The Phoenix: Health Science and Psychology Clubs Join to Welcome Joanna Formont, LMHC

By Phoenix Editor Maya Tadross ’19:
On Wednesday, December 5 at 3:30 p.m., Kellenberg Memorial’s Health Science Club and Psychology Club joined together in a packed biology lab to welcome speaker Joanna Formont, Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Ms. Formont has been an individual and group counselor to children and adults in crisis for almost 18 years. She currently works at SIBSPlace at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Hewlett, NY, an incredible program that serves children ages five to seventeen who have a sibling with cancer or another terminal illness. Students listened intently as Ms. Formont described her creative ways of helping these children express their difficult feelings and find positive coping mechanisms. She demonstrated one especially popular therapeutic craft, making a lava lamp: with only oil, water, food coloring, and Alka Seltzer tablets, anyone can create a visually calming grounding tool in minutes.
“Growing up I always knew I wanted to do something in life to help people,” explained Ms. Formont. “Now it’s incredibly rewarding for me to see the children I work with get out their tough emotions and learn to express them in positive ways.”