WISH-TV
Students and teachers in Carmel are wrapping up a week-long focus on mental healthcare.
In an effort to show students how to better manage stress and anxiety, therapy dogs came to Carmel High School one day this week. (Photo provided)
The school has had a number of activities during the week focusing on mental health, including having therapy dogs come to school one day.
The goal was to show students the variety of ways they can cope with stress and anxiety.
“I think it’s a good step towards making them more aware to the public and how they can help people in the future showing that you know spending a couple of minutes a day helps with your stress levels,” said Carmel student Megan Prince.
Cole
The high school also shared a video of students performing random acts of kindness as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
The school also had coping skills stations for students, with everything from mindfulness apps to coloring.
The school also held a meeting with parents this week to share mental health resources that are available.
“We were seeing more and more students and hearing from parents that there’s a lot more anxiety and stress. Even in our office, we are seeing more referrals, on our anonymous alert, we were seeing some texts on there as well that felt overwhelmed and those type of messages so we said we’ve got these things going on. I don’t know that everyone knows how to get help here at Carmel High School, that’s where the conversation starts,” said Rachel Cole, Director of Counseling.