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Supporting Anxious Students: Create Tools for Students with Stress and Anxiety (Connect with ME Webinar Series)

When
Tuesday, February 03, 2026
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location
Zoom

Registration

Members
Non-Members – $40.00
Includes one-year MESCA membership

Everyday, school counselors are the frontline to the ever-increasing mental health needs of students, including stress and anxiety, which affects nearly 1 in 12 children and 1 in 4 adolescents. This session will support counselors in creating a toolbox of resources and skills to address the social emotional needs of their students in regards to stress & anxiety on their campus. Attendees will receive access to tools to teach students stress-reducing skills, facilitate the building of student self-care plans, and implement small groups to address stress & anxiety in the school setting.

After attending this session, attendees will be able to 1) Identify impact of stress and anxiety of students K-12, 2) Describe best practices for small groups related to stress & anxiety reduction, 3) Collect tools and resources to build stress-reduction toolbox, and 4) Formulate at least one goal for improving their current program.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

		Melissa Gillespie (she/her/hers), the 2025 Los Angeles County School Counselor of the Year, is a dedicated elementary school counselor in Los Angeles who led her school to earn a RAMP designation in 2025—all as a solo counselor. She serves as Elementary Counseling Department Chair for Las Virgenes Unified School District, where she launched the first Tk-12 Counseling Leadership PLC in 2024, and was a 2024–2025 fellow for the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal (SCRR) Project. With experience in high school counseling and childhood grief camps, Melissa brings deep expertise in supporting students through life’s toughest challenges. An active leader in the California Association of School Counselors (CASC), Melissa is Co-Chair of the Outreach & Engagement Committee, a past Emerging Leader, and a current member of the Awards Committee. As a proud USC graduate (M.Ed., 2011) with an administrative credential (2019), she has presented nationwide since 2012 on grief, mental health, school-wide programming, and counselor self-care. She is passionate about empowering counselors and schools with joy.
		Emily Ritchey (she/her/hers) has served as a High School Counselor for 19 years, and has been the department chair for her school's counseling department for the past 10 years. She serves as the sole counselor union representative for her district, a member of the union's executive counselor, has served as a WASC chair (accreditation for schools), and helped launch the first TK-12 Counseling Leadership PLC in her district in 2024. She is a past presenter at ASCA & CASC conferences, as well as a trainer and speaker within her own district. She loves to hike, read by the pool, and spend time with her kids & pets.