News & Notes

I believe that change is possible because I’ve experienced it myself, and I enjoy being a therapist because it allows me to be a part of the changes my clients create for themselves. When I was 26 years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was an extremely overwhelming experience and I was hit with many changes at a rapid pace. As I went through treatment, anxiety and depression became more overwhelming for me. I also experienced medical trauma, feared the unknown asso

Anna noticed that her daughter, Izzie, wasn’t acting like herself. She knew Izzie was struggling. Anna also knew Izzie needed help. That’s when she brought Izzie to Bert Nash. That was February 2018. “The kid you see sitting here now is not the kid who was sitting there when we initially started coming to Bert Nash,” Anna said. “She’s really improved on just owning her part, which is a drastic step from where she came from.” When Izzie, who is a freshman in high school, first

Cindy Sturm and Vince Wondrack started working together in 2016. Cindy was a Bert Nash client and Vince was a SEED (Supported Employment Education Development) specialist for Bert Nash. In his role, he works with clients to help them find and maintain a job or return to school. Now they are colleagues. Cindy became a Bert Nash peer support specialist in 2019. Peer support specialists use their own mental health experiences to help others. She calls it her dream job. “I’m so p

I love serving the community in which I live. As a Kansan and Douglas County resident I see the hard work ethic as a backbone to our identity. I want to be part of the change to help our residents feel comfort seeking mental health services. Walking through those front doors can be a big step. I want to acknowledge the bravery people show in asking for help. In my work with both kids and adults, I love being able to see people’s confidence grow in who they are as things get b

The program I supervise, the Admissions Department, has a variety of roles at Bert Nash. The main role is assisting clients with getting started in services. The Admissions team is a small, but highly knowledgeable staff that provides Douglas County with a vital resource — getting people connected to mental health services. The work is highly impactful and incredibly rewarding. In addition to coordinating with the area schools, hospitals, and court system to set up the initia

Parenting isn’t easy. Especially if you feel like you don’t have the support you need. That’s how Becca and Eliot Spielman felt before they came to Bert Nash. Then, for the first time, they felt supported. And understood. And validated. “During our first meeting with Angie (Keegan, who was a Bert Nash parent support specialist at the time), it was clear that she understood both the gravity of the situation and the range of emotions my partner and I were experiencing,” Becca s

You approach disguised liked concerns, caution even. Caught unaware, your victim is suddenly crippled or pinned down. Hey there frenemy! Let me not beat around the bush. Instead, I will call you by your name. Hey you Anxiety! Stop where you are. In fact, back up some, a lot even. What are you doing lurking around here? I may be concerned with the current times and cautious for myself and others. But I will not entertain you. Lest you forget, there are boundaries between u

I have thought about the answer to this question for a while. As it has changed some over the years as I have adjusted into different roles within mental health. Before I began on a path to mental health, I was looking into a career in art and I happen to take a social psychology course in undergrad. Taking this course shifted a lot for me. I changed my career goals, school, and dove into studying psychology. From there I grasped every piece of knowledge to understanding the

I love what I do. Some days it is harder than others but I cannot imagine being anywhere else. The work isn’t done for the thank-yous nor credit. I do it because I love kids. I do it because someone did it for me in school. Someone continually showed up for me. They asked how I was doing and listened without judgment. Our schools need to be about support and relationships first. Placing Bert Nash WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) therapists in schools help

While training to become a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor, I heard about an acronym they use in Hawaii -- “MAMA” = meaningful adult, meaningful activity. Among other protective factors, a youth having at least one meaningful adult and meaningful activity in their lives greatly increases their resiliency. Growing up, I had many meaningful adults and meaningful activities supporting the development of who I am today. A time that these MAMAs were especially helpful was

The homeless outreach team will tell you, because I mentioned it multiple times in my interview, I do what I do because I want to help people. I never knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had dreams that I knew would never come true but once I realized I wanted to help those in need, all it took was some searching and I was so under qualified but so lucky to be hired as a homeless outreach PATH case manager. I wish I had the length to explain why I do what I do, in depth. But

During this current crisis, 100 percent of my clients have asked about me and my family, wanting me to be safe, not certain “what they would do if something happened to me.” Clients have purchased masks and gloves for me, insisting that I be safe, no matter what. My people cry when I bring them a box of food, and they have NEVER asked or demanded I do so; they do not want me to be unsafe. When I meet with them via phone meetings or walk-and-talks, they are able to tell me in

I am deeply honored to be the recipient of the Bert Nash 2020 Lyn Smith Award. It means so very much to me to think that my friends and colleagues at Bert Nash find me worthy of this prestigious award. It was my great fortune to join the Bert Nash Endowment Board at a time of growth and innovation, at a time when resources were becoming more and more scarce. It was a time when we envisioned a new way of articulating and sharing the mental health needs in Douglas County. It wa

I am a peer support specialist, and as the name implies, I help others work on their own mental health symptoms and challenges. I myself have received services over the years from the amazing people at Bert Nash. As a peer support specialist, I share with others my experience, hope, and strengths, so that they too can be on a path to a strong recovery. At Bert Nash, we talk about restoring lives as a mission statement. For me, the providers at Bert Nash helped me move past th

If you would have asked me 15 years ago what I wanted to be when I grow up, I would have been dumbfounded. I likely would have made something up to escape the conversation. Throughout high school I experienced debilitating social anxiety. Social anxiety so crippling that it often had me questioning my self-worth and confidence. There would be days I would go without saying a single word. I would isolate, sit in the far back of the room, be the first to leave school while othe

I do this work because I feel called to it. I’d love to tell you that I always knew I would be a therapist, but that simply isn’t true. In fact, as a child and adolescent, I never imagined myself doing anything very impactful with my life. Instead, it was a combination of powerful life experiences (both good and bad) that led me to this work. I grew up in a working-class family in South County St. Louis. As with most, my family maintained a fair amount of dysfunction and untr

What was your mental health journey that brought you to Bert Nash? I actually started seeing a therapist back when I was in eighth grade because I had depression on top of typical teenage angst that I had a hard time dealing with. I also started getting medication for depression from Bert Nash at that time that went on for maybe a year or two. However, it wasn’t until I was 22 that I believe I was in dire need of Bert Nash’s services. I got pregnant at the age 16 and gave bir

Dear Colleagues, As part of the Douglas County Emergency Management plan, Bert Nash is developing a rotation of Master Level Clinicians to be available as a support resource to Medical Healthcare Providers who are working frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we’ve seen in other communities across the Nation and Worldwide, we are preparing for a surge of people who will need medical care related to COVID-19. There are predictions this surge will take place in Douglas Co

Douglas County is deeply honored to receive the Pioneer Award from its longtime partner Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. Commissioners and administrative staff are committed to helping those who struggle with mental illness and substance abuse in our community. Through community partnerships — such as our partnership with Bert Nash — we can truly make a significant difference in supporting our most vulnerable community members. In recent years, Douglas County has lea

I think I knew I wanted a career in mental health after taking abnormal psychology for a general education requirement during undergrad at KU. At that time, I was a biology major, but I quickly switched to psychology and I loved it. I felt the content of my classes was much more accessible, I didn’t need to have a periodic table or microscope. I could learn about a diagnosis or concept and then I could observe examples play out in real life as I walked around campus. I had a