Essentia Health clinical psychologist shares how to handle emotions going back to school

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — It’s that time of year again, school has started with a new classroom, new classmates, and homework piling up. Essentia Health Clinical Psychologist, Alexandra Kohlhase, talks about what kinds of feelings there may be.

“It’s exciting to go back and see friends. It’s exciting to maybe have some structure entertained to the day. But it’s also nerve-wracking. A lot of children kind of dread assignments and homework, and I think that’s a really common thing,” said Alexandra Kohlhase, Clinical Psychologist at Essentia Health.

In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control saw the mental health rate in children continue to worsen, with 4 in 10 students having persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and 2 in 10 students considering attempting suicide.

“We need to create a culture where it is safe for children to ask for help and to talk about their mental health concerns or anything bad that’s going on in their lives. There’s a normal range of human emotion. Everybody’s going to feel sad, everybody’s going to feel worried at times. But a child who is chronically coming to school really irritable or really sad, who is constantly alone, those are red flags,” said Kohlhase.

In Minneapolis, students and their families were celebrating the first week at Annunciation Catholic School with the first mass of the year. A shooter had shot and injured 17 people while killing two children. It has been said that the shooter had previously gone to the school, and their mother was previously a staff member.

“I think that it’s a fine line for teachers and parents, especially to help our kids be alert. Know that if they see something, say something, but also not living in constant fear, because bad things can happen anytime, anywhere, but we don’t want our children to,” said Kohlhase.