This year, Jesuit High School Sacramento rewelcomes Wellness Counselor Ms. Abigail “Abby” Hollandsworth as a full-time mental health clinician in the Wellness Center. Having worked part time at Jesuit last year as a Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee, Ms. Hollandsworth has already been making her mark in our community.

Ms. Hollandsworth comes from a family that is heavily involved in catholic education, which helped lead her to choose a similar career path.

“Many of my family members work in catholic education and they encouraged me to look into doing my traineeship for my graduate program at a catholic school,” Ms. Hollandsworth said. “I had the opportunity to conduct an informational interview with Ms. Cardinale on behalf of my entire cohort at [the University of San Francisco], and after that interview, I knew that I wanted to be at Jesuit.”

Once Ms. Hollandsworth arrived at Jesuit, she joined the Wellness Center. Wellness Counselor Ms. Kasey Cardinale, MFT believes that Ms. Hollandsworth makes Jesuit a better place.

“Ms. Hollandsworth’s addition to the Counseling Department in Wellness has enhanced all programming,” Ms. Cardinale said. “She naturally operates from a place of presuming the good in the students and families she serves. She is witty, observant, and flexible in her approaches.”

Ms. Hollandsworth’s position allows her to help students in various ways, working to make sure each student receives the assistance that he needs to flourish.

“My job is to support students on campus through short term therapy, small group therapy, and psychoeducation for students and families,” Ms. Hollandsworth said. “No two people are alike, so therapeutic support is tailored to each individual’s needs.”

In addition to her work as a wellness counselor, Ms. Hollandsworth is engaged in several clubs on campus, including TeamCARE. Prominent TeamCARE member George Srabian ’25 has noticed Ms. Hollandsworth’s dedication to the club. 

“Ms. Hollandsworth’s a really good person because she’s very inclusive; she makes sure that everyone has talked [and] everyone’s voice has been heard,” George said. “She’s very passionate about the club and it feels like more of a safer place with her around.”

George appreciates Ms. Hollandsworth for bringing joy to our community.

“She has a very positive impact on everyone,” George said. “She’s very funny. She makes me laugh all the time. I think that she’s a very great person and I’m so glad that she’s here.”

Mental health is an important topic, and Ms. Hollandsworth hopes that students at Jesuit take it seriously by encouraging them to look out for themselves and each other.

“The most rewarding part of my job is being able to provide support for students and see how they grow and heal and transform over the course of their time at Jesuit,” Ms. Hollandsworth said. “Everyone has mental health and it is imperative that we take care of ourselves and each other.”

Any student hoping to get in contact with the Wellness Center and Ms. Hollandsworth may do so by letting their counselor know that they would like to meet with a wellness counselor, or via the wellness referral form located in their Counseling and College Planning Google Classroom.