Student Community Leaders (SCL) is currently working with on-campus therapists to improve transparency regarding mental health resources. Since last year, SCL has also been working with district ambassadors to implement workshops for mental health education.

According to on-campus therapist Makenzie Gallego, students don’t always understand how to access help and available resources. Because of this, Los Altos High School staff are constantly working to publicize and spread awareness for accessing mental health resources. In cooperation with staff, SCL is also working to normalize wellness in and out of school and to connect students with the support available to them.

“Especially with the coming Wellness Week, we’re working with the district to bring more centralized wellness activities to the students,” SCL Wellness Week Coordinator senior Celeste Akhlaghi said.

LAHS students currently have access to programs including Care Solace (a database of local mental health and substance abuse services) or services with partner agencies, such as the Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), which work to provide counseling and mental health services. These resources can be accessed with completion of a student referral form, which will lead to an initial conversation with an on-campus therapist. From there, a student can work with the on-campus therapist to come up with a plan, such as connecting the student to support groups or just having a quick check-in conversation. However, many of these resources have misinformation and stigmas surrounding them. 

“Even with those I interact with, it’s difficult to talk about referring someone to mental health services,” Celeste said.

One such misconception is the idea that asking for help via the online mental help referral form will immediately result in being sent away. However, Gallego emphasizes that this isn’t true.

“All that happens with the referral form is that there’s a check-in session meeting with me,” said Gallego. “I’m really the starting place on campus for students. I don’t think there’s any threshold where you must be struggling a certain amount to warrant a conversation with me. I’m always happy to see any student for any reason.”

SCL’s goal is to clear these kinds of misconceptions and focus on connecting students with the help they need.

“What SCL is doing right now is more focused on getting the resources the school has out there,” Celeste said. “Currently, students are being held back just because they don’t know their mental health support options.”

For more information and resources regarding mental health, visit the Wellness Center which will be relocated to the center of campus, or the LAHS website.