Dear Cassy: A day in the life of a school therapist
I am often asked what exactly a school-based therapist does each day. Do kids really come talk to you? people ask. So I have put together a typical day in the life of a school-based therapist. Identifying information has been altered but the stories are all true. My day starts at 8 am. Many mornings there is a student waiting before I set my bag down and get a cup of coffee. I start with, “Whatʼs going on?” As I close my office door, the student begins to sob, “I had nowhere else to go. Iʼm pregnant. Can you help me?” Her mother died of cancer three years ago and her father is barely holding it together. To deal with having her family ripped apart, she has been drinking and using drugs. She got drunk at a party and had sex with a guy she barely knows, let alone likes. At 17, she is pregnant and alone. We are there to hear her and provide the support she will need. Itʼs now 9:30 am. Still no coffee but I manage a quick bathroom break before my second period client. He was referred to me by a concerned teacher. The teacher saw he was struggling in class, not turning in his assignments like he used to and easily agitated. After several weeks of meetings, I conclude he is clinically…
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