Brianna
Brianna was adopted by her aunt and uncle at a young age and then removed from their home at age 14 because of physical abuse. At the start of therapy at Western Youth Services, Brianna was not concentrating in school, skipping classes, and feeling unmotivated and sad. She was recently reunified with her aunt and […]
Cassandra
Cassandra’s 13 year-old daughter was referred to Western Youth Services for behavioral concerns. After visiting with her family, our Outreach and Engagement Specialist felt that all the members of her family could benefit from our services. Cassandra was separated from her husband and raising 5 children alone. She was living in poverty, had signs of […]
Jade
From the very moment we saw Jade, it was apparent how much she was hurting and how critically she needed the support of her mother. When Jade came to Western Youth Services she was dealing with issues related to anger and impulsivity. She was experiencing suicidal thoughts that had led to multiple hospitalizations. She was […]
Kira
When Kira was referred to WYS from the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) eating disorder clinic, she was suffering from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) which is where you can’t stop thinking about your real or perceived flaws. In Kira’s case, her BDD resulted in her restricting her eating, exercising three times a day, leading […]
Amara
At 13 years old Amara was living in foster care, depressed and dealing with the complicated feelings that came from being separated from her family. She struggled with feeling depressed on a daily basis, became increasingly withdrawn and was receiving poor grades. She felt the family that she was living with weren’t taking the time […]
Carmen
Carmen was seeking mental health services due to her crippling anxiety, depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and recurring panic attacks. Having suffered from gang-related trauma, at the time of her intake Carmen’s symptoms were so severe that they resulted in her frequently visiting the Emergency Room due to physical complaints. She’d not attended her high school […]
Evan
When Evan came to WYS he was having suicidal thoughts, auditory hallucinations and social anxiety. He was also struggling with failure to communicate feelings, and problems eating and sleeping regularly — all of which were greatly impacting his grades at school. Evan was demonstrating a high degree of hopelessness, non-compliance with his medication, and resistance […]
Cora
When seven year old Cora came to WYS, her mother had initially noticed that her daughter seemed to be shutting down — having unexplained emotional outbursts and developing a new fear of being separated from her mother. At the beginning of treatment, the magnitude of the issues they were facing were immediately discovered when Cora […]
Peter
WYS services are driven by the client and what they want to accomplish through therapy, so we ask our clients frequently if the sessions are going well and if the child and/or family feel therapy is progressing. One way we ask about this is by using a measure called the Youth Outcome Questionnaire (YOQ). The […]