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Progressive Pathways Psychiatry: Advancing Towards Wellness

Whatcom County, by video ✦

Telehealth psychiatric care in Bellingham, WA

Progressive Pathways Psychiatry offers Bellingham and Ferndale residents psychiatric care by secure video, including students and young adults managing their first serious stretch of anxiety or low mood.

Book Appointment Call (469) 523-2646

Quick answer

Bellingham residents aged 13 and over can see a Washington-licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner from Progressive Pathways Psychiatry by secure video. Visits include evaluation, diagnosis and medication management. Because Bellingham sits close to the Canadian border, remember that each visit has to start while you are in Washington, not in British Columbia.

Care for Bellingham residents

All of Whatcom County is federally designated as a mental health professional shortage area, so the county as a whole has fewer mental health providers than its population needs. For a university town with a large population of students and young adults, that gap often shows up as long waits for a first appointment. Video care adds capacity without a drive to Seattle. The border adds one rule worth knowing: a visit cannot take place from the Canadian side, even for a Washington resident.

This page also covers Ferndale.

Starting care in your late teens and twenties

For many people, the first serious bout of anxiety or depression arrives during school or the first years of work. It can be hard to tell whether what you are feeling is normal stress or something that needs treatment. An evaluation answers that question honestly, and if the answer is “this is more than stress”, it gives you a plan. For some, the problem turns out to be social anxiety, which is very treatable once it has a name.

Close to the border

Bellingham is about twenty miles from the Canadian border, and plenty of residents cross for shopping, family or work. That is fine for your life and irrelevant to your care, with one exception: a video visit counts as Washington care only if you are in Washington when it happens.

A Black man smiling on his sofa at home, talking to an open laptop during a relaxed telehealth appointment
Care from your own sofa ✦

Before you book

Washington care at a glance in Bellingham

  • Video visits only

    There is no Washington office. Every visit is a secure video appointment. You need to be physically in Washington State at the time of each video visit.

  • Teens and adults, 13 and up

    In Washington, care is for patients aged 13 and older, from the teenage years through adulthood.

  • Insurance in Washington

    In network with Aetna, Meritain Health and Evernorth. Other plans are not accepted in Washington yet, so call (469) 523-2646 to check your coverage before your first visit.

  • Prescribing in Washington

    Controlled substances are not prescribed in Washington, so no stimulants and no benzodiazepines. Evaluation, non-controlled medication and ongoing follow-up are all available.

  • Appointment hours

    Friday
    2:30 pm – 5:30 pm Central, which is 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm Pacific
    Saturday
    8:00 am – 5:30 pm Central, which is 6:00 am – 3:30 pm Pacific

  • Licensed in Washington

    Stacy Edosonmwan, PMHNP-BC, ARNP holds a Washington Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner license number ARNP.AP.70174856-NP. Check it with Washington DOH provider credential search or Nursys license verification.

What Bellingham patients come in for

  • Student anxiety and stress

    Exams, deadlines and living away from home for the first time can tip ordinary stress into anxiety that needs proper care.

  • First episodes of depression

    A first serious low patch in your late teens or twenties deserves a careful evaluation, not just advice to push through.

  • ADHD questions in college

    Trouble keeping up once school gets harder is evaluated carefully. In Washington, treatment uses non-stimulant options.

  • Social anxiety

    Dreading seminars, group work or social events enough to avoid them, treated with a plan that builds confidence over time.

How Washington care starts

  1. Reach out

    Book online or call (469) 523-2646. Mention that you live in Washington so the visit is set up correctly, and ask about your insurance before your first visit.

  2. Your first video evaluation

    An unhurried appointment by secure video from your home in Washington: your history, your symptoms, what you have tried, and what you want to change. You leave with a plan.

  3. Follow-up by video

    Regular follow-up visits by video, adjusting the plan as your life changes, wherever you are in the state. You always know why a change is being made before it happens.

Questions people ask

Frequently asked questions

Can students at a Bellingham college be seen?

Yes. Students aged 13 and older can be seen by video while they are in Washington, including those who moved here from another state for school. Check your insurance first, because only certain plans are in network for Washington patients.

I sometimes cross into British Columbia. Does that affect my appointment?

Only if you are in Canada when the visit is due. The license covers patients located in Washington, so schedule visits for times you will be on this side of the border.

Which crisis line covers Whatcom County?

Whatcom County is served by the North Sound regional crisis line at 1-800-584-3578, around the clock. Calling or texting 988 also reaches help at any hour, and 911 is for emergencies.

Elsewhere in Washington

Related care

These pages also describe care in Texas. In Washington, every visit is by video, for patients 13 and up, and no controlled substances are prescribed.

About this page

Medically reviewed by Stacy Edosonmwan, PMHNP-BC, board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Last reviewed .

This page is general health information, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for an evaluation. Talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.

Sources

Ready when you are

Book online or call to set up a secure video visit from anywhere in Washington State.

Book Appointment Call (469) 523-2646