Mental Health professionals and programs available to support students and staff throughout Lincoln County School District No. 2 include board certified counselors, psychologists, and mindfulness activities. Staff members work hard to connect with students and are trained to recognize and lend support to students who demonstrate a mental or emotional health need.

Nate Wescott, who serves as Director of Special Services at LCSD No. 2 and Christina Leeper, who is the school psychologist at Thayne Elementary School, shared insights about LCSD No. 2 mental health services on SVI Radio Network last month.

Leeper, who has served in the district since 2015, chose a career in school psychology for the opportunity to counsel kids, to learn about their brains and help them. Every day is different as she meets with students or teachers individually or in groups or classrooms.

According to Leeper, one of the most important mental and emotional health skills that elementary students need to develop is emotional regulation – “teaching kids how to identify how they’re feeling and then how to use an appropriate strategy to calm their body down. They typically know how to say, ‘I’m happy or sad’, but it’s just being able to stop in that moment and being able to calm down. These are life skills.”

“Education is always changing, so we’re fortunate here at Lincoln County that we’re able to go to conferences,” said Leeper. “There have been several conferences in the past couple of years that I’ve [attended] and I really liked learning about the brain,” as well as mental health solutions that involve “connection and building relationships with students.” She has also learned about the brain in relationship to reading.

Westcott recognizes the value of having a strong psychology team at LCSD No. 2. “We have five total school psychologists along with our counselors and they are trying to empower the students to learn.” They also work to empower teachers in the classroom and parents in their homes to understand and support students.

Wyoming is ranked at the top of the list of states in the nation that have serious statistics linked to mental health such as suicide, so psychologists and counselors are a critical part of effective and efficient education in schools and communities.

“If something happens in one school, there are ripple effects into other schools, so [our psychologists and counselors] stop what they’re doing and they make sure that they are there for the students and for the parents and teachers, not just in the immediacy of the moment, but over time as students might need to process something, they can come back and talk about those things.”

Wescott and Leeper agree that parents can and should be proactive about fostering mental and emotional wellness in with their children and teens.

“Honestly, it just comes down to that connection,” said Leeper. Making time for meaningful conversation, away from devices and distraction is critical. Kids need to “feel comfortable” in talking with parents “about things that are important. Our parents in this Valley are super amazing with that. I think just being open is the most important thing.” When students don’t feel they can share their thoughts and feelings, when they “keep to themselves, they start doing things that could be harmful.”

Wescott invites parents to get help when their children are struggling. Reach out to the district’s Mental Health professionals. Visit the website, lcsd2.org. Contact information is available there for each psychologist. “Call the school and say that you want to talk to someone, or the counselor, about your child, and the secretary or principal will make that connection. They really are awesome to give parents the time that they need to help with processing and giving them the confidence to help support their children.”

“They can come into the school anytime and just ask to meet with me,” said Leeper. “My door is always open.”