Christian Mental Health Providers
Newport Beach, California, 92660
I have been a Registered Nurse for more than 40 years, and a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner for the past 20 years caring for and providing medical treatment to individuals who suffer from mental illness and drug addiction. As a nurse, I am passionate about helping people get out of the sick role and heal. As a nurse practitioner who is a Christian, I am passionate about those things, and I'm also passionate about helping people find their identity in Christ and focus on Him, instead of what they are going through. I am passionate about helping individuals recognize and believe they are valuable, have worth, and are uniquely designed by the creator for a Kingdom purpose that only they can accomplish. That despite each of our brokenness God wants to shine through us and to use us for His glory. As Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s handiwork, his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
As a nurse practitioner in private practice for the last 11 years, I have met many Christians who suffer from mental illness and are doing so in silence without support from their church. Their experiences, of fear and dread of being “found out,’ of being seen differently, misunderstood, and avoided by their church, are real and heart-wrenching. Many Christians that I’ve come alongside and cared for into recovery, expressed how deeply alone they have felt because they never felt safe to share their struggle with anyone in the church. Some, who have shared, have felt an “almost immediate” disconnect from the person they shared with. Others have gotten an “almost immediate” response of “let’s pray,” causing the individual to believe and feel they were now perceived as having a weak faith. If they held positions of leadership in the church, they were asked to step down until they were “spiritually stronger.” Many of these individuals have struggled with feeling that somehow they have failed Jesus because of their illness and challenges. Some struggle to believe that God loves them, and some have even walked away from the church. This has broken my heart for many, and I believe God has placed this burden on my heart and the hearts of many other mental health professionals who are also Christians.
I began my nursing corporation, Lifeline 2 Wellness, to provide individuals seeking mental health care with a truly holistic and personalized option than they have been used to.I am interested in more than how your medications are working for you. I explore and address with you the other areas in your life that may be affecting your mental health. Not only is it important to address our physical and psychological needs, but it is my personal belief that providing truly holistic care requires acknowledging and supporting our spiritual health as well. It is through caring for the Body, the Spirit, and the Soul, which is the mind-will-emotion, that we create the balance that propels us to experience life richly and fully; the way we deeply desire and were created to.
As a believer and follower of Christ, I have been given the opportunity to remind others they are not alone, they are worthy and are part of God's perfect plan.