This document provides summaries of clients who have sought counseling services at the Cornerstone Counseling Center of Chicago. It summarizes the stories of 10 clients, ranging in age from 4 to 50 years old, who struggled with issues such as depression, anger, eating disorders, anxiety, and grief. The summaries note how therapy has helped the clients gain courage on their journeys to improve their mental health and develop healthier coping strategies.

1. Courag e
onthe
J ourney
Corne toneCouns lingCe r of Chicag
rs e nte o
8thAnnual VisionBe fit
ne
Thursday March 26th, 2009

2. Thank YouToAll Of
Our Ge rousDonors
ne
WhoMakeOur Work
Pos ible– WeCould
s
Not DoIt Without
You! Courage on the
Journey

3. Unde tanding
rs
TheNe d
e
Courage on the
Journey

4. Major de s ive
pre s
disorde affe
r cts
approxim ly
ate
14.8 m illionAm ricans
e
eachye .
ar
Courage on the
K essler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005
Journey

5. Vane s , a 30-40 ye oldHis
sa ar panic fe ale cam
m, eto
CCCOC duetode s ion. Shew rie -s
pre s asg f tricke n
assheproce s dahis
se toryof be ingrais dbyan
e
e otionallyabus
m ivem othe , fe lingtrappe
re dinan
unhealthyrom anticre lations hipandnot com ting
ple
colle e Throug
g. hthe rapy s
, hehasg ainedthe
courag etoe ndhe re
r lations . He de s ionhas
hip r pre s
im prove , s
d heiscom tinghe las cours
ple rt eof colle e
g
ands hecontinue stow ork tow ardsim prove e -
ds lf
confide .nce
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

6. Ne isa 20-30 ye oldHis
al ar panicm alew hoisde s e
pre s d
about controllinghisang r. Inthepas hehadfre nt
e t que
ang r outburs
e tsat hisjob. Throug hhisw e
e klytherapy
vis , henowas stounde tandtheroot of hisang r
its pire rs e
so
that hecanm anag ehisre actionstoco-w orke rsm ore
e ctive .
ffe ly
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

7. 1 outof 10 Am ricans
e
strug lew
g ithanore , bing
xia e
eatingor bulim .
ia
Biological Psychiatry, 2007
Courage on the
Journey

8. J e s , a 20-30 ye oldCaucas
s ica ar ianfe ale cam
m, eto
CCCOC afte re ate
r pe duns ucce s atte ptsto
s ful m
control ane atingdis orde . Throug
r htherapy s, heis
g ainingthecourag etoe xplorehowhe fam r ily
history pe onal s
, rs ham eanddim he e -w
inis ds lf orth
havecontribute dtothedis orde . Sheisde loping
r ve
pos itivecopings killsandhasare w dde ireand
ne e s
abilitytoe braceahe
m althylife tyle
s.
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

9. “ [It was helpful to] know that I
had someone that I could be
completely honest with…and that
I was not alone in my struggle.”
Quote from an anonymous client
Courage on the
Journey

10. Individualsrais din
e
dysfunctional hom sare
e
morelikelytobeatris for
k
psycholog difficultie .
ical s
National Centrefor Re is r-bas dRe e
g te e s arch, 2002
Courage on the
Journey

11. Tomisa 4-10 ye oldAfrican-Am ricanm
ar e ales e
e nin
groupthe rapy At thebe inningof theg
g rouphe
.
de ons
m trate dde fianceandalot of dis s ct and
re pe
ang r
e
tow ardhisclas m s Byw
s ate . orkingtoincre ehis
as
ability
toe xpre shim e throug ordsands ehisow e
s s lf hw e ns lf
worth, Tomhasbe com eale r andag nt of chang
ade e ein
thegroup.
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

12. Clayton, a 4-10 ye oldAfrican-Am ricanm , com s
ar e ale e
fromafam ilyof 9 w reheistheonlyboy Clayton
he .
hass ve
e reang r is ue , but isle
e ss arninghowto
e pow r him e toe
m e s lf xpre shisfe ling
s e sinnon-
viole w . Heisdis
nt ays coveringhisidentityand
le arningtoe tablis hoheis
s hw .
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

13. Inthepas twt oye , the
ars rewe re
12.9 m illiononepare fam s
nt ilie
-
in 2006 (10.4 m illions le
ing -
m othe fam sand 2.5 m
r ilie illion
s lefathe fam s
ing - r ilie ).
UnitedStatesCe usBure , 2006
ns au
Courage on the
Journey

14. TheSm ithfam ilycam etoCCCOC for fam ilythe rapyto
w ork oninte es ns iblingrivalryandfam ilyconflicts
be e nthetw e e
tw e ote nag ddaug rs De
hte . Shana, a
40-50 ye oldAfricanAm ricanfe ale thes le
ar e m, ing
mothe of thefam , de pe lyw
r ily s rate antedtoolstohave
he fam
r ilyw ork asate . Throug
am hfam ilythe rapy,
the yareg ainingthecourag etoe ctive
ffe lyre olve
s
conflictsandde lope otional s tyinthe
ve m afe ir
re lations hipswithoneanothe . r
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

15. Anxie tydisordersafflict
approxim ly 40
ate
millionAm ricanse
e ach
ye .
ar
K essler, Chiu, Demler, & Walters, 2005
Courage on the
Journey

