Building Trust Through Crisis — A Path Toward Recovery and Independence

The client’s name in the following story has been changed to protect their privacy.

When Case Manager Jenna Goss first met “Jordan,” there was no trust between them. Jordan was angry, guarded, and deeply suspicious of anyone trying to help her.

“She was very aggressive when I first met her, and very untrusting of workers, whether it was social workers or therapists,” Jenna says. “She did not want services.”

By the time Jordan came to Judson Center, she was already facing severe mental health challenges that were continuing to escalate. Conversations were difficult. Support was often rejected. Every interaction required patience. But Jenna kept showing up.

Building Trust Slowly

For many people living with serious mental health challenges, trust does not come easily, especially after painful experiences with systems, providers, or instability. Jenna understood that progress would not begin with treatment plans or referrals. It would begin with relationship.

“She was so not willing to be helped or get help, anything like that,” Jenna recalls.

So instead of pushing too hard, Jenna focused on consistency. Over time, small moments of connection started to build into something larger.

“It took a while, but I built great rapport with her. She and I had a great relationship.”

That relationship became an anchor during some of Jordan’s hardest moments.

When the Crisis Deepened

As time went on, Jordan’s mental health continued to worsen. She eventually stopped taking her medication and began experiencing dangerous symptoms, including homicidal thoughts. For Jenna, the situation had reached a point where hospitalization was necessary.

Moments like that can permanently damage trust between a client and provider. But in this case, the opposite happened.

“She trusted me to have her hospitalized, which is a huge thing.”

That trust became critical in what came next.

A Difficult Transition

After hospitalization, Jenna helped Jordan transition into a higher level of care through a community treatment program. Transitions like these are often overwhelming, especially for someone already struggling with paranoia and instability. But because the relationship had been built carefully over time, Jordan stayed connected through the process.

“I was able to have her transition smoothly because she trusted me.”

That trust gave Jordan something stability alone could not: the ability to accept support during one of the most vulnerable periods of her life.

Growth Through Setbacks

Jordan’s journey has not been perfect or linear. Since that first hospitalization, there have been additional setbacks and difficult periods.

“She’s been hospitalized a couple of times since then.”

But today, Jenna sees a completely different picture than the one she encountered at the beginning.

“She’s doing great, and she’s really happy. She’s able to live on her own. She’s able to communicate properly with her guardian now, and that was a huge issue beforehand.”

Just as importantly, Jordan has started building trust with other members of her care team as well.

The Relationship Didn’t End

Even after Jordan transitioned into different services, Jenna never fully disappeared from her life.

“I still speak with her today,” she says. “I’m always checking in and making sure things are going well.”

For Jenna, this story stands out because of how difficult it was. Building trust with someone experiencing severe paranoia and mental health challenges takes time, patience, and consistency that cannot be rushed.

“To be able to build a trusting relationship with someone that is so paranoid and so severe, it’s a really, really tough thing to do,” Jenna says. “And I’m proud of myself and happy to have done that with her.”

Then she reflects on something larger than any one person’s effort.

“It takes a team.”

Behind Jordan’s progress is more than one conversation, one worker, or one moment of crisis intervention. It is the result of people continuing to show up, even when trust feels impossible to reach.

And for Jordan, that persistence helped create the possibility of a different future.

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