Therapeutic Services

Working With Individuals, Couples, and Families

You can access in-person therapy services at MCS offices in Kitsap County and Jefferson County.  MCS Counseling also offers online therapy services for anyone residing in the state of Washington.

Individual Therapy

Explores with client creative ways to better manage life’s ups and downs.

Couples Therapy

Guides couples of any kind to get their relationship back on track and moving in a better direction.

Family Therapy

Helping families come together to better manage life transitions and skillfully face parenting challenges.

Our Expertise

Depression

Read More

According to the American Psychological Association (APA)

Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.

Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:

  • Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
  • Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
  • Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
  • Loss of energy or increased fatigue
  • Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, hand-wringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
  • Feeling worthless or guilty
  • Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
  • Thoughts of death or suicide

    See our list of providers who work with you on moving through your depression.

Stress & Anxiety

Read More

According to the American Psychological Association (APA):

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure.

People with anxiety disorders usually have recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns. They may avoid certain situations out of worry. They may also have physical symptoms such as sweating, trembling, dizziness, or a rapid heartbeat.

See which of our providers treat anxiety.

Someone to Talk To

Read More

According to the National Health Service (NHS):

Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than to relatives or friends.

During talking therapy, a trained counselor or therapist listens to you and helps you find your own answers to problems, without judging you.

The therapist will give you time to talk, cry, shout, or just think. It’s an opportunity to look at your problems in a different way with someone who’ll respect you and your opinions.

See our MCS providers to see who might be a fit for you.

 

Family Member Conflict

Read More

According to Psychology Today,

Peace and harmony may be the goal for most families, but dysfunction is common and insidious and arrives in many forms. Family quarrels and grudges and estrangement can have lasting effects, sometimes following members into old age. When one family member contends with a problem such as alcoholism, the entire household is impacted. In a dysfunctional home, there is normally no sense of unity or empathy, or boundaries, and members can be highly critical of one another.

Find an MCS provider to connect with today.

Job Loss or Change

Read More

Our jobs are often more than just the way we make a living. They influence how we see ourselves, as well as the way others see us. Even if you didn’t love your job, it likely provided you a social outlet and gave a structure, purpose, and meaning to your life. Suddenly finding yourself out of work can leave you feeling hurt, angry, or depressed. You might be questioning your identity, grieving all that you’ve lost, or feeling anxious about what the future holds.

See our providers to learn how to restore self-esteem and work through difficult feelings.

Gender & Sexuality

Read More

In talk therapy, a therapist may help someone explore their gender or sexual orientation. They may also address emotional barriers in relationships. Doing so can enhance sexual experiences. Therapy for issues related to sexuality may help with:

Caregiver Burnout

Read More

Caregiver burnout doesn’t just happen overnight. As days, weeks, and months (in some cases years) march on with mounting responsibilities, caregivers become overwhelmed physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. Julie Canterbury, founder of MCS Counseling said: Every day in a caregiving role, we empty out in order to be present to those in our care. If we continue to empty out without filling up again, we place ourselves in harm’s way.”

So when it comes to this stress disorder, what should caregivers and their extended family be on the lookout for? The key indicator of compassion fatigue is sleep disruption. Caregivers with compassion fatigue often do not have the energy to deal with the issues that can materialize when caring for a loved one with a terminal illness. As a result, both the patient and caregiver suffer.

See our providers to find a good match for you.

Couples Infidelity

Read More

According to Psychology Today,

Infidelity is the breaking of a promise to remain faithful to a romantic partner, whether that promise was a part of marriage vows, a privately uttered agreement between lovers, or an unspoken assumption. As unthinkable as the notion of breaking such promises may be at the time they are made, infidelity is common, and when it happens, it raises thorny questions: Should you stay? Can trust be rebuilt? Or is there no choice but to pack up and move on?

Harmful Thoughts

Read More

According to Psychology Today,

With pain or any sort of negative experience, comes a host of uncomfortable feelings. In response to the feelings we don’t want to feel, our mind takes control and steers us in a more familiar direction. Over and over again, the mind restructures and reframes the contents of our pain in an effort to avoid directly feeling it. The mind will always choose thinking about pain over experiencing it directly.

Talking with a trusted professional has helped millions of people. Find the one who’s right for you here.

Isolation & Loneliness

Read More

A Psychology Today essay finds:

Though our need to connect is innate, many of us frequently feel alone. Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. Even some people who are surrounded by others throughout the day—or are in a long-lasting marriage still experience deep and pervasive loneliness. Research suggests that loneliness poses serious threats to well-being as well as long-term physical health.

Finding ways to work with difficult feelings can be helpful. Find an MCS therapist who’s right for you here.

 

Body Image/Shame

Read More

Body Image shame is common for many but when it stalls the fullness of life, it’s called Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). According to this essay, BDD is a common, often severe, and complex disorder characterized by excessive concern about one or more perceived defects in one’s physical appearance. Individuals with BDD believe that they look abnormal in some way – for example, “hideous,” “ugly,” or “deformed” – whereas to others, they are “normal-looking”.

Shame can be healed and many of our therapists us evidence-based methods to heal from the origins of these feelings. Find an MCS therapist who’s right for you here.

Addiction

Read More

According to Psychology Today,

A person with an addiction uses a substance or engages in a behavior, for which the rewarding effects provide a compelling incentive to repeat the activity, despite detrimental consequences. Addiction may involve the use of substances such as alcohol, inhalants, opioids, illicit prescription medicine, cocaine, and nicotine, or behaviors such as gambling and technology dependence.

Finding treatment for an addiction can be challenging. If you’re wondering whether you have a problem or want to find ways to sustain a well-balanced life, please see our specialists here.

Our Approach

Our mission is to meet the individuals where they are and provide them with an effective and quality skilled therapist.  It is MCS Counseling’s desire to offer professional, ethical, and system competent services to our community.

​MCS Counseling Group believes in creating a relaxed but knowledgeable environment in order to allow our patients the opportunity to work toward health breakthroughs.

At MCS Counseling, our objective is to have a bottom-up approach, if we support our clinicians with financial, supervision, and empowerment, this will, in turn, provide a conduit to their clients so they can counsel and empower these individuals. Our ultimate goal is to empower individuals, couples, and families into self-awareness and healing.

Getting Started is Easy