THIS WEEK'S PERSONALITY: Kristen Thiebaud jumps from English to counseling

Second in a series of personality articles on people involved in dealing with mental health issues affecting students in the Loudonville-Perrysville Schools.

LOUDONVILLE - Right in the middle of efforts in the Loudonville-Perrysville Schools to improve support for students with mental health issues is Kristen Thiebaud, the L-P Schools’ new guidance counselor for grades 4-8.

LAST WEEK'S PERSONALITY:Christie Orr is school mental health coordinator

“In my little more than four months here, I have provided counseling services for more than 120 students,” said Thiebaud, who hails from Walnut Creek in Holmes County.

“We talk about anything and everything in these sessions,” she continued.

“I love this interaction with the kids,” she said. “Previously, I taught high school English at Hillsdale High School, where I evolved into the teacher who the kids came to talk to when they had a problem. I was considering working on a school specialty, either educational technology or counseling, and because of the way I enjoyed the kids, I chose counseling.”

Actually, in addition to holding it as a full-time job, Thiebaud’s position is serving as her field experience for her master's in school counseling, with fellow counselor David Lance serving as her supervisor. She is doing her master’s degree work at Malone University in Canton.

Earned undergraduate degree from Bowling Green, then taught at Hillsdale High School

She earned her undergraduate degree in education from Bowling Green, landed a long-term substitute job at Hillsdale that moved into a full-time position, and taught there for eight years before moving to Loudonville High School this fall.

“My responsibility here is for kids in grades 4-8, but actually, like Mr. Lance, we provide counseling for any student that needs it,” Thiebaud said. “I love the position here. There are no two days alike. Some days my office is filled with kids all day long, and other days aren’t quite so hectic.

“I believe the Loudonville schools are doing a fantastic job in providing support for students with mental health issues,” she continued. “In addition to we two counselors, we have two school-community liaisons and a school-based therapist on hand to offer various options in mental health support.

“In my positions, both at Hillsdale and here, I have seen an uptick in student anxiety, and depression in kids,” she added. “Part of this is brought on by the pandemic, as kids seem unsure of just what is happening next. We did school online for six months, with kids having to adjust for that, and then we came back to regular classes, causing another adjustment.

“There are other problems as well,” she said. “I have seen a lot of cases of students having problems handling grief, caused by the loss of a loved one, particularly among fourth- through sixth-graders. Losing someone is a big problem at any age, and our challenge as counselors and teachers is to help these kids work through their grief.

“I also spend time in fourth- and fifth-grade classes, covering issues like anger and friendship, emphasizing good social skills and dealing with anger in a healthy way,” Thiebaud said. “I feel the kids respond to these classes really well. Among the things they learn is to walk away from an argument, and to use breathing techniques to help calm down.”

Loudonville-Perrysville Schools works with Appleseed Counseling in Ashland

She said the school district counseling team works with Appleseed Counseling in Ashland in cases that require crisis intervention.

“When a child feels unsafe, I work one on one with a counselor from Appleseed to help them,” she said.

Thiebaud lives in Wooster, where her husband works in the Wayne County Juvenile Court.

In her free time, she enjoys sewing, knitting, cooking and reading, noting “I like to read everything!”