections of specialties, psychologists, social work, and drug counseling. The school’s psychologists are Eileen Whalen and Beth Shapiro, both seasoned staffers who have been working with students since the old building was still standing (Mrs. Whalen has been working at DHS for 22 years, Mrs. Shapiro, an estimated 19). Both of them share a love of the occupation, Mrs. Shapiro’s mother in law held the same job and inspired her to follow, and she also works in the special education department. Mrs. Whalen worked in special education and minored in clinical psychology for a long time even before coming to DHS.
The two of them separate duties between junior and seniors (Whalen) and freshmen and sophomores. (Shapiro) Both women share similar responsibilities. Mrs. Whalen described the job as, “a provider of services available for supporting kids with adjustment issues.” These “issues,” can range from problems in the home, to emotional issues, to the inability to deal with stress, which Mrs. Whalen deemed the most common reason kids seek help.
Students meet with the psychologists by appointment or through a walk-in process. Parents can be involved or excluded depending on the situation. Once a meeting is organized students are free to confide in the psychologists and, “mostly just talk and vent,” Mrs. Shapiro said. Mrs. Whalen assured me that, “listening is the most important thing,” when it comes to dealing with these types of issues.
The second part of the process deals with problem solving. Mrs. Shapiro explained that, “we perform an evaluation,” depending on the situation and then attempt to find the best solution to the problem, a “mandated counseling goal,” is issued for the student and the psychologists attempt to find a way to reach it.
For example, for a student unable to deal with academic stress, the psychologist can talk to the teachers and staff and make adjustments so that the student can better deal with the workload. Other examples include informing students about details of dealing with divorce and providing emotional aid to students having difficulty adjusting to high school. In essence, Mrs. Whalen described her position as an, “intermediary,” between students, staff, and parents, and that her job was to, “try and put the pieces of the puzzle together with their issues.”
The social worker, Kathy Gilbert, shares a similar, yet varied responsibility. Mrs. Gilbert has been the DHS social worker for three years, (although she has been working for much longer as a licensed clinic social worker in pysch hospitals and clinics) and also largely organizes the CORE program, a service for kids who need extra help academically and emotionally. Mrs. Gilbert provides, “counseling,” and helps run the, “community group,” area of CORE, which she describes as, “part discussion and part service.” The group participates in various volunteer opportunities such as tea with senior citizens to collecting supplies for a social service agency. She describes herself as being very passionate about the program, because, “the world is a bigger place than this high school.”
As for her social services, Mrs. Gilbert explained that she isn’t an evaluator like the psychologists; she instead takes care of “the practical help.” For example, in the case of a family with financial difficulties, Mrs. Gilbert would attempt to find a way to, “pay for SATs,” or in the case of a student with a disability, Mrs. Gilbert would obtain proper equipment such as a wheelchair. This isn’t to say Mrs. Gilbert isn’t involved in psychology, she deals with some family problems and supplies therapy to students who are “school-phobic”. Mrs. Gilbert is also in charge of the truancy department, and is responsible for all the truancy petitions regarding students who skip school. She is therefore, “a little bit of everything”.
Lastly, there is Kris Kumpf, a drug counselor of six years. Ms. Kumpf described her passion for psychology especially among teenagers, and claimed that she came into her profession when she noticed, “drugs and alcohol frequently come up with teens”. She is in school every Tuesday, and deals primarily with, “substance abuse…kids who have issues with substances or friends with issues”. Ms. Kumpf has an open door policy and encourages any student with an issue to come visit, she says that several students that see her are there on their own, and are very, “open and receptive.” Her process includes, “a discussion about the nature and severity of the problem, an assessment of strengths and weaknesses, and a development of coping skills for stress, and time management.” If necessary, Ms. Kumpf can refer to help outside of school.
Ms. Kumpf is also in charge of the Commit Group, a group that helps 8th graders transition to high school. The group makes regular trips to the middle school, and Ms. Kumpf described her ardor for the project as sprung from, “the act of helping others”.
High school can seem like a stressful and lonely place sometimes, but the school psychologists, social worker, and drug counselor are always receptive of students and their issues. Ms. Kumpf encourages students to, “come up with a friend and meet the support group, we’d love to see them”. Students had only nice things to say about the team, claiming they, “try really hard, and always make an effort to relate to you,” and always treated them, “very nicely.” In the words of Mrs. Whalen, “everyone in their life runs into some difficulty, we help them move through it so they can enjoy the rest of their lives”.
Mrs. Whalen is in room A-221, Mrs. Shapiro is in room A-219, Ms. Kumpf is in room A-221, and Mrs. Gilbert is in room A-217.
