• Our Services
  • Find a Location
  • For Clients
  • Careers
  • Mental Health Matters Blog
  • About Us
  • Client Portal
  • Donate
  • Skip to content
  • Generic selectors
    Exact matches only
    Search in title
    Search in content
    Post Type Selectors
  • Jefferson Center News
  • About Us
  • For Clients
  • Careers
  • 303-425-0300
  • donate
Jefferson Center – Mental Health and Substance Use Services

Jefferson Center - Mental Health and Substance Use Services

With you in mind

  • Classes & Events
  • Find A Location
  • Our Services
  • Our Services
  • Find a Location
  • For Clients
  • Careers
  • Mental Health Matters Blog
  • About Us
  • Client Portal
  • Donate

Kiyo’s Story

Patients visit Jefferson Center’s walk-in crisis center for various reasons. Some are experiencing suicidal thoughts, and others may be facing an onslaught of stress and trauma. For Kiyo, she had been on and off medications for years and was at the end of her rope. Having suffered a long history of issues with substance use, her mother forced her out of their house, and Kiyo’s anxiety rose after moving in with her father.

This was not the first time Kiyo had been confronted with mental health issues in the midst of parental divisions and struggles.

When she was 10, her parents divorced, and she was enrolled in court-mandated therapy sessions, through which her therapist diagnosed Kiyo with depression. Following additional counseling, she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

After receiving services from the walk-in crisis center, she was admitted to an inpatient clinic for a brief time before continuing therapy and medications as an outpatient. During this period, Kiyo saw a slow but gradual change. One of the most impactful, positive changes came from being prescribed the correct medication, specifically switching from bipolar to anti-psychosis meds. She stopped self-harming and committed to being sober, now sustaining her sobriety for over six years. Kiyo describes this behavioral and outlook adjustment almost as “waking up”—the beginning of the next phase of her life. She is now enrolled in school, and she lives independently, which has made a significant difference in improving her mental health.

Kiyo has now been with Jefferson Center for seven years. In addition to receiving counseling and therapeutic resources, she has found major help in the wellness classes offered by the Center, particularly lessons with regard to managing depression as well as yoga programs and a writing group. Her long-term goals include finishing college and receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, and following that even a Master’s degree. She loves research and has dreams of staying in academia and becoming a professor, possibly even studying quantum physics.

“Sometimes all it takes is just one moment of clarity.”

Kiyo

Client of Jefferson Center

Having endured similar circumstances, Kiyo sympathizes with those who may be hesitant or doubtful about seeking mental health treatment, but she says that help is worth it, and to get started sometimes all it takes is just one moment of clarity. And even in that moment, you are going to need to continuously push yourself to get care. Go back again and again and commit to it, even if things get hard, because things will likely be hard, especially in the beginning.

“You are not your diagnosis,” Kiyo says. It is what her therapist consistently tells her, and it’s true. Part of the benefit of receiving mental health treatment, particularly group therapy, is knowing other people have faced similar experiences and feel similar emotions to your own. She appreciates the variety of resources offered by community mental health centers like Jefferson Center. They demonstrate acceptance toward a large, diverse population of people. Even projects such as the client-focused annual Art of Hope Calendar, which Kiyo has been featured in multiple times, provides unique, artistic outlets for therapy and self-expression.

For Clients

  • Blue Spruce Pharmacy
  • Brochures and Flyers
  • Client and Family Advocate
  • Client Portal
  • Contact Jefferson Center
  • DBT Online
  • Emergency & Crisis Services
  • Medicaid Information
  • Mobile Services Unit | MAT
  • Online Bill Pay
  • Resources
  • Wellness Classes & Coaching

Our Supporters

  • Our Supporters

For Community

  • MyStrength.com
  • Private Corporate Classes
  • Speakers Bureau
  • Bridges of Understanding: Faith-Based Connection
  • Solid Ground Apartments

Careers

  • Careers
  • Psychology Doctoral Internships-NO
  • Internship Opportunities
  • Volunteer

CLASSES & EVENTS

  • Mental Health First Aid
  • Suicide Prevention Training
  • Wellness Classes & Coaching
  • QMAP
  • 2022 Annual Gala: Soirée at the Station
  • Helping Kids Thrive
  • Helping Teens Thrive…Together Virtual Conference
  • On the Move for Mental Health

CONNECT WITH US

Receive updates directly to your email

© 2023 Jefferson Center

  • Privacy Policy
  • Red Pages
  • Corporate Compliance
  • Link Disclaimer
  • Audit Report
  • DBT Online

Español< | Tiếng | Việt| 繁體中文 | 한국어 | Русский | አማርኛ | العربية | Deutsch | Français | नेपाली | Tagalog |日本語 | Cushite | سی | Vah | Persian | Asụsụ Igbo | èdè Yorùbá