Four years ago, there were two school counselors tasked with providing both mental health and academic support to the almost 3,000 students at Aliso Niguel High School.
Noticing the gap in needed resources, Assistant Principal Sue Puccinelli said she began working with her district and the Wellness and Prevention Center of Orange County, which was already providing therapy at other district campuses, to expand available counseling services.
Soon after, Aliso Niguel became the third high school in the Capistrano Unified School District to host full-time, free therapy through the nonprofit, which focuses on teens’ well being.
But due to space constraints at the school, the therapy program remained relatively small and unknown in the school’s community – until now. The Wellness and Prevention Center’s therapy program this spring moved into a newly available portable classroom, allowing for expanded counseling, more community engagement and family involvement, officials said.
School and teen health leaders say the expansion couldn’t come soon enough.
“Once we came back (to in-person learning), the stresses and the anxieties that kids have been experiencing have increased the need for counseling immensely,” Puccinelli said.
Wellness and teen experts across the nation have been warning about a mental health crisis among youth, with the many challenges from the pandemic – loss, financial hardships, isolation, uncertainty – exacerbating an already turbulent time for young people.
“When we first started back in 2014, we were more heavily seeing referrals for substance abuse – the main thing we’re seeing now is anxiety and depression,” said Susan Parmelee, the Wellness and Prevention Center’s executive director. While she said her team noticed a rise in anxiety even before COVID-19, the shutdowns and stress from the pandemic have only increased those issues.
Parmelee said it’s really exciting and important that the program now has its dedicated office at Aliso Niguel, which means its can help more youth and families in need and better advertise its services.
“Making support accessible is really what we’re about,” Parmelee said. “We want kids to know there’s people to talk to, and parents to know people are here as well.
“We’re looking at what else we can do for the community and see what else they need,” she added. “There’s just such a high need.”
A new science building recently completed at Aliso Niguel High opened up the portable classroom for the Wellness and Prevention Center’s use, allowing the therapy program to move from a small office near the school’s library into the dedicated space. Volunteers with the nonprofit recently transformed the empty room with a few desks and chairs into a welcoming space, with comfy seating, art on the walls and an area for yoga and relaxation.
“They have a great space for them, it’s really safe; kids feel really comfortable,” Puccinelli said. “We’re sending so many children there.
“We are so fortunate to have them on campus.”
While Aliso Niguel High has also expanded the number of in-school counselors in recent years, Puccinelli said they are only able to see students on a drop-in basis for counseling – unable to provide weekly sessions – and are also focused on academic and higher education advising. She said the school’s counselors are often referring students to the Wellness and Prevention Center’s services, which is better equipped to handle a lot of students’ issues.
“They really deal with the whole picture, the whole family,” Puccinelli said. “The kids who do go to WPC and visit with their therapist, I hear nothing but positive things. They just have a great approach to mental health.”
The Wellness and Prevention Center provides therapy services five days a week at Aliso Niguel, San Clemente and San Juan Hills high schools, as well as one day a week at four Capistrano Unified middle schools, Parmelee said. She said children 12 and older can self-refer for services, but their staff try to include parents in the process when appropriate.
“Our mission is to help youth lead healthy lives,” Parmelee said. “We do this both through prevention education and through direct clinical mental health services.”
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She said they focus on serving 12- to 25-year-olds, especially assisting with mental health and substance abuse issues. The nonprofit is always working to widen its reach – and its does have plans to start an Orange County drop-in youth center modeled after a successful Stanford University program called Allcove – but Parmelee said funding remains its biggest challenge, especially because its leaders don’t want to limit services to only families who can pay.
“We have a hard time funding our clinical side, everyone assumes it’s covered by insurance,” Parmelee said. ”I would like to expand because I think every kid should have the opportunity to see a therapist, even just one time.”
Doris McHenry, a Wellness and Prevention Center volunteer and former Aliso Niguel High parent, helped scoured thrift stores and collect donations to create the welcoming space because she said she’s seen how critical the therapy has been for students, and how the therapists have been constantly busy.
“I got involved because I totally believe in it, kids need a safe space, and definitely at a big public school where you’re not getting a lot of one-on-one attention,” McHenry said. “I’m sure it has saved some lives.”