Dear ICS Parents,
My name is Mina Kirilov and I am a Behavioral Health Support Specialist from Youth Eastside Services (YES), who will be working at ICS this year. This is my first year at the school and I look forward to working with and supporting your students! Detailed information on how to set up an appointment is listed at the end of this letter.
I have earned my Master’s degree in Counseling from Seattle University and I’m currently working towards a Chemical Dependency Professional certificate at the same school. I have a variety of experience working with children and adolescents, as well as their families in the community, schools and in an agency setting. In my work I use a collaborative approach, and focus on student strengths and increasing their emotional awareness and capacity for solving the challenges they encounter.
Some of the topics that I address include (but are not limited to):
- School-related stress and transition/adjustment issues
- Learning challenges, such as coping with ADHD, etc.
- Relationship difficulties including peer, parent and other family challenges
- Depression and anxiety
- Suicidal thoughts and self-harming behaviors
- Substance use and being affected by others’ substance use
- Behavioral and conduct problems
- Gender Identity
- Abuse and trauma
Services I provide
The services I provide are informed by evidence-based practices that have been shown to be effective when working to address issues with adolescents and their families. In the sessions I rely on Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Trauma-informed therapy. Treatment can be from one session to ongoing therapy over several months. I also strongly believe in prevention, so I offer classroom presentations on issues such as suicide risk awareness and prevention, as well as substance use and vaping prevention. If the need arises I can also lead groups on other topics such as life-skills, coping with loss/grief, etc.
I am available to work with parents, guardians, and other family members to provide parent education and support strategies, assist in resolving conflict, and help formulate ways to provide an environment where their child can succeed personally and academically.
Setting up an appointment
I am at ICS on Tuesdays and Fridays and my office is located in the Student Services Hall, room 120. Students can confidentially sign up to see me for a scheduled appointment at school by filling a request form, located outside my office. I also accept referrals from teachers, school administrators and parents.
In addition, YES provides one-on-one, family and group counseling in our three eastside locations (Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond) for those students and families, who prefer agency-based services. For more information you can refer to our website at http://www.youtheastsideservices.org/ or call 425-474-4937.
I am looking forward to being a part of the ICS team and learning about the unique and individualized approach ICS provides to its students and helping play a role in promoting the health and well-being of the students throughout the school year. Please, feel free to contact me by email, or phone if you have any questions, or would like additional information.
Sincerely,
Mina Kirilov, MAED Counseling
Behavioral Health Support Specialist
Youth Eastside Services
425-747-4937 x 2790 at YES
LWSD Phone ext.: 54338 (Call any LWSD school and ask for me at that ext.)
International Community School