Testimonial
Several years ago, my children and I were faced with a situation that was beyond our control. With no point of reference to process what was happening we began to struggle. My oldest son, age 15, was getting into trouble at school, his grades were terrible. He would not accept any correction or guidance. Much of his time was spent escaping into a video game. My youngest son, age 11, became extremely sensitive. Everything made him cry. He became withdrawn and quiet. At one point, he said he wanted to die. At that point I knew I had to find help for my children as well as myself. I called Cliff Preston at the David Preston Center for Christian Counseling. I knew there was no way I could afford family counseling. I decided my children receiving counseling was more important than counseling for myself.
The day of our first appointment, I was told there was a program they had through the churches in the area that would cover the cost of our counseling. I was overjoyed! I was so excited! We started counseling! All of us!
Cliff was always professional. He provided a safe place for my boys to open up and talk. That was no easy feat. Boys sometime have a tough time expressing themselves using words. It’s difficult to describe thoughts or feelings when everything seems so jumbled up on the inside. He took the time to gain their trust and to develop a rapport with them. They talked about the things in which they were interested. He let them lead their conversations. They were opening up and didn’t even realize it. He genuinely wanted to know what they thought and how they felt. He always maintained confidentiality and never told me anything the boys shared with him, but he did encourage them to talk to me about the things they had talked about in their sessions. And they did. They started responding when I tried to have a conversation with them. They started talking about things that bothered them.
During this time, I was more stressed than I had ever been in my life. I was anxious and had difficulty concentrating. I felt like I was failing in every area of my life. Cliff took my words of chaotic negativity and rearranged and organized them. Things didn’t sound so bad when he said them. He helped me see that I did have a lot going on in my life, but I was handling it better than I thought.
Fast forward to today. Both boys are doing better in school. The youngest is happy and silly like a 13-year-old should be. The oldest is a typical 17-year-old. He has friends and a social life that he didn’t have before. I work full time and still run kids to practice and church and ball games. We do homework in the evenings and cook and eat dinner together. Life is still crazy, but we have learned to support each other and ask for help when we need it. We are all still a work in progress.
When Cliff first shared with me the concept for ChaseWell I knew it was a program in which I had to be involved. I became a monthly supporter. I feel like that is the least I can do to give back. There is not a doubt in my mind that the health and happiness of my family is a direct result of the heart that Cliff Preston must help people.
As a healthcare provider I see people and families all the time that are one crisis from disaster. It breaks my heart to know that families slip through the cracks because of barriers to mental health services. ChaseWell seeks to remove the financial barrier to receiving mental health services through a network of financial supporters. THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart!!
-A Changed Family
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