Glacier Middle School on alert to returning students' mental health

This February, the Washington chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians reported that more than 50% of visits were for mental health. That's twice the normal rate.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, suicide was the second leading cause of death in teens and young adults.

School counselors like Chasmon Tarimel are on the front lines of identifying potential mental health emergencies. He's on the staff of Glacier Middle School in SeaTac. The students and teachers call him Mr. Chaz. He told KUOW’s Kim Malcolm what it's been like as he and his students returned to the classroom this spring.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Chasmon Tarimel: Some students that we are working with are struggling with body image issues. Our students haven't seen each other in a whole year. They’re classmates, they’re friends, they’re teenagers. They're going through different changes with their bodies. Either that's puberty, they may have increased in weight, they feel either embarrassed or they're not wanting to interact with their friends due to ridicule. That's what we've been seeing with a lot of our students, feeling like they've lost their sense of safety or control of their environment.

Kim Malcolm: We've seen a trend that levels of anxiety and depression have increased in our middle school and high school-aged kids. I know that suicide prevention is a priority.

Mr. Chaz: Our counseling department is very worried about students that have not been on our radar, the students who are internalizing their feelings and not coming to us when they're experiencing depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, last year, at the start of the pandemic, we lost two of our students who took their own lives. These were students that did not pop up on our radar, or that we recently met with. They were happy students. We didn't know what was going on.

It left a huge hole in our Glacier community, staff, students, losing a friend, losing a student. So it's what's driving us, it's what's fueling us, as counselors and as a staff, to really create a strong, cohesive, transparent counseling program to prevent future incidents.

Are students doing better now that they're actually physically with each other in the classrooms, and they're seeing you in person?

Mr. Chaz: I would like to say our students are very resilient. We are seeing students who are a lot happier to be back in school. They're able to see their friends, they're able to see their teachers in person. Our teachers have been very welcoming, always standing by the door right before class starts to welcome them with socially distant arms. I wish we could high-five them or hug them, but they've done everything to try and make the classroom a safe and welcoming, and fun place to be.

It's a lot for you and your colleagues to carry, to try to assess the kids as you are also instructing them. What do you need?

Mr. Chaz: Our staff at Glacier has been amazing. We have a lot, but I think it's still not enough. I think we need more counselors. If it were up to me, each and every student would have access to a mental health counselor that they can talk to, that they can express their feelings.

Are you concerned that you might miss some warning signs?

Mr. Chaz: Yeah! That's a huge burden. That's a huge worry that my counseling partners and I have every single day. We each have about 300 students on our caseload. We have a school of almost 1,000 students. Each one of them is important. Each one of them is worthy. Each one of them is deserving of our resources. If we miss something, if we're not seeing something, that has a huge impact on us. We take it very seriously.

For people who are wondering what they can do to help, what would you tell them?

Mr. Chaz: Parents, guardians, please, talk with your children. If you don't know the warning signs of suicide, or self-harm, talk with your school counselor. We as school counselors are gatekeepers to a lot of different resources. We have a lot of experience in working with students in mental health. Trust your school counselor. Let them help you and guide you if you don't know something. It doesn't take one person to raise a kid, it's a village.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).