Personal Counseling

Personal counseling at KCAI

KCAI has contracted psychotherapists and supervised counseling interns on-campus during the academic year. Counselors meet with students weekly for a variety of presenting concerns.

Students may be concerned about:

  • Transitioning to KCAI from high school
  • Transferring to KCAI from a different college, junior college or art school
  • Adjusting to life at art school as a non-traditional student
  • Homesickness
  • Eating disorders
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Sexual orientation/gender Identity
  • Suicide prevention and warning signs
  • Time management concerns
  • Self-esteem
  • Surviving a difficult critique with your self-esteem intact
  • Just having a difficult time

For more information, contact:

Dr. Bambi Burgard
bburgard@kcai.edu

816-802-3455

Nikol Averbuch, professional counselor
816-802-3376
naverbuch@kcai.edu 

Scheduling information

On-campus counseling services at KCAI are coordinated by Dr. Bambi Burgard, licensed psychologist and vice president for academic affairs. If you would like to schedule an appointment with a counselor on campus, please contact Nancy Noble in the student life office at nnoble@kcai.edu or 816-802-3423. If you have questions about counseling at KCAI or about referral for medications, please contact Dr. Burgard at bburgard@kcai.edu or 816-802-3455.

Personal counseling appointments are open to students during the academic year and are limited by availability. If a counselor is not available, Dr. Burgard will assist the student by identifying outside resources and/or providing referral information for local mental health care providers.

After hours, Dr. Burgard can be reached through KCAI security at 816-931-6666. In the event of an emergency, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Additional information

Students who do not have any insurance other than KCAI’s Student Assurance plan can access free mental health services through the Kansas City Free Health Clinic. The clinic offers free counseling to individuals who do not have insurance, and clients are eligible for free medication through the clinic if they are in ongoing counseling with one of their providers.To schedule a visit, contact Pat Larson at 816-777-2722. She will schedule an intake session and assign you to a counselor. There are two clinic locations, the closer of which is the Midtown Clinic:

Midtown Clinic                             
3515 Broadway                            
Kansas City, MO 64111
 
Eastside Clinic
5119 E. 24th Street
Kansas City, MO 64127
 
UMKC Community Counseling and Assessment Center (Fees are determined on a sliding scale basis)

UMKC – School of Education
52nd and Holmes
816-235-2725

For recommendations about additional off-campus counseling options, contact Nikol Averbuch, who can provide a list of private practitioners who accept insurance and have worked with KCAI students.

The contact number for the KC Free Clinic for a Medical/Physical Health appointment is 816-753-5144.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, please call the crisis hotline (see below), call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
 
24-hour suicide/crisis line: 1-800-273-TALK
 
Below is a list of local resources if you are having thoughts of suicide and need to go to the hospital:
  1. Research Mental Health Services, 816-235-8162 [Intake Coordinator]; 816-444-8161 [Research Psychiatric Center], 2316 E. Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64132
  2. Shawnee Mission Medical Center, 913-676-2530, 9100 W. 74th St., Kansas City, KS 66204
  3. KU Med: 913-588-5000; 3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS 66160
  4. Two Rivers 1-800-225-8577 or 816-382-6300, 5121 Raytown Rd., Kansas City, MO 64133
  5. Western Missouri Mental Health Center, 816-512-7000, walk-in appointment at 100 E. 24th St., Kansas City, MO 64108
  6. St. Luke's Hospital Emergency, 816-932-2000 or 816-932-2171
  7. The Kansas City Free Clinic, 816-753-5144 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday)

If you are concerned about someone and would like to access online information, a good web page is at the following location, click on the link “For Concerned Others”:
http://ccvillage.buffalo.edu/vpc.html 

Online Kansas City resources for LGBT individuals and allies can be found via the following link:
http://www.lgcckc.org/

For information about LGBT activities in conjunction with UMKC’s LGBT office, use the following link:
http://www.umkc.edu/lgbt/

For a list of local AA/NA groups and resources please access the following link:
http://www.kc-aa.org/
www.aa.org/

For locations of drug rehab and other resources for rehab:
http://www.drugrehablocator.com/

Please consider accessing online help at the following websites:
http://ccvillage.buffalo.edu/vpc.html
http://mentalhealthscreening.org/

Bambi Burgard, Ph.D.
Vice president for academic affairs
Licensed psychologist
Vanderslice Hall
816-802-3455
bburgard@kcai.edu

Faculty and staff who are interested in accessing the Employee Assistance Program to learn about the services offered, visit www.ndbh.com or call 913-982-8398 or 800-624-5544.  To obtain the online login code for KCAI faculty and staff contact the EAP directly.

Student handbook

Student handbook

Download the student handbook for information about student services, degree requirements, the grading system, course reservations, academic appeals and academic standings.

Download the KCAI Viewbook

Download the KCAI Viewbook

The Kansas City Art Institute's viewbook provides an overview of KCAI's academic programs,  students, faculty, alumni and campus.