Mental health. It’s a serious thing that most students or adults go through in their life. In this article I am going to talk about therapy, their techniques, etc. Saquoira Chiles also known as Ms. Core, a Mental Health Therapist at Aspire Langston Hughes Academy. This is her second year here at Langston Hughes. The students here love to come to her whenever they need support. I chose her to interview because I personally have gone through a rough time and Ms. Core has been there for me. I also know that she has also helped a few of my friends through their hard times, so I knew I could trust her and I am glad that I did. 

Therapy – 

What is the meaning of therapy? It’s a place where someone can unload what they have without judgment and it gives them the ability to learn new skills and get past situations that had happened before. Ms. Cora gave her reasons on her own personal meaning of therapy and I agree with her that therapy is a place that you can come to willingly, and knowing that you won’t be judged, but will be loved. How you can learn new skills to get over a tram from a situation from the past. I say this because I have personally experienced this in the past, and now I am seeing her so I can learn new skills to not forget about it, but to learn how to live with it. That’s how I see therapy also where you won’t forget what happened because you never can, but you can find a way to live with it, and learn how to overcome it then push it down..

History of Therapy – 

Therapy was first started in Ancient Greece in the early 1800’s by Franz Mesmer, and during this time it was an ancient tradition often served as a kind of therapy, helping others heal while passing on indelible wisdom to support others. The Americans started caring about people’s mental health in 1908, expanding a year later to form the National Committee for Mental Hygiene. In 1950 it became widespread that Americans began to include more active therapists, such as a behavioral psychologist. Behavior therapy had risen in the early 1900’s, and became established as a psychological approach in the 1950s and 1960s. The oldest theater in the world is psychotherapy as the oldest branch of medicine, with its roots in religion can be seen in healing rituals that can be practiced in Greek temples. 

Therapist – 

Do you enjoy what you do? Yes, my favorite part is just being here talking with us and seeing us. Ms. Core loves her job because she loves to talk with us and see us and the improvement that we have done for ourselves. I agree with her because I also like talking with her because I feel comfortable with her, and that is a big part of therapy because if you don’t then it can just get awkward, and it’s not like that. If you can change something about therapy as a therapist, what would you change? What people think it is. Ms. Core would like to change the minds of people who think that therapy is bad. I agree with her because we do have our own opinions, but with therapy it’s a place where you can go where you are judged, but cared for.

Student and Therapist –

Do you see the growth in people from therapy? Yes. Personally I also do see the growth because talking about the things I have shoveled to the side for so long, and now talking about it. It is like a whole different person, like a happier person that is not ashamed of the past, so especially for Ms. Core seeing the growth in people it must be a good feeling for her. How many times do you recommend the students to come and see you? Depend on for some people like for a check up or for the whole year just depend on the person and what is going on.  I can see where Ms. Core is talking about because it does just depends on the person and how much help they need. Like, for me I just need a few check-ups to get the past to be in the past and not let it affect my future, because if I were then we don’t know what kind of person I could become.

Mental Health –

When students feel like their mental health is not ok do you recommend them to come see you right away or to wait? They should seek help because it’s hard to seek us, so do it when you are most comfortable. Mental Health is a serious issue in many people’s lives, so you think or you know you have it, seek it out because it’s not like a cold where you can get over it. Mental health is something where it can make you do things that you would have never thought of doing. So seek help when you are comfortable and ready because you need to be prepared to take the advice of your therapist.

Techniques – 

What are some techniques you used to help the students? Listening is very beneficial and being constrained. This technique is very common in therapy because when you go to that comfortable place you want to share what you have felt and are ready to let it only be in the past and not affect your future. I say this because in my Checks-ups all I need is someone that can listen to me and I can cry on and feel safe, so I agree that listening is very beneficial. That’s what therapy is there for you to come into a safe place where you can get that pain off of you to not affect your present and future.

Pandemic – 

Do you think the pandemic made mental health worse? Yes, Human beings are social so when you cut it off it hurts and not only people realize they need help it also helps them see that they do need this. During the pandemic it affects lots of people in a good way or in a bad way, and I think that it affects kids in a bad way because we grow up with people around. So when you do cut it off it does make people realize that they do need some kind of support which is not a bad thing. I say this because I was one of those people where I did need some kind of support, and during that pandemic which I couldn’t see anyone, it did make it worse. Until one day I got help from a teacher and ever since then I will always remember that time where that teacher helped me through that very hard time. So I do think that the pandemic makes mental health not the best.

Drugs/Alcohol 

Drugs can be used as a helping technique for most people because they don’t want to talk about their feelings, so they will find other ways to forget about it. That’s where drugs or alcohol can come in because these people think that it will fix your problems. In reality you are only running away from it, but no matter how far you can go it will always catch up with you. When it does most people can end their life because it can consume them, and all they want now is to end it. Which isn’t the best idea because there are resources and people that care about you and want to see you get better in the long run.

Message to all students-

To the 8th and 9th graders mainly I would like to say it’s ok to seek help because I know how you 8th graders feel becoming high school students, and you 9th graders becoming high school students. I want to tell you students that whatever you are feeling about it, it’s ok to seek help because now at Langston Hughes Academy there are therapists and the school you can get help from.  You should not feel ashamed of what you feel because everyone has their time where they need this help, and it’s more than fine. So, if you need to talk to anyone please seek help, if not the therapist at the school, there is your parents, a teacher, or a friend. Anyone you feel comfortable with seeking help with them then hiding in the shadows keeps those inside of you because if you do then one day all those can come at you at once, and can lead to you really hurting yourself. I know this because I did feel those feelings and tried to keep them to myself, but it held me back from school, my family, and friends. So I seeked help from a teacher I knew and he helped me very much, and without that help I probably would still be feeling those feelings. Even still to this day I am still getting help from a therapist now because the person I talked to left unfortunately, but no matter who I talked with I felt better talking about it then holding it in. So, I encourage you 8th & 9th graders, and all other grades to seek help and not hold it in because that is how you can move on from the past and look forward to the future. Here is a picture to contact an of the therapist on campus: