Self-care, coping with stress, navigating friendships — teens encounter a wide array of topics and issues.

And Providence Day makes certain it provides an avenue for discussion.

Case Studies are an annual program held during advisory at each grade level. The cases are created intentionally for each grade level and specifically designed for medium-sized groups, where students interact with and deepen relationships with friends, advisors, and administrators.

"Students work in small groups to figure out how to respond to, solve, or deal with issues,” says Marissa Kohn, an Upper School counselor, and her colleagues.

Topics this year have included monitoring my digital footprint and managing conflict.

“The idea is for students to think through a scenario that could be relevant to them or their friend group and to discuss it with other students in small groups to hear different perspectives,” Ms. Kohn and her colleagues say. “The end result is sharing out and hearing different ways to handle the scenario in a positive way and to learn new tools, strategies, and phrases that could be used to effectively communicate in each situation.”

The Case Study program is important for students because they get the opportunity to work together to figure out a solution to the situations outlined for them,” she says.

Students practice active listening, teamwork, perspective-taking, and negotiation. They also have the opportunity to review skills such as setting boundaries, using I-statements, using an empathetic approach, and effective communication strategies.

Case studies give students the opportunity to meet up with another advisory group and interact with a facilitator from the administration team in a small group setting to openly communicate and model coping skills and empathy.

“Students also have the opportunity to build and deepen relationships with their advisors, who help facilitate the case studies, as well as classmates and peers in other advisory groups, with whom they complete the case study process,” school officials say.