The Center for Psychological Health & The Center for Family and Lifespan Development

Mental Health Counseling & Therapy

In 2013, there were an estimated 43.8 million adults aged 18 or older in the U.S. with a mental illness in the past year. This represented 18.5 percent of all U.S. adults.”

~National Institute for Mental Health

Untreated mental illnesses can cause significant problems in people’s lives such as job loss or poor performance, dysfunctional romantic and family relationships, health issues, legal issues, addiction, and general dissatisfaction in life.

Mental Illness can stem from a variety reasons, including negative childhood experiences, family history of mental illness (both environmental and genetic), neurological and developmental issues, and traumatic life events.

Common Mental Illnesses Include:

Issues that Benefit from Therapy:

  • Relationship Issues
    • Family conflict
    • Child, Sexual, or Spouse Abuse
  • Education Issues
  • Economic Issues
  • Occupational Issues
  • Sexual Issues
  • Grief and Loss
  • Obesity
  • Adherence to Medical Treatment
  • Coping with Medical Problems

Symptoms of Mental Illness

Some signs of mental illness can include feelings of hopelessness, trouble sleeping, constant worry, mood swings, prolonged periods of sadness, avoidance of social situations, irritability, inability to concentrate, hearing or seeing things that others don’t, reoccurring thoughts about bad experiences from the past, to name a few. These symptoms may need to persist over a period of time and have a significant negative impact on someone’s ability to function successfully a major area of life. Symptoms of mental illness can occur at any age. These issues, whether short-term or long-term, will benefit from mental health treatment. Just because someone might experience these symptoms from time to time, it doesn’t mean they have a serious mental illness, but they still may need help with challenging life issues.

There are many famous and successful people who have experienced mental illness and lived very successful lives. They attribute this success to proper diagnosis and treatment of their disorder.

Some of these people include:

  • Catherine Zeta-Jones
  • Brooke Shields
  • Carrie Fisher
  • Emma Thompson
  • Michael Phelps
  • Elton John
  • Terry Bradshaw
  • Marlon Brando
  • Temple Grandin
  • Jim Carrey
  • Zach Braff
  • Sheryl Crow
  • Pete Wentz
  • And many others…

Mental Health Treatment

Sadly, there continues to be a stigma in our society about mental health disorders and treatment. Some people struggle for years, or even a lifetime, without getting help for their mental illness. Reaching out for help is not a sign of weakness, but a step towards healing. It takes a lot of strength and courage to ask for help. There is no need to suffer any longer. Help is available.

There is a wide variety of publicized treatments for mental illness. Some are more helpful than others. Some treatments out there may be unproven and even dangerous. There are scientifically proven treatments for mental illness. These include mental health therapy, diet and exercise, medication, as well as other approaches. Evidence has shown that a combination of different approaches work best for people (APA, 2015).

Our Approach

At The Center for Family and Lifespan Development and The Center for Psychological Health we use evidence based approaches focusing on problems and areas of need, we help resolve your issues while at the same time we help you find your areas of strength and build on those. Our job is not just fixing problems, but helping you to be fulfilled in all areas of your life. Our providers are trained in multiple evidence-based treatments.

We tailor treatment to each patient’s specific needs.

Services Available at The Center for Family and Lifespan Development and The Center for Psychological Health:

Seattle | Federal Way