A free mental health and wellness conference for parents and
students is happening Saturday in Loudoun County. 21 Mental health
professionals including psychologists, counselors, and resilience coaches will
be there to answer questions.
It’s Loudoun County Public Schools’ third Mental Health and Wellness Conference. There will be 25 classes spread out over three sessions from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, at Independence High School in Ashburn. Participants are not required to stay the entire time.
Clark Bowers with Loudoun Co. Student Services says to take
notice when your child is not wanting to go school, avoiding you or
friends, or hyper focused on technology.
“Many times this is a journey for our families and for them
to be able to navigate that path, they need to know where to start and this
conference provides them a place to start,” Bowers said.
Sloan Grant is a junior at Independence High School.
She wants more of her peers to be cool with talking about mental health.
“Adults and teachers are trying to talk about it more but
the problem is students think it makes them look weak,” Grant said.
The conference helps students and parents find practical ways to deal with issues surrounding stress, anxiety, and social media. Some of the sessions include “Healthy Use of Tech”, “Nutrition for Positive Mental Health”, “Overcoming the Pressures of Prosperity”, “The Cost of Perfectionism on the Mental Health of our Teens”, and “ADHD Friendly Model for Developing and Improving Emotional Intelligence.”
“You’re going to have access not only to presenters who are top in the field but you are also going to have access to resources that may be the ticket that you need in order to have a deeper discussion and a deeper dialogue with what you can do to make sure your child is healthy,” Bowers said.
To register or find more information go to Navigatethepath.com
