Alex’s Story

Upon meeting Alex for the first time, you would never guess that he spent months locked in his room severely depressed and unwilling to connect with anyone. The personable, well-spoken teenager who loves to make people laugh now radiates positivity, but it took a lot of hard work and creativity from the staff at Pressley Ridge to get him there. To this day, he still uses everything he learned from his teams to help him on his journey.

Alex and his mother Lee had a strained relationship for several years and struggled to relate to one another. They described their relationship as cold and distant before beginning Family-Based Therapy with Pressley Ridge in late 2019, where they focused on improving family dynamics and communication. A few months later during the COVID-19 pandemic, 12-year-old Alex was experiencing anxiety and depression so severe that he refused to leave his bedroom. He would spend his time dissociating, or overthinking. He had just begun to explore his gender identity and his place in the world and was struggling to navigate his own thoughts and feelings. Looking back, Alex now describes that version of himself as a “shell of a person.”

Members of Alex’s therapy team, played on his interests – literally – to build a rapport. They played Minecraft and Zelda videogames and had Nerf gun wars, which was an unconventional method of therapy that Alex hadn’t experienced before – and it worked. Slowly, Alex began to open up to the team and become more receptive to their suggestions. Alex was so reserved and untrusting of most adults at the time, and now says he wouldn’t have even given them a chance if not for their “unique therapy style.”

PEER SUPPORT

While many people at Pressley Ridge positively impacted Alex over the years, it was when he met Nate, a peer support specialist, that he experienced a major shift in perspective. Peer support specialists help to engage youth in their recovery by sharing their own history of mental health issues or involvement with the child welfare or justice systems and helping to advocate from a recovery-oriented standpoint. After learning about Nate’s struggles and all that he has overcome, Alex was inspired to improve his life for the better. Nate helped him learn to take risks and want to “be something” one day. Suddenly, Alex went from being hesitant to participate in services to wanting to meet twice a week.

The team progressed to taking Alex out into the community and concealing therapy within activities he enjoyed – all the while never forcing him to talk about anything he wasn’t ready to discuss. They worked with Alex and Lee to introduce forgiveness and improve their communication. Lee says Pressley Ridge helped her learn how to be a better parent and how to really listen to her children. In time, therapy has helped to repair their relationship and bring them closer.

MUTUAL RESPECT

After more than five years with Pressley Ridge, some members of Alex’s treatment team have changed, but he has benefitted from the life experiences and perspectives of each person. There has always been a “mutual realness” between Alex and his team. They understood that they couldn’t tell him what to do or change his life overnight and allowed Alex to lead the conversation and help to develop his treatment plan.

The Pressley Ridge staff members were accepting and non-judgmental to both Alex and Lee during Alex’s gender transition. They were supportive and present during sessions while allowing Alex to teach them about his struggles to identify himself. They provided resources for gender-affirming care  that Alex says he never would have been to find on his own.

“I WOULDN’T BELIEVE IN MYSELF IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU GUYS BELIEVING IN ME.”

As a testament to their bond with and support for Alex, several past and current members of his treatment team were present as he shared his story. They spoke of the incredible strength and vulnerability they have seen in him and marveled at his remarkable transformation over the past four years. Nate recalled a pre-teen hidden under a hoodie who has flourished into a more confident teenager who can now look him in the eye and engage in deep, philosophical conversations.

Alex told his team, “I wouldn’t believe in myself if it wasn’t for you guys believing in me.”

Alex now avoids the party scene and spends his free time on positive activities like basketball, arts and acting. He is interested in photography, is learning to play the guitar and has a great group of friends with whom he often acts as a therapist using the skills he has learned.

As his time with Pressley Ridge nears its end, Alex’s goals are set on completing his gender transition, controlling his anxiety and doing well in school. He recognizes how far he has come and hopes others can learn from the path his life has taken. “I want other people to hear what I’ve been through, and I hope it encourages other kids like me to get better.”