About Jeff Prather

You Deserve to Feel Great. I’m Here to Help.

Jeff Prather is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker. He provides in-person and telehealth (video) individual counseling for adults living in the Vancouver, WA area. Jeff also sees clients who live elsewhere in the States of Washington and Oregon via telehealth.

Jeff especially enjoys working with older adults, individuals in life transitions, people living with Attention Deficit Disorders, Depression, and Anxiety as well as people wanting to change careers. Other populations he enjoys working with include people from other cultures, people living with HIV/AIDS, and members of the LGBT+ community.

My Background

People often ask me if I find the work depressing and for the most part, I do not. (But yes, even therapists have “bad” days where things seem more difficult). In the end, I enjoy helping people find a better life and learn how to live with, change, and cope with their symptoms. I know that learning how to manager feeling, symptoms, learning how to cope, and simply talking with another person help us navigate our ever evolving and complicated world. Although I understand the usefulness of Western medications to treat mental health issues. And, I also believe that for some people, integrating other healing options from the East, massage, acupuncture, spiritual healing, and herbs used in Chinese, Naturopathic and Ayurvedic medicine may be beneficial. 


I enjoy my work because it requires me constantly learn and explore. I believe working with people requires us to understand the context of what happened in your past to the extent that these factors continue to influence how we filter and see the world and our lives. My goal as a therapist is to strive help you understand how factors such as culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, the era you were raised, and the environment you were raised in impact how you feel today. Understanding these factors can be key to healing and adjusting expectations and thinking so you can move forward in a healthier way.

My Approach & Philosophy

Like many people, I got into behavioral health wanting to understand my own emerging mental health issues that began in my teens: depression and anxiety. I was (and I’m still) fascinated by the brain and how it works. I am very humbled about how little we still do not understand in terms of how our brains process emotions and express mental health symptoms. New research is revealing so much more about brain function, the chemical components of mental health, the impact of stress, and how things like gut health, balanced lives, mindfulness work, and self-care impact our mental health. Add to this the “hard wired” aspects of personalities we inherit from genetics, the impact of chemical actions in the body, and pre-disposed things like frustration tolerance or resiliency or ingrained temperament affecting us is a whole new world of exploration that continues to evolve.

Through my own therapies, life experiences, and education, I learned how to live with my mental illness and at times, thrive. And as a human, I understand that mental health is a recovery illness and sometimes I do better than other times despite my best effort. Take life day by day. Because I was able to learn and benefit from therapy and medications, I now enjoy helping others learn these life tools. My interest in my career has been to help others get healthier, empowered, stronger, and more independent. I am fortunate to have the honor and privilege of doing this every day I work. Understanding that one size does not fit all, I work closely to individualize care for each person to improve life quality and mitigate symptoms.