Editor’s Note: This is the final installment in a series of articles provided by The Bridgeway called “The Voices,” which gives readers a glimpse of mental illness through multiple perspectives. Everyone needs to be heard and understood when dealing with addiction and depression. It is our hope this series of articles will encourage someone to seek help and healing. To read previous articles from the series, visit our Health section.

The Pastor's Voice

Suzanne carried her little brother Tommy as they walked across the church parking lot with their parents Mike and Beth. They were meeting Pastor Daniel Smith to talk about the upcoming baptism of Tommy, who was not yet a year old and ready to be baptized.

“What a happy child,” Daniel said while gazing at the infant who seemed to be smiling while cradled in his mother’s arms. “Yes,” said Beth “he always seems to be smiling and laughing.” “That’s good,” said Daniel, “but I was talking about Suzanne. She seems to be happier than she was a few months ago.” Suzanne smiled in approval. Mike looked at his daughter and said, “we got off-path for a while there but we’re back on track now.” “If you don’t mind my asking,” Daniel said, “what happened?” Suzanne looked at her parents as if they might speak for her. “Go ahead and tell him if you’re comfortable,” offered Beth. “It’s your story.”

“It was just a bunch of things,” Suzanne said, “and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep up.” “What do you mean?” Daniel asked. “With school, cheerleading, student council, babysitting and youth group, I had a hard time doing anything right.” “That is a pretty full schedule,” Daniel said. “I guess so. I almost flunked out of school and ran away,” Suzanne said, “I wanted to do it all to make my parents proud...” “We are proud of you,” Mike interrupted. “She didn’t feel like we were proud of her,” Beth added. “I would just hide in my room and go out with the wrong people,” Suzanne said, “even though that didn’t solve anything.” Beth inerjected, “We tried talking to everyone—teachers, coaches, neighbors—until we finally talked to Suzanne.” “Once we knew what she was feeling and thinking,” Mike said, “we felt it was time to see a therapist.” “What did you learn from the therapist?” asked Daniel.

The Professional's Voice

“As we finish our observation of Suzanne and her family,” says Megan Holt, LCSW, Director of Clinical Services at The BridgeWay, “we see that outpatient therapy was beneficial to the family. And to answer Daniel’s question, here is what Suzanne and her mother and father learned:”

The family learned how to increase the communication with their daughter and new parenting techniques that supported Suzanne. The sessions also aided the family in improving their ability to express empathy with each other.

Suzanne learned to verbalize the emotions causing the withdrawal from friends and family, and the need to escape her current environment. This helped her to change her negative thoughts and replace them with more positive self-talk that built her self-esteem.

Finally, the family and Suzanne learned about substance abuse and treatments. Suzanne joined a local teen meeting and her parents began going to Al-Anon.

“Considering how concerned I was previously,” says Holt, “I’m relieved that they sought therapy. Although it was Suzanne who told her story to Pastor Daniel, this was really a story about the family and how they came together by working with a professional.”

Seeking Help

The BridgeWay is one option for central Arkansas families seeking mental health care. The center offers both outpatient treatment and inpatient care. Outpatient treatment may be an option when a person has mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, chemical dependency or other issues. The center’s outpatient progam, known as Bridges, is overseen by an expert psychiatrist and serves children, adolescents and adults. The multi-discipline approach may include:

• A small, safe and structured treatment environment

• Psychiatric evaluation

• Medication management and evaluation

• Family therapy

• Substance/dependence/abuse treatment

For more information about The BridgeWay, visit TheBridgeWay.com.