16. J ulie a 30-40 ye oldCaucas
ar ianfe ale cam
m, eto
,
CCCOC asare ult of chronic he
s althis ue
s sthat
contribute dtoanxie tyandpainful re ctionin
je
re lationships Throug hthe rapy s
, heisg ainingthe
.
courag etoe bracehe s ng
m r tre thsandlim itations as
,
w ll asde lophe
e ve althyre lationships Ass hehas
.
m ades tride , he anxie ym
sr tys ptom shavebe com e
m orem anag able
e .
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

17. 1 out of 3 people receiving
mental-health services
suffer from grief.
Medicine Net, 2007
Courage on the
Journey

18. Laura, anAs -Am ricanfe alew
ian e m hois 20-30 ye ars
old, orig inallybe anthe
g rapytoproce sthede
s athof
he frie . Sheisw
r nd orkingthroughthepain, hurt,
andm ultitudeof othe fe ling
r e sthat re latetothe
de athof alove done Sheals ohasus dhe tim
e r ein
.
the rapy todis sfutureg
cus oalsandfam ilial
relations hipsandcontinue stowork towardshaving
he althyre lationshipsandbalanceinhe life
r .
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

19. In Illinois, the average
divorce rate over the
past 6 years was 45%.
Illinois Department of Public Health, 2005
Courage on the
Journey

20. DavidandTas , aHis
ha panic coupleag d 30-40,
e
s ht m
oug arital therapyduetoinfide . The
lity y
fe hope s
lt le sandw relookingfor ans e .
e w rs
Throug hthe rapy, the aine
yg dcourag etoim prove
the m
ir arriag easthe the
ir rapis provide
t dthem
w ithtoolstobe r com unicate re olveconflicts
tte m ,s
andw ork tow ardsforg ne sandre
ive s conciliation.
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

21. “ I came to this seminar looking for
an excuse not to get married.
Now I’m going to go home and set
the date.”
Quote from an anonymous client
Courage on the
Journey

22. 1 in 3 girlsand 1 in 6 boys
ares xuallyabus d
e e
beforetheag eof 18
Rus e , DianaE.H. 1988
s ll
Courage on the
Journey

23. Kim a 25-30 ye oldCaucas
ar ianfe ale ag d
m , ifte
,
artis ands
t urvivor of childhoodince t cam
s eto
CCCOC inthem t of ade pde s ion. She
ids e pre s
be ans lf-injuringw nre
ge he colle ctionsof her
traum urface
as dduringcolle e Throug
g. hart
the rapy sheisgainingthecourag etous eart to
proce she traum
sr ahis toryandisle arnings lf-
e
acce ptance.
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

24. Theune ploym nt ratein
m e
Illinoisis 8.6% .
Thethre of joblos
at sand
econom re s ioncontribute
ic ce s
tode s ion, anxie , fe and
pre s ty ar
suicide.
B ureau of L abor S tatistics, 2009
Courage on the
Journey

25. Tyle , a 20-30 ye oldCaucas
r ar ianm , cam
ale eto
CCCOC be causehew xpe ncings ptom
ase rie ym sof
de s ionre dtojoblos . Throug
pre s late s hthe rapy heis
,
gainingthecourag etoactive e
lys archfor ane wjob
utilizingjobs archs
e trate ie .
gs
Courage on the
Journey
All Client Names Have Been Changed.

26. Pe oplew ithlowincom s
e
andnoins urancearetwice
aslike lytohave
psycholog difficultie
ical s
Gilman et al, 2002
Courage on the
Journey

27. De pitethe edifficult facts our
s s ,
clientsarefinding
Courag eontheJ ourne .y
Thisism adepos ible
s
throughthem tryof
inis
Corne toneCouns lingCe r of
rs e nte
Chicag .
o Courage on the
Journey

28. “Finance e uchaburde .
sw res n
I ams rate tothos
og ful ewho
donate dtohe lpm . It’sbe na
e e
ble s
s ingtore ivetre e
ce atm nt
he , I jus w hm
re t is orepe ople
couldre ivethes ehe .
ce am lp”
Quote from an anonymous client
Courage on the
Journey

29. Our Efforts
Courage on the
Journey

30. Our the rapistsprovide
57 acade iccouns lingg
m e roups
for ove 400 childre
r n
eachw e duringtheacade ic
ek m
school ye .
ar
Courage on the
Journey

31. CCCOC provide san
ave eof 259 clie
rag nt
s s ionspe m
es r onth.
Courage on the
Journey

32. CCCOC ne ds$e 8,333 in
spons hipe
ors achm onth
toprovides rvice
e sfor
clientsw hocouldnot
othe is
rw eaffordthe .
m
Courage on the
Journey

33. Thatdeficitaccountsfor
alm t 1/3 of our m
os onthly
e nditure .
xpe s
Courage on the
Journey

34. Duringthepas t
ye , $100,000 in
ar
un-re burs
im able
s rvice e
e sw reprovide dto
clientsusingas liding fe
-e
s.
cale
Courage on the
Journey

35. HowCanYOU
Provide
Courag eonthe
J ourne ?
y Courage on the
Journey

36. $75 gives a therapist-
intern one week
of training in the
integration
of faith and practice.
Courage on the
Journey

37. $100 sponsors a seminar
to educate local churches
or community agencies
on mental health issues.
Courage on the
Journey

38. $ 440 helps provide
8 therapy sessions
for sliding-fee scale
clients.
Courage on the
Journey

39. $500 affords one
person a
psychological
evaluation.
Courage on the
Journey

40. $1430 helps provide
26 therapy sessions for
sliding-fee scale
clients.
Courage on the
Journey

41. Talk ToYour Table
Hos tAbout
Spons oringA Spe cific
Clie ’sCourag ous
nt e
J ourne !
y
Courage on the
Journey