Your Career Is Thriving.You Might Not Be.
A future psychiatric practice for professionals and executives navigating ADHD, burnout, anxiety, depression, and substance-use concerns.
Careful evaluation. Evidence-based treatment. A clinical approach built for people whose lives don't pause for appointments.
I am a registered nurse currently completing graduate education in psychiatric-mental health nursing, with an expected graduation in December 2027. I am not yet accepting new clients or offering PMHNP services. This page describes the practice I am building toward, and will serve as a reference for professionals seeking care when I am licensed to practice.
- 9+ yearsin clinical care, from EMS to the neuro ICU
- Level Itrauma center neuro ICU, where I work nights now
- 625 hourssupervised clinical training, beginning March 2027
- 2028anticipated opening, after board certification and licensure
What High Performers Miss About Their Own Mental Health.
- The executive who can run a company but can't quiet their mind at eleven at night.Read
- The physician who can steady a trauma bay but can't steady their own sleep.Read
- The attorney who prepares flawlessly for trial and cannot make the rest of their life hold together.Read
- The founder whose periods of high productivity sometimes become exhausting or unsustainable.Read
- The professional who has compensated for ADHD for fifteen years and is exhausted by the machinery required to do it.Read
- The high achiever who has been calling it burnout for a year and has stopped getting better with rest.Read
- The person whose use of alcohol, stimulants, or cannabis has quietly become harder to control.Read
Success can conceal suffering.
My Clinical Focus Areas.
I'm focusing my graduate training and clinical hours on these specific areas. They represent my specialty, not a complete list of everything I can treat.
ADHD & Executive Function
Do you lose track of time? Struggle to start tasks? Have trouble managing your emotions? Or have you spent years hiding all this from everyone around you? Many high-achievers deal with all of this while their resume shows none of it. 9 articles
Read the WritingSleep & Burnout
Running on too little sleep, exhaustion that a vacation doesn't fix, and the strain of demanding schedules. Sometimes it's burnout. Sometimes it's a treatable condition wearing the same clothes. 3 articles
Read the WritingAnxiety & Perfectionism
Anxiety, panic, perfectionism, and the exhaustion that comes from constantly worrying and making decisions based on fear. 6 articles
Read the WritingMood & Depression
Depression, bipolar disorder, burnout, and sleep disruption — when low mood is the primary presenting concern. 8 articles
Read the WritingOCD
Intrusive thoughts, checking that looks like diligence, and why OCD in high-stakes professions is missed for years. 4 articles
Read the WritingAdult Autism
Exhaustion that never made sense, years of treated anxiety with something unnamed underneath, and the cost of performing normal at work. 4 articles
Read the WritingMedication & Treatment
What starting an antidepressant actually feels like, what stimulants do and do not fix, why a medication stops working, and how to come off one safely. 6 articles
Read the WritingPsychotherapy
Being told to "get therapy" is like being told to "take medicine." What each approach actually treats, and how to ask for the right one. 5 articles
Read the WritingPain & Psychiatric Care
Pain is subjective — there is no test that measures it. That makes psychiatric care and pain inseparable, and makes being believed part of the treatment. 5 articles
Read the WritingMental Health & Substance Use
Alcohol, stimulants, cannabis, and prescription medications, assessed alongside mood, attention, and sleep rather than treated as a separate problem for a separate clinician. 4 articles
Read the WritingTrauma & ICU Psychiatric Care
ICU delirium, PTSD after critical illness, and psychiatric recovery in survivors — grounded in direct experience with severe illness and what comes after. 4 articles
Read the WritingSerious Mental Illness
Long-term support for serious conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with hallucinations or delusions. I'm honest about whether office-based care is right for you, or if hospital-level care is needed instead. 3 articles
Read the WritingNot Sure Any of These Describe You?
Fifteen further pieces on what a psychiatric evaluation actually involves, when it’s worth having one, and why capable people find it unusually hard to ask — including the professions where asking is hardest.
Ready to Start?
The practice opens in 2028. Join the notification list and I will let you know when I am taking patients — or send a note if you would rather just ask a question.
Why I Came to Psychiatry Through the ICU.
Critically ill patients teach you to notice small changes early, to think about brain and body as one system, and to stay methodical when a situation stops being simple.
My clinical career began in emergency medical services, then moved through ICU care, skilled nursing, cardiac telemetry, and neurocritical care at a Level I trauma center.
I am now completing graduate education in psychiatric-mental health nursing. The long-term goal is to bring that same discipline to outpatient psychiatric care for adults carrying significant professional responsibility.
More About My BackgroundCertifications
- CCRNCritical care certification, exam planned early 2027
- ACLSAdvanced Cardiovascular Life Support
- BLSBasic Life Support
- NIHSSNIH Stroke Scale
- Emergency Medical TechnicianAmbulance service, Chicago, June 2017 to May 2019
- ICU Patient Care TechnicianCritical care in Mesa, Arizona, through the COVID-19 surge, June 2019 to May 2021
- Licensed Practical NurseSkilled nursing, Des Plaines and Elmhurst, October 2022 to June 2025
- RN House SupervisorSkilled nursing facility, June 2025 to May 2026
- Registered Nurse, Cardiac TelemetryLevel II trauma center, night shift, six-patient assignments, June 2025 to May 2026
- Registered Nurse, Neuro ICULevel I trauma center, since February 2026. Preceptor for new nurses; floats to the burn ICU and coronary care unit
- Master of Science in Nursing, in ProgressPMHNP program, Chamberlain University
MSN Nurse Practitioner Core — Complete
- NR 581NP Foundational Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice
- NR 582NP Leadership and Role Development for Advanced Nursing Practice
- NR 583NP Informatics for Advanced Nursing Practice
- NR 584NP Quality and Safety for Advanced Nursing Practice
- NR 585NP Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice
- NR 586NP Population Health and Epidemiology
Advanced Practice Core — In Progress, Finishing October 2026
- NR 507 Advanced Pathophysiology
- NR 565 Advanced Pharmacology Fundamentals
Psychiatric Specialty Coursework — November 2026 to February 2027
- NR 546 Psychopharmacology for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practice
- NR 548 Psychiatric Assessment for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practice
- NR 509 Advanced Physical Assessment
Clinical Practicum — 625 Supervised Hours, March to December 2027
- NR 547 Differential Diagnosis in Psychiatric-Mental Health Across the Lifespan
- NR 605 Diagnosis and Management in Psychiatric-Mental Health I
- NR 606 Diagnosis and Management in Psychiatric-Mental Health II
- NR 607 Diagnosis and Management in Psychiatric-Mental Health III
- NR 668 Capstone Practicum and Intensive
16 courses • 47 credit hours • 625 supervised clinical hours • 500 with a psychiatrist (MD) and 125 with a clinical psychologist (PsyD) for psychotherapy • expected completion December 2027, licensure anticipated 2028
The Road to Prescribing, in Public.
Most practice sites appear the week someone starts taking patients. This one is being built in the open, well before it opens, so that when it does you can see exactly what stood behind it.
Right now: nights in a neuro ICU at a Level I trauma center in Chicago, and graduate school in between.
MSN Nurse Practitioner Core
Six courses — foundations, leadership, informatics, quality and safety, research methods, population health. Complete.
Advanced Practice Core
Advanced pathophysiology and advanced pharmacology fundamentals. In progress now, finishing October 2026.
Psychiatric Specialty Coursework
Psychopharmacology in November and December 2026, then advanced physical assessment and psychiatric assessment in January and February 2027.
CCRN Certification
The national critical care nursing certification, earned through bedside hours in the Cook County neuro ICU. Exam planned for early 2027.
Clinical Practicum — 625 Supervised Hours
Five practicum courses across differential diagnosis and management through the lifespan, taken one at a time, two months each, starting March 2027. 500 hours with a psychiatrist (MD), and 125 hours with a clinical psychologist (PsyD) learning psychotherapy.
Graduation
Master of Science in Nursing, Chamberlain University. Expected December 2027.
Board Certification
The ANCC examination for PMHNP-BC certification will be taken after graduation. 175 questions, three and a half hours, and everything downstream waits on it.
Illinois Licensure
APRN licensure will be applied for through IDFPR, and cannot be filed until board certification is in hand. Illinois controlled substance licensure and federal DEA registration will follow, strictly in that order.
The Practice Opens
Anticipated 2028. Everything on this site describes what is being built toward, not what is currently offered.
How I Intend to Practice.
- Careful, unhurried assessment
- Evidence-based treatment
- Honest conversations about trade-offs
- Medication as one tool among several
- Coordination with the rest of your care
- Long-term thinking about stability
- Substance use assessed alongside mood, sleep, and attention
- Attention to how you are doing, not only how you are performing
The Sequence, Start to Steady State.
This describes how I intend to structure care once I am licensed and practicing. Specifics will follow my scope, credentialing, and practice policies at that time.
Initial Evaluation
A comprehensive review of symptoms, medical and psychiatric history, medications, substance use, sleep, functioning, and what you actually want to be different.
Diagnostic Formulation
Understanding what is happening — and what else could explain it — before committing to a treatment plan.
Individualized Treatment
Medication, psychotherapy, behavioral strategies, sleep intervention, referral, or some combination, depending on the clinical picture.
Ongoing Monitoring
Tracking symptoms, functioning, side effects, safety, and whether the plan is actually working.
Long-Term Strategy
The goal isn't getting through the next appointment. It's psychiatric stability you can sustain alongside the rest of your life.
You Don't Have to Wait Until Something Breaks.
I'm not accepting patients yet. Join the list for a free guide, A Professional's Guide to Getting Psychiatric Care in Chicago, plus occasional new writing and first notice when the practice opens in 2028.
Founding members: the first 25 people on the list will be offered a founding rate on the monthly membership, locked for their first year, when the practice opens.