Guidance Counseling

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
• Discuss goals and aspirations

* 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.

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
Support groups formed based on student needs. The focus of a group might be on:

• 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.

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 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.

Social-Emotional Counselors make classroom visits to educate the students on the following areas listed below. We also promote various awareness weeks for school-wide attention to bullying, dating abuse, body image, and suicide prevention.

• Social Institute classroom lessons on consent and boundaries
• Abusive dating relationships
• Bullying
• Career Exploration
• Suicide Prevention
• Staff Suicided Prevention Training

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. Davison or Mr. Hallauer know via e-mail. 

For Emergency Mental Health situations,  call or text 988 anytime, 24/7.

Shelters

Mental Health Services

Parent Support

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.

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.

• Adolescent Center for Treatment (ACT) (substance use) 913-782-0283
• 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

Hotline: 1-800-392-3738

from MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault)

• Crisis line and advocacy services (24-hour support)
• Counseling services
• Education and prevention
• I’ve just been sexually assaulted / raped. What should I do? 
• EduMed: Preventing Sexual Assault in College: Student Support & Safety Advice
• What do I do if my child has been sexually abused?
• Adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
• Self-care resources

from RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

• Grooming warning signs 
• After Sexual Assault

• • I am a kid and something happened
  • Recovering from sexual violence
  • Reporting and the criminal justice system
  • Survivor stories
  • Steps you can take after sexual assault
  • Safety planning
  • Receiving medical attention
  • How can therapy help?
  • Reporting to law enforcement
  • What is a sexual assault forensic exam?
  • Tips for talking with survivors of sexual assault
  • Telling loved ones about sexual assault
  • Helping someone you care about
• Warning Signs

• • For college-age adults
  • For teens
  • For young children
• Safety support for parents
  • Evaluating caregivers
  • If your child may be harming another child
  • Help for children who have been abused by family members
• Safety for students 

• • Staying safe
  • Alcohol safety
  • Practicing active bystander intervention
  • What consent looks like
  • Student Activism

from Mahoney Law Firm

• Tips to prevent sexual assault while traveling

• Hope House
• Newhouse
• Rose Brooks
• Safehome
• EduMed: Preventing Sexual Assault in College: Student Support & Safety Advice

Treatment Programs

Cottonwood Springs (Olathe)

Resources from the Hazelden Betty Ford Clinic:

• Help for Families
• Dealing with Addiction
• Family Toolkit
• Prevention Solutions

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.

• Choices Alcohol and Drug Assessments, Education and Counseling
• Clinical Associates, P.A.
• Adolescent Outpatient Addiction Services

• ChildMind.org has a Family Resource Center "to help you support children who are struggling with mental health, behavior or learning challenges." 

These links were gathered from a variety of sources. If any of the links do not work or if you have other sources you believe could be helpful, please contact Mr. Hallauer or Mrs. Davison.