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Student Support

The well-being of our students is a top priority for all faculty and staff at Hopkins. In keeping with our Mission, we believe a healthy balance of physical and emotional well-being, along with a sense of community and belonging, provide students with the tools needed to guide them to a lifelong love of learning and the development of character that are essential to leading a rich and purposeful life. Our Student Support Team works closely with parents, teachers, advisers, coaches, and outside professionals to support the unique needs of each student. In addition to our dedicated advisers, faculty, and staff, our team includes a Clinical Psychologist, School Counselors, the Director of Academic Support, the Dean of Students, and Head Advisers.

The goal of the Student Support Team is to provide students with safe, appropriate, and effective resources for managing the challenges of everyday life. The team is available to all students as a resource and offers the opportunity for brief, solution-focused sessions regarding issues that affect students’ academic or social-emotional health. When appropriate, the team facilitates referrals to other resources for longer-term support. Although most students refer themselves, faculty, staff, advisers, and/or parents can also refer students when they feel that some level of support would be beneficial.
The Student Support Team provides services to students and consult support to faculty and staff on campus. All services are provided during school hours at times of year when classes are in regular session. Our team includes a clinical psychologist and two school counselors. Services include: referrals for psychoeducational testing, focused collaboration with academic support to identify and assist with unique learning needs, and helping students who may benefit from social and emotional support. Services are provided on a short-term basis and are solution-focused in nature with all support tailored to the individual needs of each student.

FAQs

List of 3 frequently asked questions.

  • Q: What are some reasons to meet with a counselor and what kind of help is offered?

    There are many reasons students seek help from the support team. Academics, athletics, and other extracurricular activities can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes you just need someone to talk to. Counselors are available to provide short-term, solution-focused counseling. At Hopkins, counselors work in partnership with students, families, faculty, and staff. Counselors work to help students identify the issue they are having and problem-solve around it.

  • Q:
    How can I make an appointment?

    Students interested in speaking with a counselor should speak to their adviser or head-adviser or they can email the counselor they’d like to meet with directly during times when school is in session. An adviser can assist students in understanding whether they can be better assisted by a member of the counseling team or academic support. For urgent matters, a student should notify an adult on campus immediately that they need to speak with a counselor or report to the trainer’s office and request a counselor be notified.

  • Q:
    How is counseling different from therapy?

    It is important to note that the assistance provided by a counselor is not the same as therapy. Though clinically trained, the counselors at Hopkins do not provide formal assessment, diagnosis, or treatment planning for psychiatric conditions. Unlike therapy, school-based counselors cannot guarantee weekly meetings.

    Counseling is intended to target a specific problem area and move from the present forward, whereas therapy is longer-term and more in depth and complex in scope. It is always recommended that acute mental health issues be addressed outside of school by a clinician or in a hospital setting. Counselors may work in partnership with outside providers, but cannot take the place of formal therapeutic services and interventions. Similarly, counselors cannot provide the same level of care found in an emergency room or other medical settings.

    At home, outside of school hours, and during all weekends and extended school breaks, students and their families should seek appropriate emergency services in times of crisis and should consult with private therapists for routine mental health support. Counselors can make referrals to mental health clinicians and provide information about crisis resources to students and families.

    Additional resource information is typically provided to the community before or around the time winter/spring/summer breaks begin.

List of 1 items.

Who We Are

Susan Watson, Ph.D.

Director of Counseling & School’s Psychologist
203.397.1001 x237
Harvard University - Ph.D.
Yale University - B.A.
swatson@hopkins.edu

Susan is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and adolescents. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Harvard University and completed her internship in child and adolescent psychology at New York University Child Study Center and Bellevue Hospital. She then helped children and families who were facing serious illnesses and collaborated on research on post-traumatic growth during her postdoctoral fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Prior to joining Hopkins, she counseled high school students at a private boarding school in Massachusetts.

At Hopkins, she loves getting to know students and families and helping them navigate the emotional and academic challenges of junior and high school. She strongly believes in the importance of helping students build on their strengths, and she incorporates her training in cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness to help students realize their potential. She works with students individually in short-term, solution-focused counseling, and she collaborates with the other members of the Student Support Team, teachers, advisors, coaches, and families to support all aspects of students’ development. She also works closely with the Director of the Academic Support Program to review psychoeducational evaluations and implement learning plans for students who need academic accommodations, including accommodations for standardized testing. In addition, she teaches Introduction to Psychology, an elective in the Science department, to juniors and seniors.

Susan lives with her husband, three children, 2 dogs, and a cat (who thinks he is a dog). In her free time, she enjoys yoga, scuba diving, and reading young adult novels and historical fiction.


Linda Romanchok, M.Ed.

School Counselor
203.397.1001 x236
Dickinson College - Bachelor of Arts
George Mason University - Masters of Education
lromanchok@hopkins.edu

Linda is a licensed Professional School Counselor who has worked with students of all ages in both private and public school settings. Prior to her time at Hopkins, Linda served as the District School Counseling Coordinator for Old Saybrook Public Schools while managing a caseload of students at Old Saybrook Middle School. Linda was also part of the school counseling recovery team in Newtown, immediately following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, to build an elementary school counseling program and support Newtown students, families, faculty and staff through their trauma and associated grief. Prior to living in Connecticut, Linda was a school counselor in Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia where she specialized in student transitions and supporting students through academic adjustments. Linda is also an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) where she supervises graduate interns as they complete the final portion of their school counseling training.

Linda utilizes a strengths-based, solutions-focused approach when connecting with students and their families. She views each person as a unique individual and intentionally uses a holistic process in her work to maximize results. She believes in partnerships between families, school, and related supports and works closely with parents to help enhance those important relationships. She is dedicated to helping students reach their fullest potential in the classroom and beyond, while also striving to empower them to achieve and succeed with a focused mindset.

Linda lives in Madison with her two sons and their dog. Linda enjoys dancing, writing, spending time by the water, baking and traveling.

Kevin Molinelli, LCSW

School Counselor
203.397.1001 x238
New York University - Master of Social Work
Southern Connecticut State University - B.S. Social Work
kmolinelli@hopkins.edu
Kevin began his career in the field of social work by providing crisis intervention services for individuals at risk of inpatient hospitalization and incarceration at an acute care program in New Haven and at a mental health program in Waterbury serving adults with severe and prolonged mental health conditions. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree, he continued this work by becoming a life-skills instructor at a residential program providing on-site support for young men transitioning from institutional settings to the community. This program was a partnership between the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services and the Department of Children and Families.

Kevin went on to complete a master’s in clinical social work at New York University and has helped people from all walks of life doing things such as answering calls for the National Suicide Prevention lifeline, providing home-based support for hospice patients, and care management for those living with complex medical needs. Drawing from his extensive background, Kevin endeavors to foster a sense of warmth and hope within the Hopkins community. He strives to empower students to overcome obstacles with resilience and confidence.

Beyond professional interests, Kevin enjoys hiking, working out, cooking, and playing with his two cats. 
986 Forest Road
New Haven, Connecticut 06515
(203) 397-1001

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Hopkins is a private middle school and high school for grades 7-12. Located on a campus overlooking New Haven, CT, the School takes pride in its intellectually curious students as well as its dedicated faculty and staff.