Counseling Services
The cOunseling Team
The Counseling Team at Belmont Hill monitors the emotional health of boys at the School, offering understanding and professional support. Boys can face a range of issues including anxiety, depression, academic frustration, painful family situations, friendship or romantic complications. The School works to identify boys who are struggling academically or emotionally, and directs them to professional counseling at or outside of Belmont Hill.
THE HEALTH TEAM
The Health Team aims to gather information from advisors, teachers, and coaches about the emotional well being of boys and creates a treatment plan to support the student. The Health Team is composed of the Counseling Department, the Upper School Director, the Middle School Director, the school’s nurse, and the director of the Office of Academic Support.
Counseling Department Programs
Individual Counseling
Ms. Schmunk leads a number of counseling group meetings for boys, which help boys to open up about their life situations.
"Questioning" Group
For students who are gay, bi-sexual, or questioning their sexuality. This is an extremely confidential group that meets when needed. This group evolved several years ago to support students who might want to talk to other boys who are gay, bi-sexual, or questioning their sexuality.
Family Group
Ms. Schmunk leads a weekly Family Group, composed of boys whose parents are divorced, separated, or experiencing complicated family dynamics.
Other Work
As needed, support groups in specialized areas are created such as grief counseling, grade reclassification, injury and recovery, as well as affinity groups. The department also helps boys returning from programs abroad to transition back into the Belmont Hill community, and plays a role in supporting boys who are new to the School community.
June Schmunk
Ms. Schmunk is the director of the Counseling Department at Belmont Hill. She has more than thirty years of experience in working with adolescents in independent school settings. Her work covers a range of areas. She holds national board counseling certification from Villanova University with a specialty in school counseling.
Benjamin Liston
In addition to providing counseling to students, Mr. Liston will also teach health classes and support Belmont Hill's health programming. He holds a Certificate of Advanced Study and a Master of Education in Risk and Prevention from Harvard Graduate School of Education, as well as a BA in performing arts from Colby College.
Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D.
Dr. Thompson is a consultant, author, and psychologist specializing in children and families. He is the supervising psychologist for the Belmont Hill School and has worked in more than seven hundred schools across the globe. Dr. Thompson is the author of eight books, including three books about boys. His book "Raising Cain" was a New York Times best seller. He is an internationally recognized expert on the inner lives of boys.