Counseling & Support

there's strength in asking for help

Individual, group, and family counseling and support, on your own or together.

We offer five key counseling and support programs to meet clients wherever they are on their journey. Friends of Youth provides personalized outpatient mental health and substance use counseling, community and parent education and outreach, and aftercare and recovery support. Our continuum-of-care approach has expanded our expertise in helping clients with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

mental health and substance use counseling services

We offer a supportive, caregiver- and family-centered approach. Our behavioral therapeutic care is trauma-informed, culturally responsive care focused on individual and family goals.

Individual, family, and group counseling, ages 4-24.

Substance use counseling 12-24.
- By appointment only, Monday–Friday, from 9:30 am–6:00 pm
- Available virtually and in person at our Issaquah, Kirkland, North Bend, Renton, and Duvall offices
- Call or email to learn more or schedule an assessment:
  - 425.392.6367 ext. 2 (phone line staffed 9:30 am–5:00 pm)
  - Email: clientservices@friendsofyouth.org

eligibility

Ages 4–24
In-person services are in East King County; telehealth counseling is available anywhere in Washington State
In-network Insurers
- Commercial insurers:
  - Aetna
  - Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
  - Ambetter
  - Premera Blue Cross
- Washington Apple Health (Medicaid)
  - Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW)
  - Coordinated Care
  - Molina Healthcare of Washington
  - United Healthcare Community Plan
  - Wellpoint Washington
No insurance? Self-pay and a sliding scale payment are available

therapeutic modalities

Used across our Mental Health and Substance Use Counseling programs:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
Art & Drama Therapy
Motivational Interviewing
Play Therapy

counseling groups

Beyond individual and family sessions, we offer small group programs where young people build skills, connect with peers, and explore shared experiences in a supportive setting.

Call or email to learn more

425.392.6367 ext. 2 (phone line staffed 9:30 am–5:00 pm)

Email: clientservices@friendsofyouth.org

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Skills

Ages 14–17

Develop skills to feel happier, repair relationships, and be more prepared for life's ups and downs. DBT helps young people manage emotions and regulate potentially destructive or harmful behaviors. Available as a skills group or individual counseling support.

📍 Issaquah, WA

Ani-bae

Ages 14–18

For anime fans. This group discusses romantic relationships in favorite anime and uses them to explore participants' own relationships in real life — how these relationships make us feel, what they remind us of, and how they affect our relationships with friends and family — while watching and analyzing relevant clips.

📍 Renton, WA

Healing with Music

Ages 13–17

Discover your voice and find your rhythm in our music-based therapy group. Through learning instruments and creating together, participants build confidence, strengthen coping skills, and learn to support one another.

📍 Issaquah, WA

Rooted Together

Ages 13–17

Engage more deeply with nature and each other. Time outdoors (and some indoors) centers on emotional regulation, mindfulness, sensory grounding, and peer connection.

📍 Issaquah, WA

substance use focused groups

Seven Challenges

Ages 14–19

Explore and address the underlying reasons for substance use and build motivation for positive change in a supportive, structured environment, with tools and support to help participants reach their goals.

📍 Issaquah, WA and online via telehealth

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT)

A virtual, biweekly harm-reduction group for parents and caregivers addressing substance use behaviors in their children of any age. Each session covers a skill to apply to the parent-child relationship, building community through shared experience — discussion, connection, and support follow each skills practice.

📍 Online

our clinicians

mental health clinical supervisors & therapists

MB Johnson

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Clinical Supervisor

MB views therapy as a guide moving us towards the necessary clarity needed to live more purposely, thoughtfully, and with greater self-determination and sense of self-worth. Their aim is to provide an environment where clients will feel respected and understood yet challenged to engage in meaningful self-exploration. MB strives to work collaboratively by using the skills clients already possess to help them learn new coping strategies to continue working through life’s challenges.

Kimberly Rixon

Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), Clinical Supervisor

Kimberly enjoys working with teenagers and young adults as they gain insight into the ways their experiences have shaped who they are, identify who they want to be, and develop the skills necessary for a stable and fulfilling life. She uses Systems Theory, Attachment Theory, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and EMDR therapy modalities to support clients. Kimberly believes that people are generally doing the best they can with the knowledge and skills they have, and that emotional and behavioral patterns are adaptive responses to environment and experiences.

