Allie Campbell
Staff Writer
All students have stress in their lives. Whether from schoolwork, family, relationships or sports, everyone has times when he feels he is reaching a breaking point.
For some, coping with the stresses of being a teenager is easy. For many, however, it is hard to deal with this pressure.
Mira Costa’s new “From Stress to Success” program was designed to help students who have stressful lives. This weekly program consists of group counseling for Mira Costa students who feel stress in their lives. Licensed therapist Melissa Kay conducts the counseling sessions.
“It is something that the educational advisers thought of collectively,” educational advisor Jennifer Woodie said.
“It is an all-volunteer program. Students can come to one or all of the sessions,” Woodie said.
Normally, EA’s single out students who they feel could benefit from counseling. The students are then instructed to attend counseling sessions, which are usually one on one, and involve the student, the EA’s, and the therapist. The From Stress to Success program differs from this policy because it offers group counseling sessions that any Mira Costa student can participate in.
“We are seeing a lot of kids being stressed out for various issues. It could be family, schoolwork or college applications,” Woodie said.
Students can attend From Stress to Success sessions for any reason. The group setting allows students to feel comfortable, talking to a trained therapist once a week. The instructor hopes that the sessions will help students learn new ways to cope with their stress.
“Since it is a pilot program, we are going to see how it plays out. One thing is that lunch is very short,” Woodie said.
As of now, the group plans to meet in the guidance office every Wednesday at lunch starting Oct. 21. However, the location and time could change, depending on the number of kids who come to the first session and how the sessions works out.
Since it is a new program, the EA’s plan to see how the first session goes and then tweak the program as necessary. One possible change would consist of splitting the session into smaller groups of students that meet during different periods.
“It’s good that it’s group counseling because it takes off some of the pressure, and since it’s volunteer, people can go with their friends,” freshman Nicole Rosen said.
The program is geared not only to younger students who are trying to acclimate to a new school, but also to upper-classmen who are overwhelmed by a very rigorous schedule.
“Between AP calculus BC, AP U.S. history, band and AP physics, this could potentially be a very benificial program to help relieve stress,” junior Jamie Nguyen said.
However, some students said they are not so sure that the program will really relieve stress and help them calm down.
“Even though I doubt the program will be helpful to me specifically, I know a lot of really stressed out students. It will definitely be helpful for those students,” senior Sarah Keasler said.
Interested students can talk with their EA’s for more information. The program will consist of 10 sessions at lunch every Wednesday. Students may attend any or all of the sessions.
“I am interested in the program and am definitely excited for the first meeting,” freshman Ian Saussy said.
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