Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Counseling, Propaedeutic Program
Thomas (Tommy) Fonseca holds a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Mississippi State University. He is a professor of Counselor Education and the School Counseling Coordinator within the Department of Counseling and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Holy Cross. He has over eight years of school counseling experience and over seventeen years of experience as a counselor educator. He created the first webinar on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of trauma- and stressor-related disorders hosted by the Louisiana Counseling Association (LCA). Dr. Fonseca served as past president of the Louisiana Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (LASERVIC), a division of LCA. Dr. Fonseca also serves as past president of the Louisiana Counseling Association. He received the 2010 Adjunct Faculty of the Year award from the University of Holy Cross.
He has presented several chapters of the DSM-5 at Family Services of Greater New Orleans, Jewish Family Services (Metairie), and Catholic Counseling Services (New Orleans). He has presented at the Louisiana Counseling Association’s (LCA) Annual Conference for the past fifteen years, the Law and Ethics National Conference, and the Mississippi Counseling Association’s (MCA) Annual Conference on crisis response planning. His presentation on crisis response planning won the 2015 LCA Best of Show award for its excellence in demonstrating how professional school counselors can advocate for the profession by enhancing their contributions to campus crisis planning teams.
Dr. Fonseca has been the guest speaker for three district-level school board in-services, during which he focused on using best practices in campus planning for violent intruders. He has received training from multiple institutes and organizations, including NOVA (National Organization for Victim Assistance), ALICE Training Institute (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate – the first active shooter training to be endorsed by the US Department of Education, Homeland Security, and FEMA), Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council (WRHSAC) Symposium on Active Shooter Awareness, Louisiana State University (LSU) School Shooter Awareness Summit, and Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Training. In addition, he has responded to two active shooter events.
His licenses/certifications include Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), LPC Board-Approved Supervisor (LPC-S), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), National Certified School Counselor (NCSC), and National Certified Counselor (NCC). Outside work, Dr. Fonseca loves spending time with his family and friends, reading, fishing, or relaxing on a beach.