As a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, I am trained in diagnostic and medical management of psychiatric conditions across the lifespan. I have experience treating a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. My practice has included specialized work with child and adolescent populations, mood disorders, behavior dysregulation, impulse control, and substance dependence. I’ve also managed patients with diagnosed chronic mental health disorders that led to criminal behaviour and incarceration.
Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner my focus was critical care. I worked in Neuro-trauma ICU, Cardiovascular ICU, and the Emergency Department. I’ve worked with patients requiring in-patient psychiatric treatment in addition to outpatient settings. I had the opportunity to work with residents living in a forensic inpatient psychiatric treatment facility, for people the court deemed permanently incompetent to stand trial for violent criminal action, operated by the Missouri Department of Mental Health. I’m currently a member of the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team through the US Department of Homeland Security. Through this I’ve deployed to areas of the country needing emergent medical assistance, specifically for mental health. Most recently I’ve worked in an outpatient clinic that serves mental health patients and provides substance dependence treatment, including medication assisted treatment. There I managed patients being treated with buprenorphine (Suboxone), TMS, ketamine (Spravato), and long acting injectables for chronic debilitating mental health diagnoses. While working with a wide range of patients I’ve seen the benefits of considering different treatment options before making a decision. My goal is match each individual patient with the unique treatment option they feel most comfortable with. I’m excited to be working in an organization that offers a combination of therapy and medication management, as this is evidenced based best practice for most mental health conditions. Many patients appreciate the options for complementary and alternative therapies. This can include the use of work/school accommodations, ruling out a medical cause, light therapy, dietary changes, individual or group psychotherapy, patient and family education, and building strong social supports. I also offer tele-health visits for those who prefer that. I would be honored to team with you in achieving your mental health goals. There are many treatment options available and I’m passionate about educating patients on different approaches. Together we can form an individualized treatment plan that you feel confident in.
