Collingswood High School hopes to address mental health concerns with new Wellness Center

The pale green walls, throw rug and lush plants are meant to evoke home, a safe place to retreat during a hectic school day.

There, at the newly opened Wellness Center at Collingswood High School, students can renew weary spirits and maintain social and emotional well-being through counseling or activities. Sometimes, it’s merely a place “to turn their brains off and just have fun.”

School officials believe the center will fill a need experienced by students everywhere — helping them cope with any psychological distress they had prior to COVID-19 that may have worsened in the return back to normal.

“The reality is that we have students in mental health crisis all the time and we need to support them,” said Kristin O’Lexy, the program director and a licensed clinical social worker. “We want it to be a safe place where they feel comfortable.”

Layla Spearman, 18, a senior, said she believes too many students are uncomfortable sharing their problems, not realizing that their peers may have the same issues. She talks openly about a suicide attempt her sophomore year during the pandemic shutdown. She sought therapy and now mentors younger students.

“I had a moment where I like had to be honest about what was happening,” Spearman said. “Being transparent and willing to tell people your problems is so important.”

Returning to school after learning remotely during the pandemic was difficult, said Chloe Wright, 18, a senior. Many Collingswood students chose virtual learning until the district fully reopened.

“We are still adjusting even though [the start of] COVID was three years ago,” said Wright. “For me it was a hard transition, and I’m someone who loves school. I wish this center were here earlier.”

A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021 found that 37% of public and private school students said their mental health was not good during the pandemic. About 44% reported feeling sad or hopeless nearly every day for two weeks or more.

Collingswood, a K-12 district that enrolls about 2,200 students, obtained a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to set up the center to more fully address mental health concerns that began long before the pandemic.

The district used the grant to convert an empty second-floor classroom in its media center into the wellness center. An occupational therapist helped design the space with soft, natural lighting, bean bags, hanging swing chairs, and a green floor glow light. Soft-playing music gives it a spa-like vibe.

The center offers free mental health and trauma support services with social workers, and a social/emotional well-being coach, nurse practitioner, and behavioral analyst. Referrals are available to students who need additional help.

Most students are referred to the center by teachers or staff. Walk-ins are also welcome. The center is open during school hours that are extended as needed. O’Lexy said students who feel anxious at the beginning of the school day can stop first in the center to help overcome their uneasiness.

Besides counseling, the center offers structured activities to help learn skills such as relationship-building, self-regulation or de-escalating tension. Or students can sit at a coffee table with coloring books and crayons. There are positive affirmations posted around the room including one that says, “Feelings are much like waves. We can’t stop them coming, but we can choose which one to surf.”

“If I had that freshman year when I was crying, it would have saved me hell,” said Lynnea Martinsen, 18, a senior.

The center hopes to have at least 200 students visit in the first year. District officials want to open wellness centers for middle and elementary students, too.

“The pressure that these kids are dealing with are so much different,” said O’Lexy. “Kids are dealing with things today that we weren’t.”

Jasmine Clervil, 19, a senior, penned a poem, “Places in the World,” to share her feelings about the center, which she read at its open house last month.

There needs to be places in the world

Places where you can lift your voice and let go of your burdens …

Somewhere that you can call a home

somewhere where you’re never alone …

A sanctuary to keep you safe from the gloom

So like a flower you will thrive and bloom