Episode 9: Mental Health in High-Pressure Education Institutions

In today's episode, I have a conversation with Ms. von Jess, a social worker of 30 years and the Director of Counseling at The Hotchkiss School, where she has worked for the past 12 years. Ms. von Jess shares how mental health issues most commonly manifest in high-pressure academic settings, resources that students can rely on, and recent trends or changes in how students experience and manage stress. She also speaks about the role of parents in supporting students' mental well-being, especially at boarding school when kids do not live with their parents. Subsequently, Ms. von Jess emphasizes the student-teacher relationship, and the importance of finding dependable adults in the community.Thank you, Ms. von Jess for your insightful comments and wise words. I hope you all will tune in for Part 2 and Part 3 of our conversation!