Counseling Center

Location:

Room 202

About Us

Mr. Graham holds a master’s degree in School Counseling and is certified by the State of California to provide school counseling services to elementary, middle, and high school students. Mr. Graham has a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from UC Berkeley.

About The Counseling

Students probably understand better than anyone how hard change can be, and moving into this new space will certainly be a huge change for them. School counseling is really all about empowering students, we're hoping the students themselves will help guide us by sharing their perspectives on how we might best serve their needs. Fortunately, experience shows that while change can often be painful, if managed correctly it can also lead to levels of growth and learning that may not have been possible if everything had stayed the same as before.

Our mission of helping students is to achieve personal, academic, and career success. Although broad in scope, the work of school counselors consists of supporting students in the three domains of school counseling, which are officially referred to as Social/Emotional Development, Academic Development, and College and Career Readiness. Because the formal descriptions don't quite capture the meaning that success in each of the domains has in our program, we have chosen to refer to them on this site as Increasing Personal Power, Winning in School, and Living Your Dream.

Scope of Services

CPMA counseling is focused on developing and running a comprehensive school counseling program that supports the social and emotional well-being of our students and assists them with setting and achieving academic and career goals. While crisis intervention and short-term solution-focused counseling are important parts of the program, school counselors refer students and families to community providers and outside agencies when longer-term or more specialized mental health services are needed. The increasing awareness that mental health is just as important as physical health has led to an abundant and sometimes confusing array of programs and services, and the decision of which to use ultimately lies with the family. If a student has private insurance, CPMA counselors normally recommend taking advantage of the existing coverage. Students who have Medi-Cal or are uninsured are often referred to the Schoo-Link program, which offers a wide variety of excellent services based on individual needs. While we recommend speaking with a counselor first, students and families are free to contact the program directly. Click here for more information about the School-link program.

Mental Health and Wellness

San Diego Crisis & Access (888)724-7240 - Suicide prevention, crisis intervention, community resources, mental health referrals, and alcohol and drug support services. Confidential.
up2sd.org - Mental health and suicide prevention information and resources for all types of people
Rady Children's Behavioral Health Urgent Care -The Behavioral Health Urgent Care serves children, teens, and their families struggling with urgent emotional and/or behavioral concerns that pose a risk to their safety, or the safety of others, or significantly impair their daily lives.
https://www.saysandiego.org - referrals to counseling, parenting groups, emergency assistance for food & clothes, tutoring, mentoring, etc.
Each Mind Matters-California: www.eachmindmatters.org
211 San Diego: http://211sandiego.org -Connects people with community, health, and disaster services through a free 24/7 database)
Behavior Health Services San Diego: www.sandiegocounty.gov/hhsa/programs/bhs/
National Institute for Mental Health: www.nimh.nih.gov