Life Balance
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Harpeth Hall counseling department promotes a safe and healthy environment where students are encouraged to identify, explore, and develop their individual strengths while expanding their capacity for empathy and perspective-taking.
Adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by big transitions and new experiences. This time in life holds great potential for personal growth and self-actualization.
We are dedicated to nurturing the social and emotional skills that will allow our students to successfully navigate the difficult experiences they will encounter and to savor the joyful and beautiful moments.
At the heart of our program is the Life Balance course. Harpeth Hall counselors developed this curriculum and designed it to provide an opportunity for our students to examine the social and emotional topics they will face across the adolescent developmental range which will ultimately have an impact on their health, happiness and safety. The class is based upon an integrative wellness model and focuses on the following principles: relationships, mind-body connection, nutrition, meaningful life purpose, movement, confidence and emotional intelligence. Life Balance class is taught in a relaxed, small group setting by one of our counselors and provides an excellent opportunity for relationship building and open conversations. The opportunity to have this time with students each rotation is invaluable and allows for timely, collective learning experiences.
Our counselors represent a diverse background of professional experiences and specializations with a common passion for working with adolescents and their families. We are available for individual or group sessions with students during the school day and value these opportunities to create a compassionate space for students to process a loss, to rejoice in a success, or to analyze a social or academic dilemma and generate her own solution. This design promotes a community that supports conversations around mental health and encourages students to advocate for themselves when managing their own wellness. When a student feels seen and accepted, she is able to build resilience, confidence and self-compassion and is most likely to realize her personal and academic potential.
Warmly,
Fran Maddox
Director of Counseling
In the Classroom
Middle School
Middle school is an ideal time to learn healthy ways to balance one’s life. Our emphasis on leadership development and the role it plays in helping girls learn to make meaningful choices is woven throughout the Life Balance curriculum. Various formats are used as springboards for discussion of the following developmentally-appropriate principles of our wellness model: leadership, relationships, emotional life, mind-body connection, meaningful life purpose, movement, and nutrition.
Upper School
With the growing independence that comes with high school, comes a need to understand responsibility and healthy decision making. Life Balance is a year-long character education course that meets once per quarter. Principles of these courses include healthy relationships, driving responsibilities, understanding your emotions, and mind-body connection. Classes help adolescent girls examine the topics they face which ultimately have an impact on their health, safety, and well-being.
Support for Students
Counseling Services
Full-time, licensed counselors are available during school hours to address family, individual, and group counseling needs of our students. The goal of Harpeth Hall’s Counseling Department is to provide a safe and healthy environment for all students.
Academic Counseling
The middle school and upper school learning specialists recommend evaluations and develop individual learning plans for students. Learning specialists help reinforce skills such as organization, time management, academic planning, study strategies, essay and research paper writing, and test taking.
Peer Support
Through student led organizations and programs such as the Confidence Committee, Detective of the Week, and the Kindness Committee, students support their peers to make sure everyone feels welcomed and encouraged.