Every day, people overcome significant behavioral health and mental health problems, and get well. At Hogares, we have many success stories where youth and families have faced daunting challenges, and succeeded. The stories here are those of real people. Sadly, the stigma of mental illness can follow someone for a lifetime, and so we have changed their names to protect their privacy.

Family/Youth of the Month

Meet Hugo

Hugo is bilingual; his mother only speaks Spanish. So his experience with Family Therapy has been with the assistance of an interpreter. Hogares has not only supported this family through therapy, but through our affiliation with Camp Shaver, the YMCA camp in Jemez Springs. He got a full scholarship for a week of Summer camp this Summer.

Hugo’s pre-camp experience was fraught with obstacles, but Hugo’s mom really wanted him to be comfortable with the thought of camp. Through the interpreter she said, “I think it will be good for him to be away from home, making friends, at Summer camp.” Hugo, however, had his doubts, “I have never been away from my family for a whole week. I think I would miss them too much.” So Mom went above and beyond to make him comfortable with the idea. With the assistance of the interpreter, she filled- out the camp application. She took money out of savings to buy Hugo some things he needed. She took her family for a “sneak-preview” of the camping experience for a one-nighter with some family friends. “It was in a big tent, and there were lots of frogs there,” Hugo shared. On the final stretch, the last few days before he was to go away to the mountains, Hugo’s mom took him to three clinics to get his medical paperwork in order. “It took us all day,” Mom said, “but we got it done.”

Since there would be no communications while Hugo was at camp, no phone calls, Hugo wrote practice letters to his family in therapy. On the last go-over of the camp checklist, it was found that Hugo did not have the requisite sleeping bag to go to camp. The interpreter sent-out an all-points bulletin on Hogares e-mail, and a Hogares employee stepped-up to buy him a new one!

Hugo’s camp experience was a success. He wrote, “We went camping, and we slept outside, and we built a fort. We went to classes. I did cooking, and shooting, and archery. I made a bull’s-eye my first try. When I made it, I didn’t think that I could make it. But I did make it. We played Ga-Ga, football, soccer and ultimate Frisbee. And we built little boats, and raced them. And ours came in second. Next year, I want to go back to camp for two weeks.”

In his last session before leaving, Hugo wrote another practice letter to his mom. It was quite indicative of his internal growth through his preparation process for camp. “I like Camp Shaver,” he wrote, “And I miss everyone in my family. But, today, I watched a caterpillar turn into a butterfly.” After the experience, Hugo’s prediction came true.

Lucie G.

Lucie G.’s parents divorced when she was 4 years old. She lived with her father after her mother was reported for child abuse. She saw her mother only infrequently, which may have contributed to fears of abandonment that surfaced as an adolescent. She started therapy when she was 7 years old, and was referred to Hogares by her father when she was 17 because she was engaging in self harming behavior. Lucie’s condition was acute. She says that she started cutting herself in the 7th grade as a way to get control of her emotions, and would use a knife on her thighs and arms. Her depressions sometimes lead to suicidal thoughts, and she was hospitalized several times.

At Hogares, Lucie participates in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) which is an evidence-based treatment that is effective in helping people who engage in self harm, have suicidal thoughts and other problems. For two years, Lucie has attended individual counseling and she and her family attend group DBT sessions. She has successfully completed Stage 1 of her treatment, which focuses on developing the skills to manage and cope with her emotions so that she does not engage in life-interfering behaviors. Lucie has not harmed herself in more than a year.

Lucie is well into Stage 2 of DBT treatment, and improving her quality of life. She is focusing on a lifetime dream to attend medical school. In May, 2011, she finished her first year at UNM with a high GPA. She has a job doing technical computer support. Lucie has two more stages of DBT treatment, but she is committed to completing the entire program, and building a life worth living.