A Chat with Dr. Cunningham, SGS School Psychologist

Certainly. I work a lot with Miryam, the Dean of Students and Faculty, Ariel, the Student Support Specialist, and other staff members regarding student mental health and emotional well-being, both at the community and individual levels. In addition, I support the mental health needs of SGS students by conducting bi-weekly or monthly counseling sessions for groups of about four or five students, depending on their specific needs. 

Well, I knew Rafael Castillo when he was the Head of School, and he knew me from Rainier Scholars, so I think that puts it at a little over a decade now. 

You just said it, collaborate -- and collaborate on a regular basis. Miryam has her finger on the pulse of the kids and knows who may require additional emotional or mental health support. Some students face greater challenges than others and lack external support. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to find a therapist here in Seattle or anywhere in the country, for that matter. So it helps that Miryam does a good job at staying in check with the students and keeps a running list of individuals who may need assistance and we proceed from there.

 

Absolutely, the students here can reach out to me. Typically, students reach out to me through Miryam, and then they can contact my clinic. My clinic has 7 practitioners and a psychiatric nurse and administrative personnel. Like I said, it can be hard to find psychologists and especially hard to find psychiatrists during COVID, when everyone’s mental health needs skyrocketed, and we’re still feeling the residual effects from that. It’s funny because you know, becoming a psychologist is a long, arduous process, so it makes sense there are not very many of us. In terms of kids here accessing needs – Ariel and Miryam will contact me. I can make other referral sources for colleagues that I know in the community.

 

What advice would you give to students who may be struggling with stress, anxiety, or other emotional difficulties? 

Talk to somebody. Speak with an adult or trusted caregiver. It all really starts from there—let people know what’s going on. Referring to internalized distresses, imagine a teapot without a spout. There’s water inside, and the heat from the oven is making the water boil. That energy has to go somewhere. Talking to somebody is the start of building the spout so you can process that energy and let it out in a healthy way.