By Katie Williams
Ukiah High School’s Social-Emotional staff is finding new ways to help students. Ukiah High School now has drop-in counseling available for students via Zoom during Lunch Monday-Friday Ukiah High Counselor Alicia Bainbridge told UHS News what Wildcats seeking this service should expect.
Counselor Bainbridge explained what sort of students might benefit from the drop-in counseling program: “Students from varied levels of personal challenges and functioning may benefit from counseling, from anxiety, difficulty focusing, and procrastination to struggling to get out of bed and suicidal thoughts.
She also described “Students who find themselves experiencing problems repeatedly (e.g. unhealthy relationships/friendships, self-sabotaging behaviors, substance use, fighting with others, etc) could benefit from counseling to examine and change unhealthy/unhelpful patterns.”
Counselor Bainbridge said that Ukiah High’s Social-Emotional Counseling staff hopes to “help students with depression, generalized and social anxiety, stress, suicidal thoughts, relationship issues, divorce, trauma, substance use, grief/loss, and LGBTQ+ support needs, etc.” She explained that for teens, the staff knows that, “Life can be challenging as it is and even more so with Covid and remote learning.”
Counselor Bainbridge explained that “Drop-in counseling is different from regular weekly counseling appointments. Drop-in counseling can help students who are having a particularly rough day or week and need someone to talk to one time and for brief support.” She said that drop-in counseling could also be helpful for students “uncertain or leery of counseling and want to check it out first to see if they feel comfortable before committing to ongoing counseling.”
Counselor Bainbridge reassured that anything discussed in drop-in counseling is “private and confidential.” She said this means that “what is shared with the therapist/counselors will not be shared with others, unless there is safety concern.” She did explain an exception to that rule: “If the therapist/counselor has concerns that the student may harm him/herself, may harm someone else, or is being harmed, then the therapist/counselor needs to let someone know.”
If you find yourself having a rough day and in need of support and a counselor/psychologist to talk to one-on-one, click on the link below during lunch and one of the counselors will be available to meet with you.
Zoom Link to attend Drop-In Counseling :
https://uusd.zoom.us/j/81088878030?pwd=MUJ5VW1sRTY2MTl3NVJZM2VvbzFLdz09
Katie Williams is an Editor in Chief for the Ukiah High School Newspaper and a Senior at UHS. Katie enjoys writing about emotion based and community oriented pieces, and is the head producer for the @ukiahilite instagram page. Outside of school Katie enjoys baking, reading and assisting her family in reaching out to our community. After high school Katie would like attend Christian Life College to someday work with children that “deserve better, they need someone to listen”.
