Schools rich with mental health resources for struggling parents

Your teenager has no friends and clams up when you ask what’s wrong. Your child cries every morning before school. Your child’s friend tells you that your child has been talking about suicide.

Many parents don’t know what to do in these situations to help their child. They may not realize that their child’s school has free resources that can help.

“If you have a child that is struggling, I would recommend that you work with your school counselor,” Jordan School District Counselor Consultant Stacee Worthen said. “Schedule an appointment, talk about your concerns.”

Jordan District has prioritized reducing the workload of school counselors to better serve students and their families. Secondary schools have between 250 and 305 students assigned to one counselor, well below the state average of 350:1. Every Jordan District school has a full-time psychologist and either a licensed social worker or mental health professional. Most secondary schools have all three.

Students can meet regularly with school mental health professionals with parental permission.

“Our goal really is to work with the parents and the students together to really see what's going on,” Worthen said. “We always want parents to understand our job is to support the parents so that we can support the students. We're never going to do something without looping in that parent and making sure that this is something that they feel is in the best interest of their child, because parents are that first safety net, and then we're just trying to provide additional safety nets to help and support so that child can be successful.”

One parent said she received help from the school counselor who worked with her high school-aged child to address some anxiety.