The Teen Counseling Project
The Teen Counseling Project is dedicated to maintaining healthy environments in each of the three West Sonoma County High Schools: Analy, El Molino, and Laguna.
A Leadership Committee composed of parents, educators, therapists, and business representatives from the community works to identify needs of the students and the best ways to address those needs.
An ongoing goal of the Scott Lane Teen Counseling Project is to ensure the presence of a fulltime outreach therapist at each of the school campuses. The therapist works with students needing help with depression, alcohol and substance abuse, relationships, suicidal tendencies, isolation, eating disorders, test anxiety, and related teen issues. The presence of the therapist, along with the high school guidance staff, helps to create a positive and encouraging environment conducive to learning.
Another goal of the project is to identify mental health trends on campus and initiate or support programs to address the mental health needs of each student body.
The Need
Addressing mental health issues in our adolescent community is integral to school safety. For troubled teens, for their classmates and fellow students, acknowledging and tackling issues of isolation, anxiety and confusion are elements of creating a safe learning environment.
For all teens, communication about issues of morality, decision-making, and behavioral consequences is essential in developing responsibility and insight. By fostering mental health programs the Teen Counseling Project is here to enhance campus safety and learning for everyone.
Additionally, as many as one in four west county high school students contends with severe emotional and psychological issues that require therapeutic intervention.
Academic counselors are often the first point of contact for students with problems. However, with their high caseloads, they have little time to adequately help students with serious personal problems.
Left untreated, these problems can quickly escalate into anxiety, depression, isolation and disruptive disciplinary disturbances.
Troubled students who do not receive help often drop out of school. Deficient in education and prone to instability, they then take their problems into the larger community.
Our Project Supports
- Therapeutic counselors who provide one-to-one and/or group counseling for students coping with psychological and emotional issues
- The development of an MFT internship program on the high school campuses in cooperation with Sonoma State University
- The Speakers Series to address risky teen behaviors such as driving, drinking, sexual relationships and internet exposure
- Psychologically oriented enrichment opportunities at the Community Day School
- Challenge Day, an opportunity for students from different social circles to break down barriers and reinforce tolerance, compassion and community
- Girls Circle, with a specific curriculum, materials and organizational structure focusing on the wisdom and mutual camaraderie that can be developed between girls
Teen Counseling Project Steering Committee:
Debbie Collin, Susan Devoto, Diane DiGrazia, Nancy Dougherty, Wendy Evans, Olivia Leon, Becky Raymond and Julie Smith
Join us in our fundraising and advocacy work by contacting Julie Smith at 829-1250 or Nancy Dougherty at 829-3761.