Focus on Mental Health

May is National Mental Health Month, a time to reemphasize the importance of coming together as a community to fight stigma, educate the public and support people with mental illness and their families. Focusing on mental health is especially important right now, as we face uncertainty, stress and isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Glendale Unified School District, health and wellness is our top priority. We are committed to ensuring our students, families and employees have access to mental health resources and support while we are remote learning.

Although we remain physically distanced, our Glendale Unified psychologists and more than 40 mental health interns are available to provide remote individual support. Our psychologists regularly meet with more than 125 students via telehealth. Glendale Unified Student Wellness Services hosts weekly student and parent/guardian support groups via Zoom. Student support groups are available for elementary, middle and high school students, as well as high school LGBTQ+ students. Parent support groups are available in English, Armenian and Spanish. These support groups are led by our mental health interns and are a place to ask questions, get answers and feel safe and understood within a community of your peers.

In April, Glendale Unified Student Wellness Services collaborated with our Toll Middle School Parent Teacher Association to host a live mental health panel discussion. More than 2,200 viewers tuned in to the Glendale Unified Facebook page to learn more about how to help teenagers cope with anxiety and manage stress from our panel of mental health professionals, including our partners at Pacific Clinics and Didi Hirsch, Glendale.

Glendale Unified has gathered information about our counseling and support groups, along with helpful resources and links to community mental health services on our website at www.gusd.net/health. Our psychologists have developed a regular newsletter with information and tips for a wide range of topics, including coping with stress and talking to your children about COVID-19. Each week, our mental health interns post a new video with tips to help students and families cope with anxiety, manage stress, and stay healthy, which can be found on our website and on our Glendale Unified YouTube Channel.

As we recognize Mental Health Month, please remember to take care of yourselves and each other. Although we remain physically distant, we can still offer a kind word or a helping hand to someone in need. Reach out to a loved one, friend, or community member if you or anyone you know needs extra support, and remember that we are always here to help.

Thank you to our entire Glendale Unified community for your kindness, support, and ongoing dedication to our students and families.
Sincerely,

Vivian Ekchian, Ed.D. Glendale Unified Superintendent of Schools

  Dr. Vivian Ekchian