News & Notes

Programs like Mental Health First Aid and WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) not only save money. They save lives. “It just isn’t worth the risk (not to fund these programs),” Bert Nash CEO David Johnson told U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins last week. Since 2008, more than 100,000 people nationwide have been trained in Mental Health First Aid, including more than 800 in Douglas County. The 12-hour training course — Bert Nash was one of seven pilot programs in the na

When a devastating event happens in your life it is easy to feel isolated and hopeless. Our family found Bert Nash at a time when we were smack-dab in the middle of a crisis and because of the support and therapy we received, we can look back and see several areas that changed our lives. When you have a child that is intent on harming themselves, and you don’t know why, it is very helpful to know that there are so many kind and talented people that make up Bert Nash who makes

Jane* experienced an early trauma at a young age and that experience made her susceptible to depression. At the age of 79, a family crisis triggered a major depressive episode and she was contemplating suicide. She had been helped by talk therapy in the past; so she decided to call the Bert Nash center and get help. “Having people that care about you is very important. But you have to be willing to be open to receiving the guidance they provide. I found visiting with Ruth ver

In her late 40’s, Sarah* was housebound for three years as a result of her severe anxiety. She worked at home and her roommate did the grocery shopping and errands for her. “I was paralyzed; I was not able to leave the house. My anxiety had really gotten out of control,” she stated. “In 2009 I finally made the call to Bert Nash, and shortly after I was able to meet with Dr. Sandra Lawrence, founder of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic. My life changed after that. I now have a life

Starting in 1982, I have been in and out of hospitals. When I first was diagnosed with mental illness, I was a graduate student at the University of Kansas. During the first phase of my illness, I was teaching at KU and had earned a Fulbright to go to Mexico to collect data for my degree. I had earned two master’s degrees and was working on my dissertation when my illness made it impossible for me to continue in the program. I was lost and went to private practitioners. My il

Sally* has been a Bert Nash Center client for over nine years, and she credits Bert Nash with reducing her psychiatric hospitalizations and suicidal feelings. Sally has Schizoaffective Disorder, which can involve intense anxiety and depression, especially when her husband is gone on his night job. Over the years, Sally has participated in many Bert Nash programs, including several months in the Intensive Outpatient Program, and many years with her therapist Dr. Jean Dirks. “S

My days were dark for 30 plus years. With a degree in secondary education, I was a teacher until I was diagnosed with Anorexia. I was dying – didn’t know it – and didn’t care. My doctor told me I wasn’t going to die on his watch! This opened my eyes. I really did want to live. My life was out of control. I was divorced, out of a job – a career. I was a goldfish in a turbulent ocean. I tried to go to school – hold a job – I couldn’t do it – I couldn’t do anything. I felt embar

In 2006 Danny Henderson suffered a severe stroke at the age of 36. In fact, he suffered a ‘mini-death’ – the stroke was so severe he was hospitalized at KU Medical Center for two months and he was partially paralyzed on his right side. A football player in high school and college, Danny had never asked for help for anything. Following his stroke, he needed help in so many ways. “After my stroke, my father died and I was seriously depressed, I wanted to die. Without the Bert N

There is a question I get asked routinely. People want to know if there was a pill that I could take to make my disability disappear, would I take it? The answer is no, and yes. You see, there are two disabilities I am affected by. Cerebral Palsy was diagnosed when I was a year and a half. I use a wheelchair for mobility. The diagnosis of depression came much later. I would take the pill only if it got rid of my psychiatric illness. The physical one is much easier to live wit

One father can’t say enough good things about what the WRAP* program has done for his son. His son has ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) and OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and has benefited from the WRAP program since he was in elementary school. His son is now 18 and a senior at Free State High School. “The WRAP Program is a great resource in the school system. The WRAP counselor at Free State High School, April Ramos, has been an advocate for our son, and

The experience I have had at Bert Nash has changed my life. I just graduated from the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program with the skills that I need to live a life worth living! It is so exciting to see how much my life has changed because of this program. I came to Bert Nash in a time of crisis, when not only I was concerned about my well-being, but so were others. I reluctantly started DBT, skeptical that I could benefit from a skills group in addition to individual the

I began having depression and other illnesses when I was about sixteen. That was also when I began cutting myself. Actually,that was the first time I was taken to Bert Nash by my parents, who had no idea what they were dealing with (and never did). That was many years ago. After many years of suicide attempts and continuous cutting, I was referred back to Bert Nash. By then I had been in and out of hospitals on a revolving door basis. It seems that no one could see an alterna