FAIRFAX, Vt. – A former BFA-Fairfax student is using her battle with depression to teach other students about mental health.
What began as a senior project for the school could redefine how middle school students in the Fairfax area learn about mental health.
Elise Towle was a junior at BFA when her depression began. She was already feeling the stigma surrounding mental health and didn’t feel supported in her health classes.
“They didn’t teach us about depression and anxiety and all that stuff in middle school, and I think it would have been really helpful if they had, because when you start to see those signs, you can notice, ‘Hey, maybe I need to get some help,'” Towle said.
Fast forward to her senior year of high school last fall, when Towle created a program to teach other students about mental health. The Mental Health in Adolescents project covered signs of mental health issues, common challenges middle schoolers may face, and where to find help.
“It’s more about trying to help other people in the way that I wish I’d gotten help at that age,” Towle said. She says she hopes to eventually incorporate the programme into the BFA curriculum.
BFA Principal Liz Noonan believes that a student-led conversation about mental health could reach students better than standard lessons. “When it’s created by students, it’s real for them. It gives them a more grounded idea of, ‘Oh, I’m not alone. Someone else went through this and came out and this is how they dealt with it,'” Noonan said.
Towle, a lifelong Girl Scout, received a Gold Award, the organisation’s highest honour, which recognises girls in grades 9-12 who develop sustainable solutions to challenges in their communities and beyond. Towle also created a patch that Girl Scouts can purchase after learning about mental health.
Carrie Loszewski of Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains says Towle exemplifies what the group is all about. “Instead of just saying, you know what, this is too big of a problem or there’s nothing I can do. She said, ‘You know what, I can make a difference. I can do something to make my community better,” she said.
Now a freshman at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, Towle is continuing on the path to mental health by studying forensic psychology.
