When Morgan* was in grade school, her father died unexpectedly. Not long afterwards, a friend of the family sexually abused her. In the following years, Morgan became deeply depressed. She had difficulty sleeping and began harming herself. By the time she entered high school, she was isolating from friends and family and in danger of failing out of school.

Morgan’s school counselor referred her to Stanford Sierra Youth & Families, where she met Elena*, a therapist with Stanford Sierra’s specialty mental-health program. Elena took the time to listen to Morgan and understand what she’d been through. And then they worked together to develop a plan.  Morgan started to attend individual and family counseling. She began working with a tutor to improve her grades and make up missed school work. Elena also connected Morgan to a psychiatrist to address Morgan’s post-traumatic stress disorder.

With a lot of hard work, Morgan brought her grades up, graduated from high school, and now attends Sacramento State. She has cultivated a remarkable degree of self-confidence, which she attributes largely to her experiences with Stanford Sierra. “Being so involved in my own care gave me the confidence to believe in myself,” she said. She’s the first in her family to attend college and looks forward to what the future will bring.

*Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.​