News & Notes

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

John*, a self-employed professional who lives in Lawrence, suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for more than 40 years. When he was eight years old, he experienced a traumatic event that triggered the onset of his illness. Before he was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder, he hid his panic attacks from his family and friends, not understanding that his illness could be treated. Their inability to realize that hash and kief are completely different cannabis plant extract

Fourteen-year-old Joshua Graves has found an escape in the Therapeutic Classroom at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. It’s called drama therapy, and it gives the teenager an opportunity to turn off his worries and problems for a while. “I don’t have to be myself,” Joshua said, explaining why he likes acting. “I like to play the comedian. I like to be the center of attention. I like making them laugh and making them enjoy being around me.” Joshua, who has been attendin