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WBMS: More suicidal thoughts, self-harm
by Lisa McDonald · News · June 23, 2016
A letter sent the last week of school to all middle school parents said school staff saw increased reports of “suicidal thoughts and self-harming behavior.”
“[The letter] is really a direct response to the people who attended our parent meeting,” West Branch Middle School Principal Sara Oswald said.
She said the May parent meeting was a chance to discuss with parents mental health services.
Oswald believes the increase of reports is not necessarily due to a sudden increase in anxiety and depression.
“I think there is less of a stigma right now about mental health than there was even five, 10 years ago,” she said.
Oswald said this is due in part to the increased role of social media in society.
“I just think [mental health] is more public now than it ever used to be,” she said.
Oswald said there is an increase in friends reporting cases to the school as many times friends have access to social media accounts parents do not have access to or don’t know about.
A few years ago the middle school brought a mental health therapist to campus to give pupils access to a licensed professional even if a parent was unable to drive the pupil to a therapist farther away, the principal said.
Oswald said a concern for school staff is pupils encouraging friends in negative ways.
“We obviously want them to support each other ... but it’s not helpful to anyone when you have 12-year-olds that are just like ‘Yeah, me too, I also have these negative feelings,’” she said.
Oswald said that with the support of the therapist and school resources, pupils can learn how to cope positively.
School-based resources are available during the school year but not over the summer.
“We felt like it might be helpful for us to just put out the information that these are options that families have,” she said on the contacts provided in the letter.
Contacts listed in the letter include:
• Families Incorporated - Kelly Thomas, School Based Therapist - (319) 643-2532
• Community Mental Health - (319) 248-0431
• Psychiatric Associates - (319) 356-6352
• Hope Springs - (319) 358-6520
• Mercy & University of Iowa Hospitals
“Whether it’s academic needs, or social-emotional needs, being a resource manager and connecting people with good resources is a key role that the school district plays,” Oswald said.
She said middle school is a very “volatile” time for pupils, and both the school district and the community want to help.
“The city of West Branch ... all of us are serving students,” Oswald said, “and just trying to make sure that people have those connections and know that those are available for them.”
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