Based in Bellingham, serving clients throughout Washington State. Clarity Mental Health & Recovery provides substance use disorder (SUD) counseling, mental health (MH) counseling, evaluations and treatment. Contact our team to discuss the right service and appointment options for you.

At Clarity, we offer care tailored to each client. Our staff approaches treatment with nonjudgmental compassion and supports the whole person: mind, body and spirit. We help clients with substance use, mental health and co-occurring concerns.

12-step programs can be a valuable source of support, and we recognize that there are many pathways to recovery. We are here to help you find a path that supports your goals and wellbeing.

Getting started can feel difficult. Complete our new patient application or call (360) 676-4485 to connect with our team.

Dr. Gabor Maté says that addictions are simply attempts to soothe pain. This pain may be emotional, mental, physical, or relational. Drugs work to relieve this pain and until we find ways to heal our pain, we will continue to exist in a cycle of suffering and addiction.

Well, what helps us take care of our pain? When someone helps us carry our pain with compassion, we can learn to be with it, and thus heal the injuries of our experiences.

We believe that clients suffer from the pain of life and attempt to cope with it using the skills they know best. We help carry our clients’ difficult emotions and teach new ways of coping through cognitive, mindful, behavioral, and skills-based therapeutic approaches.

Science and spirituality converge to help us understand the importance of self-reflection, introspection, and mindfulness. These skills are necessities for mental and physical wellbeing and can be obtained through 12-step models, scientific study, Eastern psychology, and many other pathways. More than anything, we aspire to help our clients understand themselves and their behavior in deeper ways. Once we understand ourselves, we begin to self-correct and align with our values.

Clarity Mental Health & Recovery was born out of the ashes of Belair Clinic, a local treatment center founded in 1987 specializing in substance use disorders. Belair Clinic was founded by the late Dr. Duane Stewart and was purchased by Max Whipple Jr. in 2010. Max Whipple had a vision to bring a new compassionate and non-judgemental feel to the addiction treamtent world, and has always had a passion for neuroscience and evidence based practice.

Max hired an enthusiastic young intern named Kelly Frost in 2012, and they quickly became friends and colleagues, buiding together a well respected treatment program in Whatcom County. Belair Clinic was known for creating a fun and safe space to grow and find recovery.

Kelly Frost took over as the new owner and executive director in 2021, transforming the business into Clarity Mental Health & Recovery; adding both mental health and psychiatric services to the program. Under his leadership we have grown to be one of the counties most premier locations for counseling and psychiatry. He carries with him the same values of non-judgment, compassion and kindness that he learned from his mentor Max, and he continues to ensure that each client is treated with the utmost respect; despite their reason for seeking services.

“Knowing oneself comes from attending with compassionate curiosity to what is happening within” – Gabor Mate

~ Serving Washington State ~
Whatcom County: Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, Lynden
Skagit County: Burlington, Mount Vernon
And all other local surrounding counties and cities

DUI Assessments and Evaluations

Deferred prosecution treatment program

Counseling for Couples and Families

Moderation Management

Domestic Violence Intervention Treatment

Suboxone and Medication Management 

Privacy Practices
Accepted Insurance
Patient Portal

Your privacy and the confidentiality of your medical records are of great importance. As such, Clarity follows standard-industry practices for the collection, maintenance and disposal of your records. We encourage you to read our HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices for more information.

copyright © Clarity Mental Health and Recovery Treatment Center ~ Whatcom County, Washington