Counseling Center
Welcome to the Counseling Center
The Counseling Center plays a central role in developing the whole student in body, mind, and spirit. The Counseling Center supports the emotional health and well-being of every student on campus. We do this through a highly collaborative and stratified model of care, where we provide individual, group, and community-wide levels of support.
Counselors specialize in adolescent mental health and are fully licensed mental health professionals dedicated to student’s emotional health, well-being, and resiliency. Using evidence-based interventions, counselors support students throughout boarding school experiences, including homesickness and peer conflict, treatment of anxiety and depression, support for disordered eating, and mindset and performance coaching. Counseling services are strictly confidential and provided at no cost to students.
Our team of counselors is available to see students from 8:30 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday. We provide 24/7 crisis evaluation, stabilization, and assessment services when urgent needs arise.
Jen Daily
Counselor Daily grew up in Westchester County, NY, and has lived in Western Massachusetts for the past ten years. She has worked in therapeutic schools and private practice, authored group therapy curricula, presented at conferences, and is currently working on a children’s book, Emotion Potions! Exploring the Science of Feelings. Counselor Daily has always been fascinated by why we feel what we feel and how we think impacts our well-being. You can find her playing golf, working on an embroidery project, hiking, kayaking, or playing with her dog Ruthie during her free time.
William Jackson
Dr. Jackson was raised in Massachusetts and spent years living abroad in Europe and South Asia. He is a father of two, husband, clinical health psychologist, and founder of a small wellness company. He has spent the last 15 years researching and creating mindfulness-based interventions with the Benson Henry Institute of Mind-Body Medicine at MGH, Tufts University, The Center of Mindfulness and Compassion, and Harvard Medical School. William’s clinical work is informed by his six years of training as a Buddhist monk, scientific research, and time working at several schools in the Boston area.
Dr. Jessica Pierre-Chery
Dr. Pierre-Chery was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived in Massachusetts and Rhode Island growing up. She started her counseling career as a school counselor in Harlem, NY, and became a psychologist because she was fascinated with child and adolescent development and providing psychotherapy. She enjoys taking walks with her family, singing and listening to gospel music, and rewatching inspirational/feel-good films and shows like Encanto and Avatar: the last Airbender.
Sarah Rosenthal
Ms. Rosenthal is from upstate New York but has been calling western Massachusetts home for the past seven years. She arrived in the counseling field after working in outreach youth theater programs. She is passionate about partnering with students to creatively make changes in their lives and cultivate a sense of self-acceptance. In her free time, she likes exploring nature with her two kids, cracking up watching silly comedies, and getting lost in a good novel or new place.
Staff
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Allison DiNardo
Associate Director of Admission, Health Issues Teacher
Frequently Asked Questions
To make an appointment to see a counselor, you can either email counseling@deerfield.edu, or you can reach out to one of the counselors directly. In your email, please provide information about which days/periods would work best for you to meet. A counselor will contact you to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
In the case of an emergency, go to or call the Health Center (413-774-1600) and ask to speak to the counselor on call. If it is after curfew, please call Deerfield Security (413-772-9880) to escort you to the Health Center.
A common misconception about counseling is that it is only appropriate for people who are experiencing severe mental illness. In actuality, most people can benefit from receiving support from a counselor at some point in their lives, and each year 1 out of every 3 students meets with a Deerfield counselor at least once. Counseling is an opportunity for students to speak individually with a trained professional about a wide range of concerns and develop successful strategies for coping with or working through them.
Some students meet with a counselor one or two times, while others may meet monthly, biweekly, or weekly with a counselor. The frequency and duration of counseling will be jointly determined by the student and his or her counselor and may vary over time according to the student’s needs.
The counselors recognize that being a student at Deerfield can be challenging at times and are available to provide support to any student seeking help. Speaking with friends, family, and teachers often can be helpful for students, but sometimes students can benefit from speaking to a trained professional in a safe, confidential, and nonjudgmental environment. Any concern is appropriate to talk about with a counselor, including (but not limited to):
- Academic performance
- Anxiety
- Body image or eating concerns
- Depression
- Divorce or other family issues
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Gender identity
- Homesickness
- Loss of a friend or loved one
- Procrastination
- Race, ethnicity, nationality, or other cultural identity
- Relationships with family, friends, or others
- Self-esteem
- Sexual orientation
- Sexual assault
- Sleep issues
- Stress management
- Substance use (alcohol, drugs, tobacco)
In most cases, no one will be notified that you are meeting with a counselor. Counseling is most effective if students are able to share information in a confidential way, and the counselors are dedicated to honoring and protecting students’ privacy within the limits of safety and the law.
Parents/guardians are not contacted by counselors unless a counselor has significant concerns about a student’s well-being. Counselors are mandated reporters, and as such are required by law to contact the proper authorities if there are concerns about abuse or neglect. If a parent/guardian directly contacts the counseling office inquiring if their child is being seen by a counselor, the counselor will confirm that the student is in contact with the counseling office but will not provide details about what is being discussed in counseling without first discussing this with the student.
There are times when deans, teachers, or advisors may express concerns about students to the counseling office. In such cases, the counseling office may acknowledge whether the student is in contact with the counseling office but will not divulge confidential information without the student’s permission.
The counselors do work closely with other members of the Health Center staff, including the Medical Director and nurses. Information is shared within the Health Center on a need-to-know basis in order to provide the best possible medical care.
Contact Counseling
counseling@deerfield.edu
413-774-1600
Fax 413-772-1118
D.S. Chen Center
Mon–Fri, 8am–4pm
7 Boyden Lane, PO Box 55
Deerfield, MA 01342