SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Bishop Heelan Catholic High School students know that Allie Mousel’s door is always open to them.
Is Mousel a teacher or a faculty member? Not exactly.
Since the start of the school year, she’s been Heelan’s student support counselor.
“A teenager’s emotional health is just as important as his physical health,” Mousel explained to the Sioux City Journal.
That’s especially true as kids grapple with uncertainties related to COVID-19.
“Last spring, when schools closed due to coronavirus concerns, students felt trapped because they lost structure to their days as well camaraderie of their friends,” Mousel said. “This year started with many students feeling like they could no longer communicate with one another after so much time apart.”
Since then, things have evened out with kids getting back into a routine. Still, the teenage years will always be emotional, with or without a pandemic.
“It doesn’t matter the kids are worried about an exam or sad over a break-up,” Mousel said. “They know they can talk to me.”
With a behavioral health background, she said the position of school support counselor is a relatively recent concept.
This is why Mousel frequently takes part in school assemblies and speaks to students, in and out of the classroom setting.
“Even now, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health,” she said. “It’s OK to seek out help when you’re sad.”
To a great extent, adults face the same types of anxieties as their children.
“Believe me, parents have as much angst over COVID as any kid,” Mousel said. “Everybody is in the same boat when it comes to a worldwide pandemic.”
Mousel said she enjoys working with teenagers, though she acknowledged it has many challenges.
“There is no such thing as a typical teenager and many problems can change over the course of high school,” she said. “When a freshman is just starting high school, his big worry is fitting in. By the time he’s a senior, the student is looking at life outside of high school.”
Both types of students know Mousel’s door is always open to them.
“Growing up is hard enough,” she said. “Sometimes, you just need someone to talk to.”
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