Greetings Arden families! I am Darcy Faitel, the School Counselor for all sixth grade students, and I am excited to be supporting you and your students at Arden. My hope is to help each student thrive while in sixth grade. I provide support to students for just about any issue (depression, anxiety, friendships, problems at home, loneliness, sadness, stress, abuse, conflict, study skills, organization…and more). I cannot offer on-going therapy but can help parents find resources if this is needed. To reach me, you can use Counselor Request Forms in the office or email me at darcy.faitel@sanjuan.edu. I work at Arden on Tuesdays (all day), Thursdays (all day) and Fridays (periods 2-4). Please be in touch if I can help support your child in having the best year ever!
School Anxiety Resources
From Darcy Faitel, Counselor
Navigating the transition to middle school is a challenging time for every young person. During this time many students are apprehensive and some students deal with extreme anxiety. Here are some anxiety-reducing hints that Arden parents and students have found helpful in the past:
1. Talk to your child about the fear. Listen to all of it without problem-solving. When the time is right, let them know that the fear tends to be much worse than the actual event. “Catastrophizing” (predicting an awful outcome) is a typical thought for those who experience anxiety.
2. Teach a breathing technique called Box Breathing. Breathe in deeply, counting to four. Hold your breath for a four count. Slowly exhale through your mouth for a four count. Hold for a four count. Repeat 4 times. Box Breathing is a powerful anti-anxiety tool which triggers a relaxation response.
3. Have your child write down their specific fears. Fold the paper up and put it out of sight or throw it away. They no longer need to focus on the problem as it has been ‘thrown away.”
4. Teach your child to concentrate on learning a new song. Have them sing it in their head as they are facing their anxious moment (taking a test, waiting for pick up, etc.). This will switch their thinking away from their fear.
5. If a child feels fear, his or her body might go into a “fight or flight” response. Try the following: have your the child close their eyes and picture a huge light shining on them, picture the light slowly moving down the body, warming and illuminating each part. This triggers deep breathing, blood to flow to the skin and relaxation.
6. Try to refrain from encouraging anxiety/fear by readily “rescuing” them from the problem; instead, teach them the tools and provide support.
7. Some helpful resources: The Anxiety Cure for Kids by Spencer, Dupont and Dupont. The newsletter at https://gozen.com/. From the UK with lots of tools: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/.
8. Reach out to the Counselor for help if your child is experiencing on-going anxiety.
