At Zumbro Valley Health Center, we take great satisfaction from seeing our clients live happy and rewarding lives. We can’t help but smile when we hear their success stories, and we thought you would enjoy them too. Below is one of our clients’ success stories which demonstrate how our psychiatry and therapy services helped her.

Ana* is a woman in her 50s trying to balance her mental illness, along with work and raising a family. Our psychiatry and therapy services helped her navigate through a very difficult time. Continue reading to learn more about Ana’s story.

“For most of my life, I have felt alone,” says Ana. “That’s how depression works, even when surrounded by people, I have tended to isolate myself.”

For years, Ana worked to balance her mental illness with the demands of raising a family and working a full-time job in construction. This took a serious toll on her overall health, and she suffered a heart attack in her early 50s.

“The anxiety over my hospitalization triggered my depression and I went into a downward spiral,” she says. “Following my stay, I was appointed a social worker to help with my overall care.”

After an initial meeting with her social worker, Ana was referred to both psychiatry and therapy to help manage her depression. Her case manager also helped Ana obtain social security benefits, which reduced a lot of the stress she was feeling.

“I feel much better than when I started a few years ago,” she says. “Therapy has taught me how to manage my mental illness. I now have more options and people who will help me, and I no longer feel trapped by my circumstances.”

Ana has built a strong social network and sees friends on a regular basis. Now she exercises regularly, and she recently started working at a part-time job.

“My hope, in the end, is that more people visit Zumbro Valley Health Center to get the same care that I did,” she says. “It’s wasn’t just about the treatment for my depression, but also the support that everyone provided. I now feel like I’m part of the community rather than an outsider.”

Our psychiatry and therapy services made a positive difference for Ana, and they’re just two of the many comprehensive services we offer at Zumbro Valley Health Center. Visit our news page to learn more and discover inspiring stories like Ana’s.

*Ana’s name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.