Chris Chandler, MA, LMHC, CSAT

Chris Chandler is a full-time Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 10 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of contexts including inpatient, outpatient, chemical dependency intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization settings. He has significant experience working with individuals with co-occurring disorders of various addictions and psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, PTSD and Christian/spiritual direction concerns. Chris received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Western Oregon University and his Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Mars Hill Graduate School (Now Seattle School of Theology and Psychology).Prior to working fulltime with Bellevue Christian Counseling, Chris worked with a team at Therapeutic Health Services in Seattle for several years to implement ENCOMPASS, a new evidenced based intensive outpatient program for adolescents and young adults struggling with co-occurring disorders. This program was developed through 15 years of research by Paul Riggs, MD at the University of Colorado and is the first of its kind in the entire country.

Prior to this, Chris worked at Fairfax Hospital, an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital, for over five years. He worked primarily on the adolescent and adult units in a variety of roles including: Chemical Dependency Specialist, Clinical Therapist, Program Developer, and Case Manager. Chris gained extensive experience working with severe suicidality, chemical dependency, behavioral problems, self-harm, abuse, homicidality, and psychosis.

Chris first opened his private practice in 2008 while working at Fairfax Hospital. He has maintained his practice on the side since that time, seeing approximately 10-15 clients per week in addition to his fulltime work. He has enjoyed working with individuals, and families from the ages of 5 to 75 years old and dealing with a wide variety of concerns such as wide range of addictions, depression, anxiety, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder, sexual addiction, Asperger’s Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, parenting concerns, Christian counseling, and much more.

Counseling for Co-Occurring Disorders

Treating Addiction and Mental Health Together

“Co-occurring disorders” is a term that describes the interplay between various addictions and mental health concerns. For the past several years, I have counseled people struggling with sexual addiction, drug/alcohol addiction and/or various other addictions while simultaneously addressing their mental health diagnoses such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and PTSD. Very often, if an individual struggles with any one of these, they end up struggling with several. I am passionate about helping my clients understand the relationship between various addictions and underlying psychiatric disorders. I aim to offer a holistic approach to healing that includes biological, psychological, social, and spiritual interventions. I also offer counseling for these issues independent of each other; see “one-to-one counseling” below.

Adolescent Counseling

Safe, friendly counseling for young people

Life can be pretty overwhelming for young people. In addition to disorienting physical and emotional changes, teenagers must combat enormous temptations and pressures heaped on them by peers, families, schools, and wider culture. Yet young people are at a perfect time in their lives to figure out what works and what needs to change. My desire in counseling adolescents is to help them see themselves for who they are apart from the labels that have been imposed upon them.

When working with young people, I have found that there are often systemic family issues involved in the client’s development. Therefore, I emphasize family involvement in my work as a youth counselor.

One-to-One Counseling

Therapy for Individuals

In addition to offering therapy for the specific areas listed above, I also provide one-to-one counseling and spiritual direction for individuals seeking to address personal concerns. My ultimate goal as a counselor is to help my clients feel liberated—to be set free from past experiences and present problems so to live a fuller life in the future. Through a variety of counseling techniques—from exploratory sessions to goal setting to homework—we will work together to help you overcome the issues in your life that prevent you from living to the fullest. Whether you suffer from anxiety, depression, grief, or addiction, or you just want a safe space and qualified counselor to assist you on your journey, I am here to help.

Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.

Availability (by office location):

• Online (WA only) – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for Individuals, Adolescents and Groups looking to pursue counseling with me. For new patients without insurance, your initial appointment is a risk free initial session which means that you will not be billed for the session unless you decide to continue.

Insurance – Out of Network:

Insurance: As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC),a majority of insurance companies will reimburse a portion of my services. If your insurance covers out-of-network benefits, we accept payment for the session and will provide you with a receipt that you can submit to your insurance for reimbursement. We recommend checking with your insurance for information about covered benefits, limitations and/or exclusions and to confirm the amount of reimbursement you can expect from your insurance, so there are no surprises.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 3.7% plus $0.15 per transaction may be added for credit card payments.