This year, Aragon’s wellness counselors have organized numerous interactive activities for students and staff on campus. The purpose is to aid struggling Dons and provide education about mental health, relaxation techniques and ways to handle stress. From introducing Rookie the therapy dog to essential oils, the counselors have continuously pushed to create a safe space for the Aragon community. The editors of the Aragon Outlook would like to commend the wellness staff for their continuous efforts in supporting students.
These activities allow students and staff to learn about various tools they can use to cope with emotional and social challenges in a supportive environment led by professionals. Wellness groups encourage communication among students on topics that can be difficult to handle alone like grief and gender expansiveness. The frequency of lunchtime activities, such as creating essential oils and friendship bracelets and the setup of a table open to all in Center Court means that the wellness team’s efforts reach a large portion of the student body. Additionally, the counselors create new wellness groups to better meet the needs of each and every student and publicize the availability of these groups to spread awareness of resources available for students in need.
Outside of these activities, the wellness counselors spend the majority of their time running the Wellness Center, a space located in E Hall where students can take a break from the stresses of school or talk with a professional counselor about emotional and social challenges. This resource is open for both scheduled meetings and drop-ins, and the specific drop-in schedule is posted on Canvas.
When compared to other nearby schools, Aragon counselors are more available to help students throughout the day. Other schools only offer drop-ins for two periods a day or the counselors are only available by appointment. However, Aragon counselors are accessible during almost every period through appointments and drop-ins, and allow students to visit outside the drop-in times for a small break if needed.
While the editors of the Outlook applaud the availability of Aragon’s mental health resources, we urge a continued district-wide attention to the issue. Aragon’s wellness department, with only three counselors for a student body of 1734, can only offer so much support. According to Mental Health America, 447,000 California adolescents went through a major depressive episode in the past year, with 269,000 experiencing severe major depression. The scale and severity of this crisis means that availability of the wellness counselors is a valuable resource for teenagers. The school administration should continue to support the Wellness Center by increasing the number of wellness counselors on campus. Currently, there are still dates and times in which meetings are limited, such as seventh period daily and fifth and sixth periods on Mondays, when the wellness office is not open for drop-ins. Increasing the wellness staff would provide more students the chance to drop in and find support during unplanned emergencies.
In the coming months, the Wellness Center will continue to support students through their counseling and events. On March 17, the Wellness Center will be partnering with Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse to run an event on healthy relationships.
Overall, the editors of the Aragon Outlook appreciate the hard work that the wellness counselors put into organizing more group meetings and wellness events to ensure students feel safe and comfortable at school.
