When walking into the new Mental Health Therapists office, one would walk in and see a little rectangle table with one chair on each side which Ms.Hayley Tlampka will use to have her counseling sessions. She has a big, beige flower rug laying under her feet. She has tissues, her water bottles and her laptop, all in preparation for serving students.

Ms. Tlampka office is at Osage Trail Middle school. She wants to be a good resource for all students in the district.

“I hope that it’s not seen as a bad thing but it’s seen as a helpful thing,” Ms. Tlampka said. “I’m literally just here to be a mental health resource.”

Ms.Tlampka attended college at Missouri State for her undergrad and Park University for her Masters, all in social work. Freshman Center Counselor Brittany Matthews finds the mental health therapist is helpful and needed.

“I think that having a trained mental health therapist in our school will help provide services for students who need more intensive therapy then like a school counselor or social worker can provide,” Ms.Matthews said.

Ms. Tlampka has been working for Comprehensive Mental Health for about a year and a half and Comprehensive and Fort contracted to create this position. She did her practicum in a middle school actually a few years ago and was looking to get back into a school, but it was nice for her because she can still stay with her company. Freshman Center science teacher Ms.Tara Tuley welcomes the new Mental Health Therapist.

“Its beneficial for students,” Ms.Tuley said. “It provides another source of triage for students that normally they wouldn’t get in the classroom, just gives them an adult to talk to.”  

Because Ms. Tlampka is housed in the middle school students won’t miss classes as much. She’ll also be helping out with the S.O.S program as well as the usual mental health issues. Ms.Tlampka has always been fond of the Mental Health program.

“I have always worked with kids,” Ms.Tlampka said. “I used to work with a residential facility for teenagers in treatment and worked there for quite awhile and It is really hard to function if your mental health is not in order so I think that’s kinda the main thing for me is that balance is physical health and mental health.”

Students can get in contact with Ms.Tlampka by emailing her at [email protected]. Appointments can also be made by contacting the high school’s social worker, Ms.Deanna Rymer at [email protected].