When I was an undergraduate, a close friend of mine was going through serious mental health challenges, and she turned to me. I told her I thought she needed help, and that I would help her find it. What I learned in the process was how hard that is — and when she finally did get care, it wasn’t good care.

Watching someone I loved go through that, and feeling helpless alongside her, is what set my direction. I wanted the access to be better and the quality to be better. I considered several paths into healthcare and found psychiatric nursing, and it was the right fit.

I chose to work as a nurse before becoming a nurse practitioner, which turned out to be one of the most valuable decisions I made. I still think about my inpatient days all the time when I’m practicing.

My approach now starts with getting to know you. I’m genuinely interested in people — all kinds of jobs, backgrounds, beliefs, and lives — and respect is a large part of how I practice. The more someone trusts you, the more they’ll tell you, and the more they tell you, the more you can actually help.

I lean on motivational interviewing, on education, and on supportive listening. I find that explaining what’s happening is empowering: people come back to the next visit understanding their own condition, and the changes hold better when you arrived at them yourself.

And everything you tell me stays between us. That’s not a policy I follow, it’s something I take seriously and permanently.