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. […]
Jeremy
“You don’t look like you have mental issues.” Jeremy didn’t know how to respond. His friend was right. Jeremy looked like a typical, happy adolescent. He earned good grades, played sports and followed the rules. No one ever thought anything was wrong. That is until Jeremy made a serious suicide attempt. He just wanted to die […]
Roberto
Roberto was 12 years old when his parents brought him to WYS with concerns about his escalating level of anxiety. He was easily distracted, had trouble focusing in school and at home, and when talking he was easily excited and nervous.The WYS clinician working with Roberto, began a treatment plan that included family and individual therapy with the focus […]
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 […]
Sarah & Sam
Sarah was overwhelmed when she contacted WYS. She is the parent of Sam, an angry 17-year-old. Although Sarah knew that Sam needed help, he refused therapy and Sarah wondered what to do for him. Sarah learned that WYS could help her learn how to cope with her situation and how to be the best parent […]