Stress relieving session in the courtyard

Shikha Patel, Dispatch Online Reporter

This school year, the counselors and Ashley Shute have come together to create a comfortable and stress-relieving environment for students who have been dealing with stress or any mental health related conditions.

“The counselors and I have a conversation of what the needs are at the school, mostly related to mental health and some of those things have come up as concerns of anxiety, making friends and stress,” Shute said.

By coming together, Shute and the students do activities to create coping skills, and a stress relieving environment.

“Our goal is to kind of be available and provide some coping skills, and be able to talk about the things that are stressful and to explain what stress is from a biological perspective too,” Shute said.

Many activities that are included during this stress session is provided to allow students to calm their nerves, Shute brings stress relieving objects and tasks.

“We’ve got some aroma therapy, candles, essential oils, some breathing techniques, coloring sheets, this week I did a stress bingo game, face masks, bath salts and stress balls to show different ways of dealing with stress,” Shute said.

Shute is available during both lunches on Monday in the courtyard.

“We’ve got some aroma therapy, candles, essential oils, some breathing techniques, coloring sheets, this week I did a stress bingo game, face masks, bath salts and stress balls to show different ways of dealing with stress,” Shute said.