Through Service We Grow<\/a> in response to that need, which he said is still increasing and changing.<\/p>\n\u201cAs a counselor 20 years ago, mostly it would be counseling things that are going on in school: grades, relationships, getting along with teachers, students \u2014 things that I went through when I was in public school,\u201d he said. \u201cAs time has gone on, when a student comes in to see me, it has (been issues) going on within themselves or outside, the social\/emotional part, that has been the biggest change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heavner started in public education 31 years ago as a middle school social studies teacher in the New Kensington-Arnold School District. Now, he\u2019s a 12th grade counselor at Gateway High School.<\/p>\n
In addition to talking one-on-one with students, he also makes sure they and parents are aware of community resources and educated on mental health and wellness topics.<\/p>\n
\u201cI noticed that a lot of students and parents weren\u2019t really aware of mental health,\u201d Heavner said. \u201cIf their child was struggling with some kind of mental health problem, they had a tough time understanding the entry point into the mental health world.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went through the same experience when his son was in early elementary school and was dealing with severe anxiety.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a personal experience with anxiety, and we also had a tough time navigating who to see, who to go to, where to go next,\u201d Heavner said. \u201cCertainly, a lot of other families have that same experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of that, I just wanted to try to shine some light on the subject matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spike in mental struggles<\/p>\n
Heavner has seen schools hire more mental health experts, he said, as there\u2019s a \u201clarge caseload of students that are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
The struggles include mental, social, cultural and overall physical health, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started thinking about creating a mission,\u201d Heavner said, with awareness as the main goal for the adolescent and young adult age groups. \u201cThe majority of those that have issues with mental health certainly fall into the anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudies have shown that there\u2019s been a tremendous spike here in the last decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
Impacts of the covid-19 pandemic have also contributed to this, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis generation sort of is the covid generation. I think covid has had a tremendous impact on them, a lot of students today,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t really understand how they bottle up their feelings, and they keep them within. And because of that, they\u2019re suffering from anxiety and depression. \u2026 That\u2019s the biggest thing that I\u2019ve noticed in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heavner said he has seen stress afflict students transitioning into new grade levels or different schools. He cited the transition from elementary to middle school, from middle to high school and the transition out of high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them (are) dealing with these emotions for the first time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Spreading awareness<\/p>\n
Heavner\u2019s book is titled \u201cFaith, Hope and Love: The Space Between Therapy Sessions \u2014 A Holistic Approach for Treating Adolescents and Young Adults with Anxiety and Depression.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis book speaks directly to a crisis unfolding in our own backyards,\u201d he said. \u201cThe book blends psychology, faith and holistic wellness to provide structured reflection exercises, journaling prompts, mental health screening tools and spiritual insights designed to help readers heal mind, body and spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
His book and LLC are representative of his vision, he said, which includes three words: faith, hope and love.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think those are three key ingredients to help individuals suffering,\u201d Heavner said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re balanced with mind, body and spirit, you begin to serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cServant leadership is important to me because you realize that you have gifts that others don\u2019t \u2014 and you can share those gifts with others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heavner also emphasizes there are many different types of therapists and, if one is not working out, it\u2019s OK to ask to work with someone different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough reflection, service and faith-centered guidance, Through Service We Grow helps young people build resilience, discover purpose and live meaningful lives,\u201d according to its mission.<\/p>\n
The faith portions of his mission center mostly on Christianity, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a portion of the book where I ask the readers to explore their spirituality and understand that that part of your body \u2014 your spirit \u2014 is important to your mental health,\u201d Heavner said.<\/p>\n
He hopes to create an adolescent mental wellness program, which would manifest similar to a financial literacy class that has to be on a high school transcript. He\u2019s also working on a second book focusing on living a mission-driven life.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least have a class where they can learn about emotional awareness, making healthy decisions, being resilient,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat everyone should note is if you are struggling with a mental health affliction, you\u2019re not alone; you\u2019re not the only one struggling with this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s OK to have these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a school counselor, David Heavner sees firsthand the mental health issues students deal with, including anxiety and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260],"class_list":["post-639270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}