Hello, welcome to my website.   Similar to me, it is a growing and changing project.  I developed this website to serve as an educational extension of my practice.  Teaching is a very important part of what I do, and I can't fit everything into a patient's session.  So, I hope the additional material on this website is helpful.

 

Who am I?

 

For those who don't see me for their psychiatric care, I guess I should introduce myself.  I am first an foremost a human, just like you, navigating this complex journey of life.  I don’t forget that, and I work very hard to treat my patients as equal partners in their care — that is, together we formulate a plan that meets the needs of each person.  As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I combine medication prescribing, psychotherapy, patient education, and self-care strategies in my practice.  I am dedicated to teaching patients about their illness, holding the belief that people are better equipped to make changes when they fully understand their illness and treatment options.  My goal is to help people understand the multi-faceted approach to reaching and maintaining a state of wellbeing.

 

Background

 

I am a board certified Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (American Nurses Credentialing Center).  I have a Doctorate in Nursing Practice, Master’s in Nursing Science, Master's in Environmental Health, and Bachelor’s in Nursing Science.  I have over ten years experience as an adult psychiatric nurse practitioner and have worked in various settings including internal medicine, community health, outpatient psychiatry, and a community-based VA clinic.  I currently hold active licenses in Alaska, Colorado, and Montana.

 

Prior to working as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I worked in cardiac rehabilitation.  I chose psychiatry was my third (ha..ha..) career, after repeatedly witnessing the forgotten truth that mental and physical health is interconnected.  My cardiac patients often had long-standing issues with depression and anxiety; yet, many were afraid to talk about that.  Cholesterol and blood pressure were easy to talk about, depression was not.  Thus, I set out to help break the stigma that surrounds mental health.  Prior to that, I worked in risk management and occupational health; that background provides a wonderful platform for relating to the various working conditions many of my patients face, as well as helping people approach their issues from a risk minimizing standpoint.  

 

I hope you enjoy my website.  More importantly, I hope the information is helpful.  Thank you for visiting.