Paul's Story
Paul recently turned eleven. He has spent much of his young life in isolation, abused by his step-father. Coming into LifeWorks NW Child Day Treatment, Paul was experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
Given his history, Paul’s thoughts of suicide were not unexpected. Before coming into treatment, Paul attempted to drown himself in the bathtub, and expressed feeling sad and hopeless. He also brought a knife on the school bus because he was mad at the bus driver and was expelled from school after setting a fire in the bathroom. On both occasions, Paul reported his intentions were not to harm others, but to get out of a stressful situation.
When he was accepted into our program Paul’s mother said, “I am so glad you opened this program because if you hadn’t my son would not be living with me. He would be in a residential treatment program.” Although he continues to have difficult days here and there in the program, he has made a great deal of progress. Through individual, group, milieu, and family therapy as well as a small structured supportive classroom, Paul has begun to openly express his feeling and address his issues.
Recently, Paul and another younger student had an argument. Paul was visibly angry and, as he was taught, asked a counselor if he could take a break. When the counselor checked in with him he was able to tell them about his anger and said he was so mad he wanted to punch the young boy in the mouth, but he knew that was not the right way to deal with the situation. With a therapist’s assistance, Paul was able to express his feelings to the other student – who, it turned out, was completely unaware he had upset Paul. The two were able to apologize, shake hands, and go on with their day. Through his work with our caring counselors, Paul is working on expressing his feelings rather than “stuffing” them in an attempt to decrease and eventually eliminate his inappropriate behaviors. Paul has grown to become one of the program’s student leaders and has shown continual improvement in the way he interacts with others. He has not completed his treatment, but he is well on his way to transitioning back to his home school and being a positive member of his community.