• Mary Burke Cunningham, LPC, SAC
    Student Assistance Coordinator
     
     
    I am delighted to embark on my fifteenth year at James Caldwell High School.  Over the past 25 years, I've worked as a mental health counselor in a variety of educational settings including high school, community college and university.  In addition to my work as a Student Assistance Counselor, I am a licensed therapist, group facilitator & parent educator. 
     
    I love being a counselor.  I especially enjoy counseling and mentoring young people in a school-setting because it affords me the opportunity to work with them in a number of ways -- as learners, socializers, athletes and artists. I provide individual and (some) group counseling to students regarding mental health issues (depression, anxiety), bereavement, transition adjustment, and coping with social and family stressors.  I am available to provide coaching and referrals to parents.
     
    I coordinate the Transitions Peer Leadership program, which trains a select group of juniors and seniors to provide outreaches and mentoring to ninth graders.  I am a member of the CWC Crisis Management Team, the CWC Affirmative Action Committee, the Essex County Traumatic Loss Coalition, the New Jersey Association of Student Assistance Professionals and The American Counseling Association. 
     
    Education:
     
    B.A: English & Theater Arts, Drew University
     
    M.A., Ed.M:  Psychological Counseling, Teachers College, Columbia University
     
    Post-Master's Certification: Clinical Approaches To The Addictions: New York University