Kathy Opie

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Clinical Supervisor
Substance Use Disorder Counselor (SUDP)

Kathy embraces solution focused therapy, placing an emphasis on individual strengths and working collaboratively with clients toward resolution. Her therapeutic lens is systems theory focused which holds that clients are interdependent on the individuals within the group. Kathy uses Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to empower clients to identify and change negative thought patterns to help them be successful.

mental health therapists

Lisa Brawn

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Registered Play Therapist (RPT), Mental Health Therapist

Lisa offers integrated therapy that is Client Centered, Experiential, and engages Systemic Family Therapy. She applies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Sand Tray, Game Play, and other Creative Play Therapy interventions to help clients shift their understanding of themselves. She also supports clients with Child Centered Play, Geek, AutPlay, and Child Parent Relationship Training Therapies. Lisa is currently pursuing a Geek Therapy certification, is a Gamer & Geek friendly, LGBTQ+ friendly therapist.

Tess Buck

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), Mental Health Therapist

Tess' therapeutic work is grounded in systems theory, multicultural theory, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Systems theory helps her consider the broader social and relational contexts that influence a person’s experiences, while multicultural theory fosters awareness and respect for each client’s unique cultural background and identity.

Mark Daniels

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), Mental Health Therapist

Mark understands that each individual and family is unique and, as such, counseling requires methods and techniques that seem best suited for the individual and/or their family. He often uses family systems, cognitive coping, motivational interviewing, and solution focused based therapy modalities with clients. Mark encourages engaging family and other systems in counseling whenever possible to promote positive change.

Jennifer Davis

Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC), Mental Health Therapist

Jennifer offers open, collaborative, non-judgemental, client-centered therapy informed by Psychodynamic and Attachment theory. She partners with clients look at the interaction between current behaviors and past experiences. Jennifer believes that clients are the experts of their own experience and she will support and empower you in reaching your goals. She currently working toward her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) at Antioch University Seattle.

Edite Forman

License Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), Mental Health Therapist

Edite's practice is client-centered and values the therapeutic alliance. A multimodal counselor, she brings knowledge of mental healthcare to collaborate with clients bringing their life experience and expertise to get them where they want to go. While therapy does require work and can be uncomfortable or painful at times, Edite create room for fun and discovery.

Price Gass

License Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), Mental Health Therapist

Prices' background in school counseling frames his integrative, strengths-based, and trauma-informed practice. He is influenced by various therapeutic modalities including Attachment Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Theory (DBT), Existential Theory, Narrative Theory, Person-Centered Theory, Psychoanalytic Theory, and Somatic theories. Price encourages self-reflection through psychoanalysis to explore why emotions and behaviors occur, while also using CBT and DBT techniques to challenge and change emotions and behaviors.

Kimber-Lee Hoeye

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), Mental Health Therapist

Kimber-Lee offers a client-centered approach where clients are the experts in their lives. Through motivational interviewing, we’ll work together to gain insight into the wants and needs of the client and create a space for investigation and change. She provides relational support and intervention so that children and adolescents become equipped with skills and resources for coping with a range of needs including anxiety, depression, trauma, and emotional regulation. Whether they’re struggling with adapting to school or wrestling with a deeper mental health concern, Kimber-Lee provides a safe space for growth and change that allows individuals to become the healthiest versions of themselves.

Char Mansfield

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), Mental Health Therapist

Char offers a strengths-based and trauma-informed approach, personalized to the client. She is guided by the understanding that clients are the experts of their own lives. A trained guide, Char consider trust and vulnerability essential to this work. Clients are being brave in stepping into this work, and she commits to growing and working to create an atmosphere that best serves your ability to thrive.

Emily Mowrer

Mental Health Therapist

Emily focuses on person-centered, attachment-focused, and trauma-informed counseling. She values client experiences and believes everyone deserves care that feels safe and respectful. Offering a holistic approach to mental health with an understanding of how identities, life experiences, relationships, culture, and larger systems can impact the way someone feels and copes. Emily works with clients to build self-acceptance, recognize strengths, and increase awareness of how thoughts, self-talk, and perspectives affect emotions and behavior.

Kiana Podratz

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC), Mental Health Therapist

Kiana integrates age-appropriate techniques such as skills-based interventions, mindfulness activities, psychoeducation, and creative or experiential strategies to support engagement and growth in a safe space therapeutic setting for children and adolescents.

Addyson Riddle

Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC), Mental Health Intern

Addyson believes that both the client and therapist are experts in the room, and the relationship is based off both showing up as authentically themselves. As a systems therapist, I strive to collaborate with all members of a family, as I believe relationships help the function of our lives.

Aldon Schwimmer

License Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), Mental Health Therapist

Aldon helps clients enliven the abilities, strengths, insight, and wisdom they already hold. He supports client well-being and advocates for their success. Aldon collaborates with clients to help them grow, come into their own power, and thrive through respect, empathy, and understanding.

