About Me

Hi, I’m Melissa, and I’m a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, offering personalized, integrative mental health care. I built this practice because I believe you deserve care that actually fits your life, not just your diagnosis.

Before psychiatry, I spent years as a paramedic, an ICU nurse, and an anesthesia provider, helping people navigate some of the scariest moments of their lives. Those roles taught me that injury & illness don’t happen to just a body. It happens to a person, someone with a family and their own experiences.

What I didn’t expect was how deeply my personal life would reinforce everything I was learning as a provider. My child has a rare complex medical condition and is neurodivergent. I spent years in exam rooms with brilliant physicians who were genuinely fascinated & excited by her complex case - while we, as her family, just needed someone to slow down, look us in the eye, and say something human.

Then came my own health journey. Biopsies. Cancer. Surgeries. Chemotherapy. Stem cell transplant. Along the way, I found a physician who stepped outside the constraints of traditional medicine. He treated me from his heart and with his knowledge instead of from a protocol. He gave me back my hope & my health, leaving me empowered to fight, not only for myself, but for others who deserve that same kind of care.

Those experiences taught me something I never could have learned in a classroom - what it feels like to need care but not quite find it in a system that doesn’t always have answers and doesn’t seem built for you. They also showed me what it means when you finally do find a provider who refuses to give up on you. That’s the clarity I bring into every appointment. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Your quality of life matters now.

After my transplant, I went back to school for psychiatry - and I brought everything with me. The anesthesia background that taught me to think ahead, not just react. The mindfulness training that showed me what the mind is truly capable of. And the personal experiences of navigating a system that dismisses, delays, or over-complicates. I built this practice to be something different.

Outside of my professional work, I stay grounded in the things that remind me to be present. Time with nature, music, & art are necessities for me. They’re the practices that help me be the kind of provider I want to be for you.

If you are tired of not being seen clearly - you’re in the right place.