Guidance Counseling

The Guidance Office provides a safe place to have a licensed professional counselor listen, understand, accept and encourage the client. We accept all students and their emotions, thoughts, and feelings unconditionally.

Counseling Resources After a Loss

Grief Counseling

Grief Counseling

Saint Thomas Aquinas Counseling

Counseling Sessions

Freshmen and sophomores have one session with a guidance counselor each year. Sessions are designed to help students:

Better understand themselves
Evaluate how they relate to others
Reflect on their relationship with God

* Requests for a student appointment with a counselor can be made by students, parents, teachers, administrators, or other counselors.

* Parents may also request sessions with counselors in parenting skills.

Counseling Options

PERSONAL COUNSELING
Guidance counselors are trained to help students challenged by issues such as

Self-concept
Relationship issues
Decision-making
Emotional health (i.e. depression, anxiety)
Intense feelings (i.e. anger, grief, fear, frustration)
Learning difficulties (i.e. attention deficit)
Preventive counseling

Students may request appointments or referrals may be made by parents or staff.

SUPPORT GROUPS
Confidential support groups are available in such areas as

Grief and Loss
Social skills
Self-concept
Relationship difficulties
Families dealing with divorce
Families dealing with illness
Stress

Students who would like to be a member of a support group should contact one of the Guidance Office counselors.

Transition to High School

Transitioning from a public school at the start of ninth grade or attending Saint Thomas Aquinas for the first time as a sophomore, junior or senior can be stressful. In early August, the Counseling Office and the Admissions office sponsor a half-day orientation for new students to become acquainted with a few Saint Thomas Aquinas students. This session is designed to be fun while familiarizing new students with the building, Aquinas traditions and activities, and allowing them to ask any questions they may have. They also get to meet the other students who are transferring.

In addition, the Counseling Office counselors meet one-on-one with these new students to see how they are progressing with friendships and involvement in Aquinas community. If a new student arrives after school begins, the Counseling Office matches them with a current student who walks them to their classes and introduces them to classmates.

Peer Helpers/Mediators

Peer Helpers

These students were nominated by their classmates to be specially trained to help their peers deal with difficulties. Peer Helpers meet one-on-one with students to help them explore options for overcoming challenges. These sessions are confidential. Students can request to see a Peer Helper through Student Formation.

Peer Mediators

These students are a select group of Peer Helpers who have received additional training in mediation. They meet with two students who are having a conflict and try to help these students come up with an agreement that both can live with to remedy the situation. Students can sign up for these sessions in Student Formation. These sessions are also confidential.Both peer helpers and peer mediators will refer any student or situation that they believe needs more professional assistance to a school counselor.

Peer Mentors

These students are juniors or seniors who were selected to mentor small groups of freshmen. They meet with them at Freshman Orientation and then continue to meet with them on a regular basis.

Proactive Education

Community Resources

Crisis Response Resource Numbers

Most of the information on this page is from ASIST, a division of Living Works. If you see any information that is inaccurate, please let Mrs. Oliva or Mr. Hallauer know via e-mail.

Mental Health Emergency	JoCo Mental Health Emergency Services	913-268-0156
Crisis Support	National Crisis Text Line	741-741
Crisis Support	Suicide Prevention Lifeline	1-800-273-8255
Suicide Prevention	Headquarters Counseling Center	785-841-2345
Domestic Violence Refuge	SafeHome	913-262-2868
Sexual Assault	Metro Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA)	816-531-0233
Domestic Violence Hotline	KC Metro Domestic Violence Hotline	816-HOTLINE
Child Abuse	Kansas Protection Report Center	800-922-5330
Police (non-emergency)	Johnson County Sheriff	913-782-0720

Shelters

Emergency Shelters	The Salvation Army	816-756-1455
Youth Shelters	Synergy House	816-741-8700
Homeless Hotline	City Union Mission	816-474-4599
Homeless Youth Services	KidsTLC SOS Youth Hotline	913-324-3619
Free Health Clinic	Free Health Partnership Clinic	913-648-2266
Legal Assistance	Kansas Legal Services	913-621-0200

Mental Health Services

Crisis / Response	Comprehensive Mental Health Services	888-279-8188
Outreach	Johnson County Mental Health	913-826-4200
Outreach	Wyandot Center	913-233-3300
Self-Help Groups	Kansas City CARE Clinic	816-753-5144
Substance Abuse	Valley Hope Association	913-432-4037
Substance Abuse	KC Area Central Office	816-471-7229

