Fatima’s Story

A Rocky Start Leads to a Difficult Choice

For a teenager, Fatima* had come up against more trauma than most people experience in a lifetime – exposure to drugs and alcohol before birth, early family separation and later adoption, diagnoses of bipolar disorder and ADHD, and years of behavioral challenges that overwhelmed even the most loving of caregivers. Her healthy interests and activities based around art and beauty content seemed to fall away, replaced with daily struggles that her mom couldn’t manage. After a particularly difficult year, Fatima’s behavior at home and school had gotten worse: she was using drugs, running away, and her family just didn’t feel safe anymore. Her adoptive mom made the difficult decision to see if one of The Jewish Board’s children’s residences could temporarily take Fatima, hoping she’d finally get the help she needed.

A Path to Safer Choices

It wasn’t easy at first. Fatima was admitted to a Jewish Board children’s community residence in Brooklyn, which uses an Integrated Treatment Model (ITM) designed to provide structure and support to youth like her with high behavioral health needs. As a vital component of her treatment, Fatima needed to be given the space to focus entirely on her own mental health. She knew the break from her family and friends was supposed to be good for her, but that didn’t make it feel less lonely. She soon missed her freedom and those she used to hang out with – even if those relationships weren’t the healthiest. But little by little, she began to trust the staff and the routine. The program helped her learn new ways to deal with strong emotions through group Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and skill-building classes. Through DBT, she learned how to manage her emotions better, communicate more effectively, and make safer choices. Fatima also started to imagine a future for herself, one that included becoming a cosmetologist and working in a salon where she could use her creativity and connect with others in positive ways.

Reconciliation Done Right

Within a few months of individual therapy, Fatima was ready to start working with her family. Fatima and her adoptive mom started family therapy, Multisystemic Therapy specifically, combined with our Family Integrated Transitions program. It’s designed to address the needs of the whole family system by supporting the young person returning to their caregiver’s home using community psychiatric support, youth peer support, and family peer support. The therapy sessions took place at home and focused on helping them rebuild their relationship. They worked on setting boundaries, talking to each other with respect, and creating a home environment where everyone felt safe. The shift in her relationship with her adoptive mother was slow but meaningful. Together, they learned new ways to communicate, set boundaries, and support each other better.

Donna, a therapist who worked closely with Fatima and her family, was thrilled by her progress: “Fatima is fiercely independent with a spark that just needed to be nurtured and directed with care.”

Turning the Page

By the summer of 2023, Fatima had reached her goals. She stopped the risky behaviors that brought her to us, and she was back home, attending school regularly, and getting along better with her mother. She even started planning for her future. “This is the first time I feel like people really see me – not just what I do wrong, but what I’m good at too,” Fatima shared.

Donna agreed, “Watching Fatima has been one of the most powerful transformations I’ve witnessed. She’s resilient and creative, and she’s learning to lead with her strengths rather than her trauma. She should be so proud of the young woman she’s becoming.”

Now, Fatima is focused on her dream of becoming a cosmetologist. She’s enrolling in a beauty program and spends her free time practicing on friends and family and filming her own makeup experiments and tutorials for a growing YouTube audience. More than anything, she knows she’s not alone. With her mother’s support and a community of people cheering her on. We can’t wait to see what’s next for her.

*Names have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients.