Dave was clear about his goals––he wanted help dealing with his depression before he became suicidal. He called CFC’s Central Intake office and was referred to Mariah Bruening, a case manager at the Hispanic Behavioral Health Office in Ohio City.

“Dave is a great resource of information and full of good ideas to help people,” Mariah said. “His entire life, he has participated in humanitarian efforts. But his behavior can be controlling, and he is not always able to relate well to others.

“When he can’t get others to buy into his ideas or do things his way, he feels like he has failed, and he gets depressed.” This cycle has negatively impacted his relationships, especially with his family.

Mariah has been working with Dave to help him develop better relationships with those around him and understand the role that his actions play in his depression. For every session, Dave prepares an extensive list of the challenges he faced during the week.

“This gives us the chance to revisit his actions and see what he could have done differently,” she explained. “We spend a lot of time talking about choice and how he has to let go and allow others to make their own decisions.”
Recently, Mariah noticed Dave’s progress in his relationship with his son, who he has struggled to develop a bond with.

“He has tried to be involved with his son’s life, but they’ve had relationship difficulties,” she said. “It had gotten to the point that his son didn’t want to communicate with him. But Dave kept pushing and calling, trying to get through.

“We constantly had to go back to our conversations around choice and how he needed to let go.” After a few weeks, Dave told Mariah that he was going to step back and wait for his son to communicate when he was ready.

“That was new for him,” Mariah says, “and that’s when I knew he was getting it.”

Dave said that he is continuing to work toward his goals to “allow others to make their own choices and…although it has been difficult for me, to be more aware of the part that choice plays in my depression.”

He has been focusing on his recovery, and Mariah has noticed that he is no longer talking about feeling depressed has gotten much better at managing his money. Dave also participates in peace walks and a homelessness outreach project with a local church, activities that give him a balance of helping others without being controlling and keep him from feeling depressed.

“Dave is a success to me because he is invested in this process,” Mariah said. “He values our counseling sessions, and it is clear that he is committed to playing an active role in changing his life for the better.”