The Hidden Secrets of Mrs. Ray by DeLaney

The Hidden Secrets of Mrs. Ray by DeLaney - September 2023 Scholarship Essay

I was driving home from a breakfast restaurant when I got the phone call from my mom. "Do you know an Ava at school?" My heart dropped as she told me that we had lost her to suicide. We had debate together and she was the nicest girl you could ever imagine. Regardless of how well she knew you, she was going to be there for you if something happened. This was the beginning of my sophomore year. When we returned to school, we had counselors visit our classes telling us that they were available if we needed to chat but that simply wasn't enough. I understand and respect all of the work that counselors do, but in all honesty, it can be challenging sharing feelings and emotions with them. It is almost as if you're talking to someone who struggles to show compassion. In my experience, they stay silent and let you go on. Some people may appreciate the safe space to let out emotion, but I wanted more. I wanted to feel understood and validated. I wanted to feel like someone cared more about my mental health than me getting back to class as soon as possible.

It wasn't until three months later that I was introduced to Mrs. Ray. My IB coordinator could see how much I was struggling to balance even the necessities in my life. I wasn't sleeping or eating, and my grades were getting close to slipping. As soon as she noticed she sent me to Mrs. Ray, the school therapist. Mrs. Ray welcomed me into her office with open arms and helped me to navigate a very difficult time in my life. She gave me advice and understood my point of view. She helped me through my desire to be perfect at everything and helped me to have a normal sleep schedule. Her office became the best part of my week because I was able to release all of the emotions that I had built up and learn how to deal with them on my own in a positive way.

When I was finally comfortable enough to talk to my friends about my experiences with her, they had no idea who I was talking about. The more I asked around, the more I realized that nobody really knew who she was. I was told that she only had limited availability, so it wasn't widely known that she existed unless a teacher recommend that you go see her.

So, my proposition is simple however, there are multiple steps. First, we should implement training to help the current counselors handle the situations with more ease. Nobody wants to see a student pass away, but we should be better equipped with protocol to help those situations. Second, there should be at least one school therapist on staff at all times for any student to access. Third, the entire student body should be made aware of her existence in our building.

Everyone seems to be aware of the rising mental health concerns of our generation, so why are we hiding our most vital resources. It shouldn't be a secret that we have a mental health specialist accessible to anyone. And if the day comes that she truly does become too busy to see all of the students that wish to use her as a resource for their mental health, then our district should have no issue hiring another therapist to join her. Instead of denying the issue or relying on counselors who aren't necessarily trained to navigate these situations, we should improve the training and hire new staff. If the staff of our schools can't look after our mental health, who will?