Counselor Advises Students on Managing Mental Health

Following previous sessions on assignment-reading and essay-writing, students at Thomas Aquinas College, New England, gathered Wednesday for their third “Get with the Program” workshop: “What College Students Should Know About Mental Health.”

Presented by counselor Kate Schell, LMHC, the workshop focused on managing mental health from a Catholic perspective. “Everyone has experienced anxiety at some point,” Mrs. Schell said to the students. “So, you’re in good company!”

Students first learned about the amygdala, the part of the brain which responds to stressful stimuli or triggers, to understand what happens in the brain when a person experiences anxiety. Armed with this knowledge, attendees then learned how they could harness the mechanisms that cause anxiety to manage their mental health more effectively. Once everyone understood the basics of the topic, Mrs. Schell walked students through several coping strategies for mitigating stress. A Q&A session followed.

Mrs. Schell fielded students’ questions with wisdom and humor, reminding them that maintaining mental health is a lifelong undertaking. “I’m hoping I can use the skills I learned tonight to better help my friends when they’re struggling,” said Mary Wassell (’25). Added Ben Purtell (’26), “I’m really glad I came to this workshop. I think everyone benefited from it.”