Client Highlight: Anika H.

Anika is a young woman who has experienced various hardships but continues to rise. I’m lucky to work with her and get the opportunity to share her story.

How did you get connected to Driftless Recovery Services?

“I had a community health worker, Nancy, who wanted to help me find a more personable place to get therapy when I was struggling with my home life senior year. I wanted somewhere other than a regular hospital where you're often unintentionally treated as a number. She connected me with BethAnn here”.

If you could tell someone one thing about therapy, what would it be?

“I think I would say that it's not underrated. I used to have people tell me that it's just someone who listens to you and it's not helpful or I've also heard that it's ‘just for white people’ and that's not true. It is helpful because sometimes you don't have people that want to listen to you. I had people in my life who kept saying therapy was stupid and that they wouldn’t do it. I had no one else to listen to me, so it has been helpful.” 

What have you learned about yourself during your time in services?

“I’ve learned that I'm stronger. I already knew that I was strong but I learned that I’ve come a long way based on things BethAnn said and then things I would notice I’d be saying when I was talking with her.”

What are some personal achievements you feel proud of?

“I'm proud of myself for getting through my senior year of high school on my own, being resilient through that year and pushing to graduate with good grades and honors and then getting into college too.  I had to get through a really bad home life and do my best in school, then remember what I was going home to every night would be bad again. Dealing with PTSD symptoms and not having a supportive family, I had to do everything on my own before I found the new support system I have now. I started applying to apartments which I didn’t get into. I had to wait a long time and just have hope. I got connected with Stacia from Safe Families and then was connected to a host family to live with.”

What plans/goals do you have for yourself moving forward?

“I want to continue to try my best to naturally treat my mental health, now that I’m off my antidepressants. I am resilient and I'm prepared for any hardships in my future. I’m most excited for my trip to Australia with my host family next year. Saving up for it is my biggest goal, then I will eventually be going from Western to Milwaukee for film school to become a movie director.”