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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Angel
Our story of Angel and his mom provides a unique glimpse into a family therapy session. Eleven-year-old Angel had been meeting individually with the WYS therapist to establish trust and to learn about him. The therapist asked Angel’s mom, Rosa, to schedule a special time to meet together as a family. The therapist felt there […]
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 […]