May is mental health month, and we want to check in—how is your mental health?
It’s been an especially stressful year for many communities that our Department of Community and Human Services serve, including King County’s immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQIA+ communities, people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and people who are low income.
Just like getting an annual physical, we all need to prioritize our mental health too, likely more than we do.
“Setting up routine mental health care when we are doing well is a lot easier than waiting until we’re experiencing a crisis and having to take all those steps under pressure. Regular counseling should be treated with the same importance as going to the doctor or any other health practice,” said Scott Reding, Counselor and Executive Director at Integrative Counseling Services.
If you are on Medicaid or don’t have insurance, you may qualify for King County’s mental health care services, which are easier than ever to get today thanks to recent progress.
There are more than 50 community providers are in King County’s Integrated Care Network (KCICN) and a majority offer routine mental health care, which can include counseling and therapy, peer support groups, cultural activities, as well as learning and practicing self-care. Appointments are available! Last year, more than 47,000 people received behavioral health services through the KCICN.
How to Connect: Call our Behavioral Health and Recovery Division’s Client Services Line for assistance and questions. Their number is 206-263-8997 OR 1-800-790-8049. Or find a provider near you and call them directly: Search for behavioral health providers in King County
“The benefits of consistent mental health care show up across our whole life: better relationships, improved day-to-day functioning, reduced symptoms, better quality of life, and feeling connected rather than alone in the world,” Reding continues. “The KCICN has a lot of providers with different approaches and perspectives, so it’s worth taking the time to find someone you feel comfortable with.”
Office spaces at Integrative Counseling Services in Fremont, Seattle
Meet Some of Our Providers
Sound Behavioral Health and Valley Cities are two providers that accept Medicaid, with multiple locations across King County.
The Atlantic Street Center and Therapeutic Health Services specialize in serving our Black and Brown community members. Atlantic Street Center locations include Seattle and Kent. Therapeutic Health Services locations include South Seattle, Capitol Hill, Bellevue, Kent and Shoreline.
Many community-based providers offer mental health counseling and outpatient services that consider and prioritize a person’s culture, religion and language, including:
- Consejo Counseling: Dedicated therapists specialize in supporting the local Latinx community in English and Spanish.
- SeaMar Behavioral Health: Provides care in multiple languages that considers your culture.
- Refugee Women’s Alliance: Supports refugees and immigrants in Puget Sound.
- Asian Counseling and Referral Services: Supports the health and well-being of Asians and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders and other communities.
- Congolese Integration Network: Serves refugees and immigrants, primarily from the Sub-Saharan region of Africa.
- Therapy Fund Foundation: Free mental health services for Black community members.
- WAPI Community Services provides culturally and age-appropriate services for Asian Pacific Islander and all under-served youth and families in English, Tagalog, Mandarin, Taiwanese and Spanish
- Southwest Youth and Families offers mental health counseling for youth ages 5-24 and their families at their Delridge and White Center locations.
- Seneca provides mental health services for young people and their families at its Tukwila location, honoring and celebrating the diverse cultural identities and lived experiences of its staff and the youth, families, and communities they serve.
- Integrative Counseling Services supports both youth and adults, including the diverse and vibrant LGBTQIA+ population with around 36% of clients identifying as part of this community.
“Mental health and well-being are part of a continuous, 24-hour process. Sleep, stress, relationships, movement, and daily habits all influence our resilience and our ability to respond to challenges. Regular counseling sessions can help strengthen resilience, self-awareness, and confidence in handling challenges, not just in one situation, but across many areas of life.” –Dennis Grove, Counselor
“I see huge progress in just 6 months’ time with those who show up on a regular basis for our telehealth group sessions! By sticking to the routine, even when you don’t want to, it creates huge strides in one’s goals and mental health.” -Wendy Petersen, Counselor Intern
Self Care Tips
Self-care to reduce stress, boost mood, and improve overall well-being is something we can all learn to do and prioritize. Thanks to the team from Integrative Counseling Services (ICS) in Seattle for sharing their favorite self-care mental health tips with us this month:
Art! I will choose a color that represents the emotion I am processing and then draw using that color. It is interesting to see what comes up and can be a nice way to move through emotions. –Evan Reding, Peer Support Specialist
I encourage people to intentionally invest in healthy relationships and meaningful connection. I also recommend making time for nature, open space, and healthy solitude. Create moments that allow for reflection, emotional regulation, and resetting from the demands of daily life. –Dennis Grove, Counselor
Whenever I feel overwhelmed or anxious, I use the ‘Choose 2’ rule. I choose two things to do. Sometimes this looks like unloading the dishwasher and taking a shower. Sometimes this looks like writing the thank you note and setting a timer for 15-minutes to clean my room. By narrowing my focus, often, I find that I get these things done more quickly than I thought it would take, and I move on to the next thing, regaining my momentum. The feeling of overwhelm is tricky because it keeps me stuck, stalled. I find myself accomplishing nothing. But, choosing two things, I get through many small wins, and it unlocks my motivation to move forward with other things. –Wendy Petersen, Counselor Intern
I’m a huge proponent of movement and physical activity. I also love experimenting with temperature, hot and cold showers, or sitting in a sauna. Getting your body warm and then cold can help your nervous system shift from a sympathetic response (fight or flight) to a parasympathetic one (rest and recover). It’s simple, accessible, and the effects are real. –Scott Reding, Counselor
We welcome all our providers and readers to please share with us—what are your favorite self-care and mental health tips?