Maria
All 15-year-old Maria knew was that she felt depressed and unmotivated. Hoping to bury her hurt, she retreated, withdrawing from activities with family and friends – or lashing out verbally in a struggle to communicate her seemingly inarticulate feelings. Her poor performance academically only added to her challenges. And then her mother found WYS through word […]
Angie
At a time of life when most of her peers were looking forward to school dances or planning college, 15-year-old Angie was escaping a lifetime of abuse. Angie was removed from her mother’s care because of neglect and failure to protect her daughter. Angie toiled enormously. She wanted to give up. She couldn’t see past the […]
Savannah
Savannah came to Western Youth Services a few years after she was placed in foster care due to domestic violence. Her history revealed that at the age of 6 years old, she didn’t have the words to describe what she was feeling inside and didn’t understand why she couldn’t be with her mother and siblings. […]
Pamela
By the time Pamela was 16 years old, she was running the streets and refusing to be home. Her mother had given up and stopped trying. With no means of transportation, she wouldn’t be able to get Pamela mental health services anyway. This was until she was able to secure Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS). Pamela […]
Karla
Karla felt like everyone was angry with her – her parents, teachers, even her soccer coach. She tried to pay attention. She tried to sit quietly in class. Karla began feeling worthless, like she couldn’t do anything right, she was always getting in trouble. After being assessed by the school psychologist and her pediatrician, she […]
Amber
When 6 year-old Amber first came to WYS, she was struggling. Recurring nightmares led to difficulty sleeping, her eating habits had changed, and she was suddenly sensitive to loud noises. All of this led to a change in her personality that was expressed with aggressive behavior, irritability, and “tantrums” at school and at home. Amber received individual […]
Jessica
Jessica came to WYS experiencing intense distress and sadness as a result of a long history of traumatic childhood experiences. She avoided thinking or talking about the traumatic situations as well as people or places that might trigger a memory. She struggled with feeling guilt and shame which had a negative impact on her self-confidence […]
Melissa
Ten-year-old Melissa was struggling in school. She had high levels of anxiety that led to regular meltdowns, she was unable to focus on her school work, and did not want to go to school. Melissa began to see a Western Youth Services (WYS) therapist in school who learned through their discussions that Melissa’s mom, a […]
Celeste
Celeste reached out to WYS when she realized that her anxiety about doing something embarrassing in public the fear of rejection from friends, turned debilitating over a six month period and these feelings were keeping her from living an active, happy life. At 19 years old, Celeste’s world should have been full of new experiences […]
Maddison
Maddison came to WYS as an overwhelmed mom of three kids. Initially, she was seeking counseling for her 12-year-old son Brian who was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and autism. He was being bullied at school and started to run away from school to avoid facing his bullies. As her story started to unfold, the therapist […]