Patient ready to pay it forward thanks to donor-supported treatment
For as long as Danielle Depew can remember, she’s felt sad.
In school, she struggled to make friends and feel like she belonged. Yet Depew always waved her parents away when they asked what was wrong. As the oldest of four sisters, she considered these feelings to be her own problem, not something to burden others with.
“I’ve always been someone that felt like I need to take care of people — not someone that could be taken care of,” she explains.
Asking for help
In December 2022, Depew’s life turned upside down with the unexpected dissolution of her marriage. She found herself facing a divorce and the prospect of sharing custody of her 3-year-old daughter.
Her oft-ignored mental health took a nosedive.
“I’d wake up in the morning and be like, ‘I don’t want to be here,’” she remembers. “That became my baseline. It’s a tough place to live.”
Needing help, Depew went to her doctor at MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine for a therapy referral. He asked if she’d be interested in collaborative care — a donor-supported model that offers mental health treatment within the primary care setting.
The integrated approach would allow her doctor and MultiCare Behavioral Health therapist Alexis Schleiss, MSW, LICSW, to provide synchronized care rather than sending her to an outside practice.
To Depew, this sounded like a “genius idea.”
“Having that readiness and accessibility and connection with your physical and mental health … it’s being treated like you’re a whole person,” she says.
Lifesaving intervention
A month later, with treatment still taking shape, the weight of Depew’s impending reality became too much. She decided she wanted to take her life.
Fortunately, Depew’s then-husband — a police officer — and two other first-responder friends intervened before tragedy struck and rushed her to MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital’s emergency department.
After three days there, she moved to inpatient care, followed by an intensive outpatient program. When Depew left the hospital, she was comforted that Schleiss already knew her story and could help navigate life afterward.
Schleiss remembers the relief she felt after learning Depew was safe. From then on, her patient’s commitment to treatment was remarkable.
“She’s just made such great progress,” Schleiss remarks.
Finding strength to move forward
Over the next few months, Depew continued therapy with Schleiss. She also found solace in her family and friends, who stepped in to help her adjust to her new life.
“Unfortunately, it took that experience to really realize how close of a connection I had made with the people in my life, and they care enough about me that they really genuinely were there to help me,” Depew reflects.
After continuing to work on her health, she woke up one day and noticed a change.
“It was just like ‘I’m fine, I’m OK,’” Depew shares. “For someone who, every morning, was waking up preferring that they didn’t, being OK was like … ‘This is great.’”
Her experience has also taught her a lasting lesson.
“It’s OK to ask for help,” she says. “It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It actually means you’re strong.”
Being there for others
Depew’s journey has inspired her to pursue a new professional goal: becoming a firefighter. After completing ride-alongs, passing tests and interviewing, she was recently offered a position with a local fire department.
Knowing how fortunate she was to have first responders nearby during her crisis, Depew now wants to be there for others.
“I can show up to a call on someone’s worst day and be like, ‘I’ve been here … it can get better,’” she explains. “Hopefully I can change someone’s life in ways that maybe I needed.” 
Today, Depew is open about sharing even her most vulnerable moments, especially if it helps someone else overcome bias and begin treatment.
“I feel no shame in my story,” she says. “My story is just a part of who I am. It’s a part of my evolution. It’s part of who I’m becoming.”
The importance of access to care
Community generosity helps fund increased access to behavioral health services through collaborative care. Donors allow clinics to embed mental health support, provide therapists and psychiatric consultations, and offer more patients treatment every day.
“We need to have programs in place so people can get the support needed,” Depew says. “Not everyone’s as lucky as me to have their at-home support system. The more easily people can access this type of care, I can’t help but think how much better off our whole world would be.”
