How to: Therapy

PHOTO: Graphic by Maya Delaney

By Naneh Grigor

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Therapy has been a taboo subject since its conception 3,500 years ago. 

However, over time, the conversation about therapy has opened up along with the resources to find therapy becoming more accessible. It’s so much so, that students can go to their guidance counselor in order to find a therapist. 

“Davis High counselors can refer a student to Communicare or Dialectical Behavior Therapy for counseling. Communicare does one-on-one counseling for a set number of meetings, and DBT has a group component and one-on-one counseling for up to 6 weeks. We also have a service called Care Solace which can help students/parents find an outside therapist,” Head Counselor Catherine Pereira said. 

However, when working with a therapist for the first time, it can be difficult to let yourself be vulnerable. “My advice is to be honest with yourself and the therapist. Tell it like it is. Do not try to make things sound better than they are. With honesty can come growth,” she said.

Yet it can be worth letting yourself open up in therapy because it will help you grow as a person. “The purpose of therapy is to learn new tools to help one cope and to learn about yourself,” Pereira said. 

Finding the right therapist can be a challenge because each therapist has their own way of working with their clients. “Just like with any job, some people connect better with certain people. If you do not feel like you have a connection, you can find a different therapist, if available,” Pereira said. 

In order to bring light to the resources that can be found on the DHS campus, the Mental Health Awareness Club was formed. “Many students aren’t aware of the services provided and feel like going to the counselors is the only thing which is not true,” Vice President Riley Johnson said. 

“With there being so much pressure on kids to succeed at DHS, our club believes that there also needs to be time for self care whatever that looks like for yourself and we want to be a place kids can come to for help or just a person to listen,” she said. DHS is known for being a  very competitive school where students can feel very burnt out over time. 

The club is working towards getting access to more mental health resources for students and giving students an outlet to go to when they feel overwhelmed. “Our goals for the future are to bring in highly trained psychologists to come and talk about mental health and let kids know it’s okay to not be okay and we’re here to support that,” Johnson said.