Great Northern Therapy Associates is the largest mental health provider group in WA state who specializes in helping injured workers. Services provided are related to an open claim, either through Behavioral Health Intervention services or mental health treatment for a mental health diagnosis that has been accepted on the claim.

Counseling interventions provided are from a variety of research-based therapeutic intervention models including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitation and Reprocessing, Internal Family Systems, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy. Sessions include the development of an individualized goal-orientated plan to help workers adjust, make functional improvements, and hopefully successfully return to the workforce.

How Mental Health Therapy Helps Injured Workers

Experiencing a work-related injury or illness can cause an individual to experience a great deal of stress. It is not uncommon for individuals to suffer from symptoms that may cause functional impairment to one’s mental and emotional health.

There are often many issues that an individual faces following a work-related injury or illness. One often encounters stress associated with an unclear course of medical treatment, pain, fear associated with re-injury, difficulty sleeping, unknowns regarding future employment, financial difficulties, and a grieving process related to the loss experienced with activities that have become more difficult or impossible to perform.

Mental Health Services As Part of an L&I Claim

As of 1/1/24 The Washington Department of Labor now allows licensed master’s-level mental health therapists to provide treatment to injured workers. This means there are now more providers available to support injured workers!

Services available as part of the claim are as follows:

• Behavior Health Intervention Sessions

• Mental Health Treatment for an Accepted Mental Health Condition Accepted on the Claim

Behavior Health Intervention Sessions provide support with issues that are considered to be related to the physical diagnosis on the claim, addressing barriers that are impacting the injured worker’s ability to recover and return to work. With approval from the attending healthcare provider, injured workers can access up to 16 sessions with no cost to them, with no need for prior authorization. In some cases, additional sessions may be requested and approved.

More in-depth mental health treatment can be provided when there is an accepted mental health condition on the claim.  This evaluation must be recommended by the attending provider and authorized by the claim manager.  The mental health evaluation must be completed by a licensed psychologist who determines: 1. whether the worker meets the DSM-5 diagnosis for a mental health condition and 2. if the diagnosis is claim-related. Once this is determined, treatment for the mental health condition can be provided by either a psychologist or master’s-level therapist. The length of treatment is determined based on the individual needs of the client and the focus is to help stabilize the worker in order to help them successfully return to work.ided. The focus and length of treatment is determined based on the individual needs of the client.

How Are Referrals Handled?

Great Northern Therapy Associates has licensed mental health therapists who are L&I providers, located throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California, who are able to provide mental health services to injured workers.  Telehealth and some in-person options are available. Start the referral process by filling out the form here.