While Jessica Blehm is now available to treat a wide range of conditions at The Center for Counseling & Consultation, she is especially interested in younger and older people struggling with mental-health issues.

Blehm is the new therapist and licensed specialist clinical social worker at The Center, 5815 Broadway.

“I work with clients age 13 and older but my favorites are teenagers,” Blehm said. “There’s a perception that teens are difficult, but if you think about it, they have it the worst. They’re expected to carry many responsibilities but have few of the benefits or rights that go along with those responsibilities.

“They should act like adults but be okay with being treated like kids – a really frustrating place to be. Older folks tend to be in a similar bind. They struggle with losing independence and shifts in identity during transitional stages of their lives.”

In addition to providing individual therapy, Blehm also does intakes one day a week. “I love the opportunity to normalize mental-health struggles and make people feel good about coming in for help. This may be difficult for them but it is a huge step toward feeling better.”

Specialties

Blehm offers treatment for conditions such as depression, anxiety and life transitions but she also has a couple of specialties.

One is Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), which was originally developed to help people who are suicidal, self-harming or have diagnoses of borderline personality disorder.

“While DBT is fantastic for that group of people, it also has applications for all of us,” said Blehm, who has advanced DBT training. “It teaches practical, effective behavioral skills that focus on building a life worth living.

“This is what makes DBT something for everyone. I use the skills myself every day.”

Blehm also specializes in borderline personality disorder, which often displays risk-taking behaviors, trouble with regulating emotions, and difficulty in expressing needs and setting boundaries effectively.

She also has counseled people who have experienced domestic and sexual violence, those struggling with addiction and those who are or have been incarcerated.

“The thing that all of these groups have in common is that there’s a huge stigma around them,” Blehm emphasized. “We tend to blame people for their situations without taking into account all the environmental factors that contribute to the choices they make.

“If we could get one thing out there to the world it is this: blaming and shaming people, including yourself, only makes the problems worse.”

Background

Blehm, who grew up in Russell, earned her bachelor’s degree in social work in 2012 and master’s in social work the following year, both at Wichita State University. She also was field instructor at WSU and adjunct clinical instructor for The University of Kansas School of Social Welfare, Western Kansas MSW Program.

Her professional background includes two years at The Center where she cared for clients as a therapist in 2015-16. She is glad to be back.

“The Center’s staff is wonderful – from the executive director who knows everyone by name, to Kobe the therapy dog, who greets me every morning. I love coming to The Center where we view work as a place to contribute, as well as a place that can be fulfilling and pleasant.

“I also appreciate the focus on work/personal life balance and being engaged with the staff as people with real lives outside of work,” she continued. “There is an appreciation here that we can’t help others if we are overstretched and trying to pour from an empty bucket.”

Blehm’s other professional experience includes: statewide behavioral health operations manager at Centurion Health in Topeka; behavioral health coordinator at Centurion Health, Ellsworth Correctional Facility; marketing/outreach specialist at UnitedHealthCare Community Plan, Kansas; social worker at Fresenius Kidney Care in Hays; therapist at Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility and Glen Oaks Hospital in Greenville, Tx; and director of shelter services at YWCA Women’s Crisis Center at Wichita.

Julie Kramp, The Center’s executive director, said “Jessica has experience in many different healthcare settings and is truly a gifted therapist. She is a great addition to our clinical staff and we are thrilled that she has returned to our agency.”

The Center for Counseling & Consultation, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, 5815 Broadway in Great Bend, serves Barton, Pawnee, Rice and Stafford counties. Professionally trained personnel offer: individual and group therapy; marriage and family counseling; community-support services; community-based services; psychosocial rehabilitation; peer support; and medication management. The confidential 24/7 crisis hotline number is 800-875-2544