On Thursday, Oct. 17, the Aragon Asian Parent Group hosted a student wellness panel in the library to educate parents on various mental health issues that affect high school students.
Therapists Annmarie Hulette, Cynthia Medina, Gaby Silverstein, and Carol Wong came to Aragon to stress the importance of issues such as anxiety, depression, and anorexia among high school students.
The panel provided an opportunity for parents to ask questions about their experiences with their high school age children and seek the advice of these professionals.
A therapist’s work goes much faster when the student advocates for him or herself, both at school with teachers and at home with their parents. Communication plays a key role in improving personal well-being, according to Wong. “[When children communicate], they are better able to process their emotions and find the source of their problems,” says Wong.
An anonymous parent agrees on the importance of communication, adding that technology facilitates communication with her daughter. “Ever since I’ve started using technology, it’s been so much easier to communicate with my daughter. I watch the same TV shows she watches. I read the same books she reads just so I have something to talk to her about. I’ll send her a little text like ‘I’m on this page and it’s really good. What do you think?’ and it helps.”
She says, “It’s hard to talk to parents about anything. That’s how I was with my mom. But she needs to know that I only want to help.”
