News & Notes

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

With the start of school approaching, we want to recognize our individual WRAP therapists. WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) is a Bert Nash Center in-school therapy program, in partnership with Douglas County schools. The groundbreaking program began in 1997 and continues to thrive today. WRAP assigns a master’s-level clinician to a school to work collaboratively with the school’s mental health professionals to help with the behavioral, emotional, and psyc

Chris always wanted to be a runner. Not only is he a runner now, he’s also a medal winner. Chris, who has been a Bert Nash Center client since 2008, earned a bronze medal in the men’s age 50-54 100-meter dash at the 2021 Sunflower Games July 10 in Topeka. The week before the race, Chris, who is 50, said he felt prepared. “I’m ready to go,” he said. “I’m going to try the best I can. There are some really good competitors. I’ve got short legs, so I have to spin pretty fast to c

Right Time Care is the Bert Nash Center Medical Team’s scheduling system, which is designed to get patient appointments scheduled in a timely manner and so patients won’t run out of their medications. “When a patient calls, we get them scheduled typically with five to seven business days,” said Deb Johnston, who is the Client Care Specialist and scheduler for Right Time Care. “Our goal is to make sure that we get the patient taken care of. We do everything we can to make sure

The pandemic impacted the physical health and wellbeing of people in different ways. Many people became more concerned about their mortal life and how to take care of it. It also impacted the mental wellbeing of communities in different ways. Anxiety for catching the illness ran rampant. Paranoia at the sound of a cough was high. Stay-at-home orders and the inability to seek out friends left many isolated and alone in times of need. That was especially true for the BIPOC (Bla

If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255. For Bonnie Castro, helping others is a way to help herself. Bonnie is a Bert Nash Center Community Support Services case manager. Drawing upon her own recovery journey, she helps others who are going through mental health issues. Bonnie has borderline personality disorder. Speaking from experience, Bonnie said, “It gets better. You learn skills. You learn ways to c

For the past 30 plus years, Richard (Rich) Failla has made the mental health field his life’s work. He will bring that wealth of experience to his new role as executive director of the Crisis Recovery Center, which is part of the Treatment and Recovery Campus of Douglas County. Behavioral Health Partners, Inc., a nonprofit partnership between Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and LMH Health, announced the hiring of Failla. He will begin his new duties later this month.

A house is not a home, the saying goes. But for residents of Transitions, as well as The Cottages, it will be. Transitions is a two-story, 12-bed supportive housing facility for the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. The Cottages, operated by the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, are 10 separate one-level units that provide permanent supportive housing for individuals with serious persistent mental illness. Transitions and The Cottages, along with a crisis rec

Note: May is Mental Health Month. COVID-19 has not only threatened people’s physical health but their mental health. For some, the pandemic has intensified existing conditions such as anxiety and depression and for others it has created new mental health challenges. These are individual stories of hope and resiliency and examples of how people coped and managed their mental health during a pandemic. “You’re taking care of your body and mind, and it’s one and the same” Rach

Most people that know me, know that I love to help people. But most of them still don’t understand why. Being an adopted individual, a good amount of the start of my life was predetermined. My adoptive parents had an amazing life to offer me, filled with promise and opportunities for success — the opposite of what my life could have been had they not adopted me. I grew up grateful that there really were people who wanted to love me but at the same time was still fighting the

For more than 70 years, the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center has been serving the residents of Douglas County. During that time, the Center has had to adapt and adjust to the changing needs of the community and people’s schedules. To better meet those needs, the Bert Nash Center will expand its hours of operation to 8:00 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friday. The need for services is so great that the Center will also be expanding it

In our effort to keep clients, visitors and staff safe, which is our highest priority, everyone entering Bert Nash Center is asked to wear a mask. People presenting for intake and crisis services, as well as follow-up appointments, are requested to limit their supports to one person accompanying them whenever possible. This includes children presenting for intakes or crisis services. We ask they be accompanied by only one parent/guardian whenever possible. If you do not have

How did your involvement with the Bert Nash Center begin? I first found Bert Nash in 1977 when we were having family problems, and I needed some help. As our children grew, we occasionally needed other resources at the Center. Why is it important to you to support the Center financially? My father was a psychiatrist in Lubbock, Texas, and thought that community mental health facilities were very important. He was a strong advocate for all community mental health centers and h

When Damian started coming for services at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, it not only changed his life. It may have saved it. “I used to struggle with suicidal urges, so I honestly don’t know if I would be alive if it wasn’t for Bert Nash,” Damian said. Damian, who is transgender, wasn’t feeling accepted at school or at home. “I started coming out as trans in middle school,” he said. “No one really supported me. I didn’t have a good relationship with school or