Fernando
When ten-year-old Fernando came to Western Youth Services, he was emotionally closed off and isolated from his family and friends. When he first came into the office he sat in the corner, hiding behind his mother and communicated only through her. He had a habit of hiding himself inside a warm sweater, even on hot […]
Taylor
At 14 years old, Taylor was fighting with his mom and his siblings and was becoming known as a behavior problem at school. He was angry, verbally and physically aggressive, and his mom was terrified that things would get worse as he grew older. Knowing that they needed help as a family, Taylor and his […]
Sofia
Sofia was in the 2nd grade when she came to WYS. She was very guarded and shy, she had attachment issues and it was a bit of a challenge to coax her to participate in counseling services. We utilized play therapy with Sofia. As we played games and colored some of her favorite Disney Princesses, […]
Patty
Patty had an anxiety attack at school. She didn’t know what was happening but felt major pressure in her chest and anxiousness pulsing through her body. She told her school counselor about it and explained that she wanted to kill herself because she was so afraid. She met with a counselor at her school for […]
Natalie
Natalie came to Western Youth Services because she was starting to get into trouble at home and at school for losing her temper and shouting at her family and friends. She wanted help but wasn’t sure what that meant. She explained that she felt a deep sadness most days and was confused about her sexual […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]