Annie Depoy is ready to welcome and support any and all students. photo by Ben Scherer
Thomas Jefferson’s mental health team provides great resources for students in need.
Here at Thomas Jefferson, students’ mental health is one of the school’s main priorities. Resources including links or phone numbers to websites are on posters all around the school for anyone to access, in order to help students struggling with depression or anxiety, issues regarding sexual assault, and any form of mental health issues. Students are also frequently encouraged to visit TJ’s incredible mental health team. TJ’s team for prevention and therapeutic services consists of trusted counselors, social workers, and psychologists that work hard to provide a safe and supportive environment for students. One of the newest members to the team is social worker Annie Depoy.
Entering her third year at Thomas Jefferson, Depoy is the Master of Social Work (MSW) and on the Prevention and Intervention team here at TJ. She specializes in running support groups for students and educating kids about drug and alcohol abuse. Native to Michigan, Depoy came to Colorado for high school and stayed to get her bachelor’s degree in Social Work at CSU. After getting her bachelors, she headed back North to get her Masters, also in social work, at the University of Michigan. Depoy returned to Colorado in 2011, and worked at WellPower (formally known as the Mental Health Center of Denver) as a school-based therapist. She spent her time at Morey and Hill Middle School for 10 years, before working at Barnum Elementary and now Thomas Jefferson. Many people stray from careers in social work because of the darker topics that may be present in their work environment, but that has never stopped Depoy. She describes her role in social work as a “good challenge,” saying, “You have to have the right temperament and skill set for the job, because there are hard topics and challenging things that you can carry with you in your heart and in your brain, so it’s good to have good support systems and good self-care skills.” There are negative viewpoints about social work; however, Depoy would recommend this career to anyone who is interested. For Depoy and social workers everywhere, the act of helping others is more rewarding than the negative aspects of this career.
Depoy believes noting the various groups of people she can help through her career in social work is important. There could be focus on adults, kids, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and much more. Furthermore, there are non-profits, schools, governments, and all kinds of areas that need specialists in these fields. Of all of these fields, Depoy is most passionate about working with kids. During her childhood, Depoy participated in many community service projects that exposed her to all kinds of people with different backgrounds and issues, sparking her interest in mental health and being able to help others. While getting her degree, Depoy gained an interest in working with children specifically. She stated, “I think young people are really strong and resilient and funny and kind of fun to work with compared to maybe adults, so doing stuff in schools is what I’m passionate about.”
Depoy gets to help kids at TJ in a number of different ways. One of her favorites is the support groups she runs. These groups range from coping skills to recovery tactics, and aim to help students of all kinds develop very effective social and emotional skills. Each group is around 35 minutes long, and throughout the time she teaches students skills to help themselves when they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed. These groups are a great outlet for students to talk about any stressors in their lives, and get help with problems they face. The groups are open for everyone, and interested students can talk to Depoy about joining. Any student in need of help, support, or resources can go to room 114 D and meet the extremely welcoming mental health team, including Depoy herself. The Spartans are lucky to have Depoy, and she looks forward to continue working with Thomas Jefferson in the future.
