Aimee Monette, clinical supervisor at CHD’s Prospect Center in East Longmeadow, began her career as a teacher after earning her bachelor of liberal arts degree at Hampshire College and her master’s in education from UMass.

“My dad was an Army colonel and we always had the idea that serving our community was important,” she said.

But after a decade as a language arts teacher she started to reevaluate what she really wanted to do for a living, so she reinvented herself, graduated from Springfield College with an MSW, and started her “second act.”

She believes that in many ways social work is like teaching in that both professions help people, foster growth, and improve lives. As a clinical supervisor since last June, she guides clinical interns at Prospect Center to enhance their social work skills and apply them to clients. “Even as a social worker, you’re teaching—you’re teaching how the brain works, and in my new position I’m helping the next group of students come forward and find their legs in this business,” she said.

Monette loves the collaborative atmosphere at Prospect Center, which opened in 2024 in part to address the growing strains on the mental health of children and teenagers. “We have such a fabulous group here,” she said. “We all pick one another’s brains and use one another’s expertise.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a dramatic increase of mental health issues among kids and teens, but even prior to the pandemic the rates of mental health concerns had been rising in this population for at least a decade, and Monette believes part of the problem is that social media has a huge influence on children and their mental well-being. “Social media is giving them misinformation and fueling bullying,” she said. “This is a soapbox I get on often. Social media is addictive and it’s built to be addictive, and I try to teach parents how to monitor their children’s use and remind their kids not to trust everything they see on their screens.”

A CHD clinician for the past nine years, she said it’s comforting when clients thank her for helping them, but—ever the teacher—she reminds them that they’re the ones who did all the work. “I’m just a facilitator,” she said. “I just offer them some tools. My first supervisor at CHD told me that my job is just to plant those seeds, and then it’s the clients’ job to make them grow.”