Our Staff

At the Bergeron Wellness Center, each counselor has a generalist background with specific areas of interest and expertise. They provide short-term mental health counseling for students, as well as referrals off-campus for longer-term counseling as needed. They work closely with other staff to support the holistic health of the student body.

If you would like to make an appointment with one of the counselors, please go to the myHealth Portal or call The Bergeron Wellness Center at 802.654.2234.

Kathy has been a mental health professional since 1993 when she earned her MA from Antioch New England Graduate School. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor. She has spent her career working with young adults and their families.

Kathy has been a part of the Saint Michael’s College counseling team since 2010, and the Director since 2014.  She loves her work here at the college and particularly enjoys supporting our diverse population of young adults to develop a compassionate understanding of themselves while developing the skills they need to address whatever challenges they are facing.  In that work, she encourages the recognition, understanding and enhancement of their many strengths.

In her free time, Kathy enjoys walking, hiking, biking, gardening, swimming, and participating in any type of team sport.  She also loves to read, cook/bake, ride her motorcycle, explore, and spend time with her family and friends.

Kathleen Butts, MA, LCMHC, LADC
Director of Counseling
she/her/hers pronouns
kbutts@smcvt.edu
802.654.2310

Sarah has been providing mental health services to young adults since 1994.  She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, an Apprentice Addictions Counselor and an Expressive Arts Therapist. She has a master’s degree in Expressive Arts Therapies from Lesley University and a BA from Brandeis University. Prior to joining the SMC counseling team in 2014, Sarah was in private practice at the Adams Center for Mind and Body, specializing in helping individuals with eating disorders.  She has also served as drug and alcohol prevention and intervention counselor at Williston Central School CSSU school district. Sarah uses a student centered approach, focusing on student’s goals, while encouraging personal expression and personal choice.  She is particularly interested in supporting students to work through issues with stress, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, communication skills, substance use and relationships.  She is very excited to be part of the Bergeron Wellness team and to help support SMC students reach for their dreams.  Sarah is currently working towards EMDR certification.

Sarah Klionsky, MA, LCMHC, AAP
Assistant Director of Counseling, Internship Coordinator
she/her/hers pronouns
sklionsky@smcvt.edu
802.654.2555

Greg is a Mental Health Counseling Intern from the University of Vermont. Before pursuing a career in counseling, he worked as a geologist across the U.S. and later as an educator in New England.

Greg approaches counseling with a deep reverence and care for each individual’s unique lived experience. He believes that we all possess an innate capacity for growth and that a validating therapeutic relationship—marked by care, genuineness, and attunement—is a powerful driver of healing. With this in mind, he strives to create an affirming space where clients feel understood and supported as they process emotions and move toward greater well-being.

Drawing from relational, person-centered, and emotion-focused approaches—as well as mindfulness—Greg helps clients bring curiosity and compassion to their present-moment experiences and connect with their needs. He also acknowledges the harm caused by oppression and strives to create a space where clients feel supported in navigating systemic challenges.

Outside of work, Greg enjoys playing music, meditating, and having silly conversations with his dog. He still has the heart of a geologist, and you might catch him admiring interesting rocks outside the Bergeron Wellness Center.

Greg Hufford
Pronouns: He, Him, His

Eleanor is a Clinical Mental Health Counseling Intern from the University of Vermont. Her path to counseling has been shaped by a wide range of experiences—including her time as a team leader with AmeriCorps NCCC, a graduate student in peace and conflict studies, and a program manager at Syracuse University. She is honored to now get to be a part of the Bergeron team.

Eleanor believes in your innate capacity for inner and relational healing, growth, and transformation. She grounds her work in compassion, curiosity, and empathy. At the heart of her approach is the therapeutic relationship: a holding space of trust and support where all parts of you are welcome—especially the ones that have felt silenced, overwhelmed, abandoned, or misunderstood. Eleanor gently meets each person where they are, honoring their unique pace and process.

Eleanor is interested in approaches from person-centered, internal family systems, emotion-focused, and somatic theories. Her work is rooted in the wisdom of emotion, the intelligence of the body, and a foregrounded awareness of how systems of power and oppression shape our lived experiences.

Outside of counseling, Eleanor finds joy in sunshine, lifting, yoga, hiking, swimming, pottery, and endlessly propagating her plants. She’s also hoping to explore gardening, birding, and eventually earning her yoga teacher certification (if she can find a few more hours in the day!).