LYNNWOOD. Fairfax Behavioral Health marked the debut of its latest outpatient clinic in Lynnwood with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Friday.
Located at 20700 44th Ave. W, the new site, branded as Branches Lynnwood, will launch direct client services starting Monday, offering outpatient mental health therapy to adolescents and adults.
Fairfax Behavioral Health, known for its inpatient psychiatric hospital in Everett and addiction-focused inpatient program in Monroe, has expanded its footprint across the region with existing clinics in Kirkland and Bellevue. Leadership emphasized that while the organization has long been recognized for residential care, this Lynnwood location signals a strategic shift toward broader outpatient engagement.
“The Lynnwood clinic, and Branches specifically, reflects our evolution into the outpatient space,” said CEO Patrick Wilder. “It’s about deepening our reach and making our services more accessible across the continuum of care.”
The clinic will deliver intensive outpatient programming, incorporating structured group therapy sessions, individual counseling, and medication support. Clinical offerings are designed to assist individuals coping with anxiety, depression, panic episodes, trauma-related symptoms, and thoughts of self-harm. Group sessions will be offered in-person, through hybrid models, or remotely to increase flexibility and participation.
Chief Operating Officer Laurel Schilling noted the clinic’s potential to ease pressure on local emergency departments by offering timely, lower-acuity interventions before crises escalate. “Branches is about growth, recovery, and long-term wellness,” she said. “It’s about stepping beyond the immediate crisis to build resilience.”
A growing emphasis at the Lynnwood site will be support for neurodivergent clients, including children and adults with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Programming will target core challenges such as organizational skills, emotional control, and interpersonal interaction, with additional neuropsychological assessments available to guide treatment planning. Schilling added that dialectical behavior therapy protocols will be adapted to better suit neurodivergent needs.
Looking ahead, Branches Lynnwood is also preparing to integrate transcranial magnetic stimulation, a non-invasive brain stimulation technique shown to benefit individuals with depression that has not responded well to other treatments.
Friday’s celebration drew community and civic leaders, including State Representative Lauren Davis of Shoreline. Davis highlighted the clinic’s role in a broader shift in local mental health infrastructure, pointing to recent openings such as the Lynnwood Crisis Care Center and a methadone clinic as part of a growing ecosystem of accessible services.
“The arc of progress in addiction care is shifting away from reliance on incarceration and institutionalization,” Davis said. “It’s turning toward hope, recovery, renewed dreams, stronger families, and reconciliation, and for many in our area, that journey begins right here, as they walk through these doors.”