HOCG: CGS counselors Dan Petrocelli and Erin Gilmore
By Hadley Cress ‘27
The Catlin Gabel School counselors Dan Petrocelli (Left) and Erin Gilmore (Right). Photo by Alana Hill.
Have you ever needed someone to talk to? At Catlin Gabel School (CGS) there are two counselors, Dan Petrocelli and Erin Gilmore, who are here to help.
In high school, it is very common to feel isolated and alone. Counselors can help students manage their stress and find suitable coping mechanisms. They can also teach them life skills such as how to calm themselves down in overwhelming situations.
Counselors can be an important tool that can help with students' well-being and success because they can help with many things ranging from managing school to having someone to talk to about difficult topics such as death or self-harm.
In these difficult situations, they can help students in a variety of ways. They can be supportive by listening to them, offering advice, or even helping mediate a conversation between students.
The CGS Counselors are here to create a safe space for students. Although they are employed by the school, they are not required to report the breaking of school rules. They are here to help students in a way that is not connected to the school.
An easy way to talk with the counselors is to go to their offices which are currently in Dant 11 and Dant 8. Students are welcome to pop in whenever. However, they can also make appointments which are linked in Veracross and the bulletin.
One of the CGS Counselors is Erin Gilmore, who has been a student counselor for many years. She chose to be a counselor for numerous reasons and early in her life, she knew she loved working with people.
From a young age, she did many things like coaching basketball and camp counseling. Gilmore said, “I just always really loved helping younger people navigate the world.”
The reason Gilmore wants to help others comes from her life growing up. She said, “Not always having someone there for myself, who was kind and easy to access and related to made me want to show up that way to others.”
Along with this, Gilmore is the middle child of 5 which was, “by a lot of people's ideas …[the] peacemaker,” she said. Growing up with this idea she found herself helping her friends navigate problems or arguments.
The second CGS Counselor is Dan Petrocelli who has been a student counselor at CGS for 4 years. He started during the pandemic which was “the most odd way I’ve ever started a job” he said.
Petrocelli growing up saw his fair share of violence and faced many challenges “Back then late 70s 80s, there was just so much fighting going on at school and in recess at a public school, and to me witnessing that stuff actually traumatized me” he said. Similar to Gilmore, he didn’t have someone to talk to growing up and now strives to give students a safe space.
Petrocelli was led to counseling because of the hardships he had been through himself. Petrocelli strives to share his knowledge of working through tough experiences. “How can I keep all that I’ve learned to myself?” he asked.
As a counselor, Petrocelli has done many different types of work, one of which is crisis work. He said “I decided in the beginning, I'm going to try all kinds of things, anything that I'm afraid of actually wanting to try. So I did crisis work”
Petrocelli learned a lot from doing crisis work and saw some really hard things, but to him, that was “one of the best experiences” he's ever had.
Because of their own experiences growing up, Gilmore and Petrocelli can help students learn to balance their school work and how to set boundaries in their relationships, along with managing their mental health.
When creating a space to help students Petrocelli and Gilmore value confidentiality. What students talk to CGS counselors about is private knowledge that isn’t shared except in a few situations.
When it comes to confidentiality, student counselors are required to report certain things because they are mandated reporters. This means they are required to report signs of child abuse or neglect as well as one's harm to themselves or others.
However, depending on the severity of a situation, reporting is not always necessary. For example, if the counselor feels that the student isn’t an immediate danger to themselves or to anyone else it wouldn’t be reported.
Overall, Gilmore and Petrocelli are here to help students in any way possible. They value student's privacy and only want to support them.
They are a tool for students to use as they need or see fit. As counselors, they understand it can be hard to talk to someone you don’t know and encourage students to bring friends.
Petrocelli and Gilmore are always there to talk and will continue to help students strive to be their best selves.