By Annelie Hang ’25
On January 5, fifth- and sixth-form students attended a Wellness Session centered around social attachment styles. Counselors presented on the two main groups of attachment: secure and insecure. In bringing awareness to this topic, Choate’s counselors hoped to encourage students to reflect on the relationships they have established with others, both within and outside of school, and understand how their relationships with their parents or guardians have shaped them.
When choosing a topic, the Counseling Office considered what would be most beneficial in a singular meeting — something short, simple, and relevant to student lives — before settling on attachment styles. Ms. Raynetta Gibbs, Director of Counseling, explained, “Sometimes students don’t have an idea why they relate to people the way they do, and we thought it would be a good idea to introduce that.”
The Counseling Office hopes that through these presentations like this one, they can become more familiar with students who are not in counseling or have never interacted with them. By having a larger presence on campus, they hope students will be able to see the counseling team as adults they can feel comfortable reaching out to.
Although form meetings were held a day prior to the Wellness Session, the interactive nature of the presentation kept students engaged. The counselors gave candy to those brave enough to share in front of their form, and small-group discussions allowed for moments of vulnerability and reflection.
“I feel like I now know better how to approach Choate’s social environment and have learned a lot about myself through the activities during the program,” Chloe Crowell ’25 said.
Ms. Gibbs hopes that students left the meeting with a better understanding of their attachment style and the way that it has formed the relationships they currently have or previously had.
