Balancing Rigor and Wellness | Our Values | Episcopal High School

Exterior view of the deBUTTS Health & Wellness Center, a brick building with large windows and landscaped pathways, surrounded by greenery on a sunny day.

Balancing Rigor and Wellness

In This Section

Collaborative Commitment to Student Wellness

We believe students thrive in an environment that provides balance, with intentional spaces and opportunities that allow them to stretch, reflect, succeed, and be their best selves in all areas of school life. Episcopal’s collaborative and integrated approach to student health and wellness is a strength of our program. Adults on campus, from the academic offices to the student life teams to the health center staff, work together to support all students.

The 17,000 square foot deButts Health & Wellness Center brings together resources for physical and emotional well-being, including medical services and education about mental health, sleep hygiene, healthy relationships, the dangers of substance use, and more. You will learn and practice the skills that will help you take care of yourself and your peers throughout your life.

“The goal was to create a beautiful place for students to come and take care of themselves and their friends. They don’t have to be sick to come here”

Dr. Katie Humphries

Medical Director

“Everyone has your best interests in mind...they want to see you be great.”

Hear how Episcopal prioritizes wellness

Willy Peña BREA '27

Boston, Massachusetts, USA


The deButts Health & Wellness Center Features:

The J.W. Couch Counseling Center

Episcopal’s counseling center operates from a wellness model that aims to strengthen our community through education, prevention, and intervention meant to foster healthy adolescent development. With spacious, inviting offices for meeting with Episcopal’s counselors, the center comprises a light-filled quiet room for reflection and conversation, a classroom for health and wellness courses, and a covered porch with Adirondack seating overlooking the beautiful quad.

EHS Counselors believe that the capacity to explore obstacles to personal and academic growth in a proactive way is a sign of strength and resilience. Students are encouraged to seek out counselors for short-term, solution-focused sessions aimed at overall wellness, insight-oriented exploration, healthy decision making, and adjustment to life transitions.

The Counseling Center is open Monday - Friday from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. There are three full-time counselors available to provide support, assessment, and brief supportive counseling.

Health Center Medical Facility

The Health Center medical facility is managed by the Medical Director and Director of Health Services and staffed by eight full time registered nurses and the health center office administrator. The Medical Director is a licensed physician available to provide direct student care and clinical consultation. Students are welcome to be seen in the clinic by appointment or, as a walk in, on an as-needed basis. Students in need of medical attention can report directly to the health center or contact the nurses through the health center phone. In addition, parents, advisors, dorm faculty and teachers are encouraged to contact the health center on a students behalf.

The first-floor medical facility features comprehensive treatment and clinical work areas, four examination rooms, a dispensary, observation and overnight rooms, and separate, comfortable waiting areas for sick and well patients.

Services available at the clinic include:

  • professional nursing assessment and plan for care
  • referral to school physician
  • daily dispensing of prescribed medication
  • over the-counter medication for relief of mild symptoms
  • routine 24/7 primary care for common illnesses
  • and various other services

Wellness and Healthy Choices Programming

Healthy choices is the theme that guides our daily work with Episcopal students and anchors our health and wellness programming. With the goal of integrating health and well-being into all aspects of student life, Episcopal’s wellness programs strive to teach students skills that will help them adapt with resilience. Through our orientation programs, Health and Wellness course, various workshops and Healthy Choices speakers, substance abuse prevention programs, and student wellness groups, we provide relevant and up-to-date information about health matters, encourage dialogue that helps students discern healthy options, and work to create a school culture that is conducive to learning. All programming is overseen by the School’s Wellness Coordinator.

 

New Student Support
The counselors are available to help new students as they make their transition to boarding school life. Conversations often revolve around being away from home, making new friends, living with a roommate, and navigating new academic expectations. Counselors also provide brief mental health counseling for students facing obstacles to personal and academic growth and can make referrals to local mental health providers for ongoing and specialized support as needed. The counselors will be available during orientation to meet new students and talk with families, and they will hold open house hours to introduce themselves to students during the first few weeks of school. Families can contact the Director of Counseling with any questions or counseling requests.
Confidentiality
The Counseling Department abides by the Episcopal Health Services policy on privacy and confidentiality. The counselors recognize the importance of confidentiality as essential to the success of the counseling relationship and as necessary in building a trusting, therapeutic connection. We encourage students and families to disclose relevant information to the members of our community who are involved in the student's daily life when appropriate, but if they choose not to do so, the counselors will honor confidentiality within the limits of safety and the law. Additionally, counselors collaborate as a clinical team with each other, the Medical Director, the Director of Nursing and other Health Center staff to coordinate care.
Care Related to Substance Use
The Counseling Center supports Episcopal’s policy on substance use and possession while assisting any student with substance related questions or concerns.  In addition to collaborating with the Medical Director and Maroon Support Program (MSP) to provide appropriate evaluation and support for students,  counselors are available to work with individual students and families to address concerns related to substance use. Students and families can also contact the Director of Counseling for referral to a local substance abuse specialist.
Privacy Statement
All members of Episcopal High School Health Services are guided by federal privacy laws protecting patient information in the health care setting, state laws regarding adolescent access to medical care and right to privacy, and federal laws regarding privacy in the educational setting. Where possible and when necessary, EHS Health Services maintains communication with a student’s advisor, family, dorm parent, etc. while respecting the framework of these laws. In general, personal information about a student and his or her situation is shared only with the people who need to know this information in order to provide for the student’s safety and welfare (“need-to-know basis”). Questions regarding the appropriateness or authorization of disclosing health-related information can be directed to the EHS medical director.