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Therapy as upkeep: the case for care before the crisis

Published 8:08 pm Sunday, August 2, 2026

by ND Systems Mental Health and Counseling

Counseling works a lot better as something you start before a crisis.

Clients guide their own care at a Kenai practice offering self-referrals, in person or online

Mental health care tends to get treated as an emergency service, something people reach for once a situation has already become hard to manage. A Kenai clinic is making the case for the opposite: starting while things are steady, when there is room to build skills rather than scramble for them.

But the numbers suggest most people are still doing the reverse. 

Half of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 and three-quarters by 24, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, while the average gap between symptoms appearing and treatment beginning is 11 years. 

A teenager who starts struggling at 14, by that math, may not get help until 25.

Sharon Geraghty, Chief Clinical Officer & Mental Health Clinician at ND Systems Mental Health and Counseling in Kenai.

“People are used to thinking of counseling as something you do when you are in crisis,” says Sharon Geraghty, Chief Clinical Officer & Mental Health Clinician at ND Systems Mental Health and Counseling in Kenai. “It works a lot better as something you start before a crisis. The tools you need for a hard stretch are a lot easier to build during an easy one.”

For those taking their first steps toward a healthier and happier life, the clinicians explain what’s available and why, then work with each client on an individual level to find the best solution.

“Medication is an option in some cases, but it’s never a requirement,” Geraghty says. “We offer a variety of research-based therapy options and believe in meeting our clients where they are in their wellness journey.”

That approach runs through the outpatient services at the clinic’s Kenai office on South Willow Street, which include psychotherapy, talk therapy, psychiatric evaluation and medication management. 

Appointments are available in person or by telehealth. The practice has worked in Alaska for over 10 years and also runs offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Getting started is simpler than most people expect: no referral needed, no doctor’s sign-off and right now, no waitlist.

Learn more online at ndsystems.org or call 907-374-0852.