Mental Health Specialists
Kaz Murray | kmurray25@dtechhs.org
Ryan Perisho - Images Courtesy of Yearbook
Mental health is an important aspect of human lives that doesn’t often get taken care of, especially during adolescent years. But with the help of the school’s mental health specialists, Ryan Perisho, Casia Ravi, and Simi Samra, the task of bringing awareness and support to d.tech is being tackled.
“There are a wide variety of topics that come up in school based therapy,” Perisho describes the many topics she and Ravi cover: depressive or anxious symptoms, dealing with relationship trouble with friends or family members, identity issues, being overwhelmed from school work, being diagnosed with mental health disorders, and many more. “The goals that we work on are made collaborative and really depend on what the student would like support with.”
The two counselors have worked at other educational sites as well, such as Woodside High School, La Entrada Middle School, and even local government. “For me it was a career change to become a therapist, so before that I did a few other things, including working in local government (in San Mateo) and working in the field of education research and consulting on a national and international level,” Ravi says. Simi Samra has a similar story, “Prior to d.tech, I was working in Intensive Mental Health Services at Momentum for Health as well as school districts in Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin.”
Casia Ravi - Not pictured: Simi Samra
d.tech is a progressive school, with time after classes to spend on extra classwork people may have and more extended classes to keep everyone engaged. But even with the lack of stressful afterschool busywork, many students are still caught up in other stresses and at-home issues. “Our mental health is a process, not an end state. It is not a sign of weakness to seek out support or people to talk to, but rather a mental strength, humility and resilience,” Ravi says, “It is not a sign of weakness to seek out support or people to talk to, but rather a mental strength, humility and resilience.”
These wonderful specialists help people who feel like they need somebody to lean on, all confidential and welcoming to everyone. Contact either Simi Samra (ssamra@dtechhs.org), Casia Ravi (cravi@dtechhs.org), or Ryan Perisho (rperisho@dtechhs.org) to set up a one-time appointment or more regular scheduled appointments. Samra adds, “I believe everyone can benefit from therapy and I hope that it can be a safe place for individuals to heal, learn and grow.”