Sharon Stultz

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Mental Health Therapist

Sharon enjoys working with children of all ages, teenagers, and young adults as they gain insight into the ways their history and experiences shape them, identify who they want to be, and develop the skills necessary for a stable and fulfilling life. She personalizes therapy to best meet the needs of each client, using Family Systems Theory, Attachment Theory, Polyvagal Theory, and Gestalt Theory. Sharon believes people are generally doing the best they can with the knowledge and skills they have, and that emotional and behavioral patterns are adaptive responses to the environment. She offers therapy as a non-judgmental space to examine those patterns and try out new ways of relating to ourselves and others.

John Thornburg

Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC), Mental Health Intern

John approaches therapy with a client-centered, strength-based mentality. His client collaborations include emphasizing strengths, identifying desired areas of growth, and restructuring negative core beliefs. John walks beside his clients as they discover their intrinsic power, heal from trauma, and navigate life’s challenges.

Emma Troutman

Licensed Social Worker Associate - Independent Clinical (LSWAIC) - Pending, Mental Health Therapist

Emma believes clients are the experts of their own lives and she supports and empowers them on their therapeutic journey. She recognizes the helpful strategies clients already use and identifies opportunities for future growth. Emma creates an open, judgment-free environment for clients to feel safe and comfortable, encouraging client questions and suggestions to ensure they are receiving the best care for them.

Tayler Tucker

Agency Affiliated Counselor (AAC), Mental Health Intern

Tayler views therapy as collaborative, valuing clients as the most reliable source of their truth and centering individual/family strengths to support positive change. Relationships are viewed within and outside of the cultural, environmental, and community context, focusing on their impacts on mental and physical wellbeing.

substance use clinical administrators & counselors

Jeannie Bowers

Substance Use Disorder Counselor (SUDP), Clinical Manager, Substance Use

Jeannie challenges clients to explore and choose options that will increase their shifts towards positive changes by overcoming difficulties. She encourages fun while clients are learning skillful behaviors for positive changes. Jeannie understand the importance of helping each individual client reclaim themselves and their futures, through self-awareness, communication, and hope.

Kathy Opie

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Substance Use Disorder Counselor (SUDP), Clinical Supervisor, Mental Health

substance use counselors

Stefanie Jaswal

Substance Use Disorder Counselor (SUDP), Substance Use Family Navigator

Stephanie supports clients so that they can lead the way for their own recovery. She does not try to “change” the client, rather helps them understand their strengths and navigate how to apply them in their individual circumstances. Stephanie provides a safe and nonjudgmental space so that clients can fully open up and begin moving towards the changes they wish to see in their lives. She helps clients see what they are capable of and encourages and empowers them while at the same time helping them navigate the obstacles they encounter along the way.

Laura Grace Massey

Substance Use Disorder Counselor Trainee (SUDPT), Substance Use Counselor

Laura offers supportive, empowering, and sometimes even, fun counseling. She use approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), Motivational Interviewing, Experiential Therapy, and creative tools like music, art, and theater, and time outdoors to help clients connect to themselves and others. Sessions may include talking one-on-one, group activities, family support, creative projects, or community involvement. Laura will help you discover your strengths, build new skills, and find positive ways forward.

Mackenzie Snell

Substance Use Disorder Counselor Trainee (SUDPT), Substance Use Counselor

Mackenzie employs motivational interviewing to enhance clients' motivation to change and uses person-centered therapy to create a supportive and empathetic environment, along with a variety of counseling modalities to support clients effectively. She incorporates dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help clients manage emotions and improve interpersonal effectiveness, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to address negative thought patterns and behaviors, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to promote psychological flexibility and acceptance.

administrative

Teresa Casey

CPC, Senior Manager, Clinical Operations

Teresa supports clinical operations in our behavioral health program, including access to services, coordination of appointments, and manage billing and insurance questions.

Isobel Taylor

Client Services Specialist

Isobel is a warm, welcoming presence who may be the first face you see and the first voice you hear. An excellent listener, Isobel will get to know you and your story, and then find the best therapeutic partner for your journey or point you toward the best resources to support your next step.

Nathan Wood

Program Coordinator

additional services

employment
& education services

Comprehensive employment and job-readiness services for young adults, with individualized support for education and employment development — including resume development, soft-skill building, career exploration, and education and/or employment navigation.

Learn more

healthy start

Enriching child and family development for pregnant and/or parenting families with children under age 5, through an evidence-based curriculum, individual and community support, and more.

Learn more

youth engagement team (YET)

Helping youth who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness navigate life challenges, backed by a team of case managers, housing navigators, therapists, and legal help.

Learn more