A major new addition to the St. Dominic community this school year is a full-time wellness counselor. Ms. Kat Lammering, a St. Dominic class of 2012 alumni, has been hard at work these first few weeks. She has met so many new faces, and she would love for all to stop by her office.

Ms. Lammering comes to us from the Fort Zumwalt School District as a substitute teacher. She subbed for many types of students, but her absolute favorite days were when she got to teach kids with autism, Down syndrome and multiple disabilities. While she was substitute teaching, she was also completing her student teaching and going to graduate school at Lindenwood University to get her masters in counseling.

Even though Ms. Lammering graduated from St. Dominic, she never thought she would or even could come back.

“At the time, Dominic didn’t even have my position that I’m in right now. I’m really excited to get to know all my students and help them in any way I can… The students have been really welcoming and just so fun to be around,” Ms. Lammering said.

Ms. Lammering is also really excited that St. Dominic is recognizing mental health and how big of a role it plays in all of our lives.

“Not every school in the archdiocese has a mental health counselor, so by St. Dominic choosing to have one is essentially them recognizing that mental health is just as important as physical health and they want to do something about it,” Ms. Lammering said.

She is certainly getting the chance to do something about it, as many students have already swung by her adorable, Pinterest-inspired office.

“I also love how much the students have already utilized me. I really didn’t think I would have as big of a case load as I do. I’ve seen more students in the first month then I thought I would all year,” Ms. Lammering said.

Just because Ms. Lammering has more work than she thought she would does not mean she doesn’t love it. In fact, it makes her love it ten times more.

“The best word to describe my job is rewarding. When I have a student come in, open up and share their stories with me, I really do feel honored to be on the receiving end. Technically, they don’t have to tell me anything. However, they choose to come in and share what they are going through,” Ms. Lammering said.

She then creates a short-term, goal-oriented game plan for a student primarily using a therapy called Cognitive Behavior Treatment and watches their growth.

“Sometimes the changes are small and then sometimes the changes are major, but seeing those changes, no matter what the size, is so so rewarding,” Ms. Lammering said.

Implementing mental health awareness in students’ everyday lives is something Ms. Lammering is truly passionate about. She knows that mental health is a taboo subject for too many, even though so many struggle with it.

“I’m working really hard on removing that negative attitude around mental health and seeing a counselor. I think once students see other students coming to see me and hopefully saying positive things about it, it will create a ripple effect and will be seen as ‘normal’ and not ‘weird’ or that the person seeing counseling is ‘crazy,’” Ms. Lammering said.

She also hopes to implement mental health education, as she knows education is key to treating mental health. To fix this, she created a Twitter @SDHSWellness, which sends out information, resources, facts, tips and tricks pertaining to mental health. She also sends out “The Mental Health Monthly” e-newsletter once a month to St. Dominic teachers. This e-newsletter covers a specific mental health topic each month, and it lets teachers know how that topic appears in a classroom and what they can do to attack any issues pertaining to it.

If you want to swing by Ms. Lammering’s office to talk or even just say hi and pick up some candy or coffee, she is located in the college coordination center next to Mr. Markway, Mrs. Dodge and Father Patrick. If you are a parent and want to contact her, her email address is [email protected] and her phone number is 636-240-8303 x120. She also would love any ideas or suggestions on how to improve the wellness program. Make sure to always take care of your mental health—it’s important!