Kim Garner is a mental health counselor working at McNeese State University. He is often recommended specifically for women because he is “so good with them.” What he’s actually good at is perpetuating unhealthy stereotypes, and perpetrating sexual harassment against young women. After a Facebook post written about my experience at the Counseling Center, seven others came forward. The total number of women claiming sexual misconduct or other forms of malpractice by Mr. Garner has now reached eleven, and the numbers grow every day.

In my specific case with Mr. Garner, I saw him for nearly three years. He would frequently make uncomfortable and uncalled for comments on my body. As someone who had never received counseling, I thought this was normal. I expressed to Mr. Garner that I had found myself in a domestic abuse situation, and he encouraged me to stay and try to fix the relationship. The man he encouraged me to stay with raped me countless times over a two year period, and I eventually left him against Mr. Garner’s advice. Mr. Garner would often touch my knee or thigh, and every time I went to leave his office he would block the door with his body until I gave him a full-frontal hug. Mr. Garner also focused intensely on the sexual aspects of my relationships, asking me to go into explicit details surrounding my sexual encounters. He discouraged me from having sex before marriage, but still wanted to speak in intimate detail on my sex life. This and many more transgressions occurred before November 2018, when I told Mr. Garner I had been raped over the summer. This was the first time I had told anyone, or even admitted it to myself. I had been brutally raped and beaten by a stranger at a house party, at my house party. I told Mr. Garner what had happened because I wanted to work through those feelings. Kim, fed up with my “excessive” drinking and partying, said “Hannah, these things wouldn’t happen if you just stayed home.” He was so disconnected from our conversation that he didn’t even know I had been raped in my own home. He shamed me for having sex, blamed me for my own rape, and openly sexualized me in our sessions over the course of almost three years. 

The women and non-binary individual who have come forward all have stories like mine. For some of them, he fell asleep in sessions. He openly sexualized them. He shamed them for having sex, while encouraging them to tell him explicit details about their sex lives. He has yelled at patients for going against his advice. He told one of us “of course it’s hard for you to work out, look at your boobs.” He had us look at ourselves naked in the mirror and describe to him what we saw, and what we liked about ourselves. He sexualized each and every one of us, and forced us to hug him. He told us he was just a lovable old grandpa, and we could tell him anything. We believed him. We trusted him. He abused that trust, and abused us.

After a short process, the university has chosen to take no further action. Mr. Garner is still practicing. He is able to continue doing this to other students. He is a predator who preys on young people in crisis and he is being allowed to continue. Please sign our petition and help us stop him.