Parent Support

Student Services	Associated Youth Services	913-831-2820
Child Care Referrals	Child Care Aware of Kansas	7 85-823-3343
Parent Training	Parent-Adolescent Children Empowerment Services	913-328-4803
Family Support Services	Catholic Charities	816-221-4377
Religious / Spiritual Support	St. Luke's Hospital Spiritual Wellness	816-923-2180
Grief Counseling	Solace House	913-341-0318
Parent Helpline (24 hours)	800-Children	1-800-Children
Alcohol Addiction	AlcoholHelp.com	844-292-4933

Finding a Counselor

We don’t recommend certain counselors to everyone for everything because there are too many factors to consider. Instead, please visit PsychologyToday and use their Find a Therapist tool. You can filter results based on

Location / range
Insurance providers accepted
Issue
Style of therapy
And other factors

While one person may love a certain counselor, another person may have a personality clash. Their bios can tell you a lot about their style. So I encourage you to scroll through several options and see who seems like a nice fit.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City Kansas also has a list. From that website: The following counselors / psychotherapists have solemnly pledged that they are Catholics who follow the teachings and authority of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. They have firmly pledged to follow Catholic teachings in their lives, and to encourage their Catholic clients to live these out as well. This listing is not an endorsement of their counseling methods or effectiveness. You can find that list here.

Local Mental Health Providers

Though some providers specialize in a certain issue (such as grief or addiction), most offer a variety of services for different issues because many issues are intertwined.

Center for Behavioral Medicine, a division of the Missouri Department of Mental Health
Children's Mercy Developmental & Behavioral Health
The Children's Place (trauma treatment, south of UMKC)
Comprehensive Mental Health Services in Independence
Cornerstones of Care (two locations near State Line)
Cottonwood Springs in Olathe
Johnson County Mental Health
Keeler Women's Center in KCK
Mattie Rhodes Center in KCMO
Mental Health America in KCK
ReDiscover in Lee's Summit
Renew in Olathe
Solace House (for grief)
Swope Health in KCMO
Tri-County Mental Health in the Northland
Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health in KCMO
University of Kansas Health System Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Care
Wyandot Center in KCK

Child Abuse or Sexual Abuse Help + Tips

from MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault)

from RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

Warning Signs

from Mahoney Law Firm

Tips to prevent sexual assault while traveling

Domestic Violence Resources

Drug Addiction Resources

Substance Abuse Evaluations

The following agencies are approved by Johnson County's Juvenile Diversion Unit (JDU). For more information on requirements or grant assistance, please contact JDU at 913-715-7476.

To schedule a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) evaluation with Johnson County Mental Health, call 913-782-0283.

Other Helpful Websites

Laura Oliva, LCPC, RPT, School Counselor
Social/Emotional Counseling
913-319-2457
loliva@stasaints.net

Laura's Credentials

Laura's Credentials

Laura is dual licensed as a school counselor and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.

She holds a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from KU and a B.S.Ed in English/Journalism from NWMSU.

Laura has completed the Play Therapy Certification program at MidAmerica Nazarene University. This includes 27 post-master’s hours and 350 hours of supervised clinical hours.

She has worked at Saint Thomas Aquinas since 1995 as either a classroom teacher or counselor.

Laura’s therapeutic approach includes being trauma-informed, and using the modalities of cognitive behavioral, Acceptance and Commit Therapy, Narrative and Play Therapy. She is trained in play therapy (both directive and non-directive), filial therapy, Theraplay, and sandtray therapy as well as EMDR. She uses a wide variety of techniques to help students to process and find solutions to their challenges, and to address anxiety, depression, trauma and other emotional issues.

Matt Hallauer, LPC, NCC
Social/Emotional Counseling
913-319-2418
mhallauer@stasaints.net

Matt's Credentials

Matt's Credentials

Matt earned his master’s in counseling from MidAmerica Nazarene University, a CACREP-accredited program, in May 2010. He is a licensed professional counselor (by the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board) and a nationally certified counselor (by the National Board of Certified Counselors).

Matt started at Saint Thomas Aquinas in 2005 as a journalism teacher because he saw how mass communication and transparency could improve communities. He decided to become a counselor when he noticed some students quietly struggling with anxiety, doubt and hate. He took night and weekend classes during his fourth and fifth years at Aquinas, then became a part-time counselor in July 2010.

Cognitive Therapy is his chosen framework. In a cognitive therapy session, the student works on identifying and altering unhelpful thoughts, behaviors and emotional responses. For example, a student who is hurt by being ignored by a friend and believes “I am worthless” will instead focus on other reasons the friend may have ignored him. The friend may have been distracted or tired, or the student may be pushing their friend away. Matt has done extra research into cognitive practices toward helping teenagers suffering from depression, grief, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Matt oversees the PSAT and PreACT, coaches cross country, and is a moderator for the National Honor Society.

He enjoys playing games, working on his father’s cattle ranch, spending time with his family, and reading newspapers. Matt married his best friend Shannon in 2012.

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