Hi everyone!
I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner providing psychiatric consultation, evaluations, medication management, health education, and brief therapy. For those of you who don’t know me, I thought I would give you a little bit of background information about my professional path and how I ended up here.
I have lived in Knoxville since 1998. I studied psychology as an undergraduate at Carson Newman University and went on to pursue a graduate degree in Education from Carson Newman as a Marriage and Family Therapist.
I started my career as a case manager at Cherokee where I worked for two years providing services in the surrounding counties of East Tennessee. I eventually began practicing as a therapist where I have experience in community outpatient (Cherokee and McNabb), inpatient (Peninsula Village), and private practice (Complete Counseling and Behavioral Medicine Institute) settings. I enjoyed working with couples and families the most. Bowen Family Systems and Minuchin Structural Family Therapy guided most of my work in the early years. I eventually continued training through the IFS Institute in Asheville, North Carolina and became certified as an Internal Family Systems clinician. Later, I began incorporating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy modalities. In my nine years as a therapist, I frequently encountered individuals with not only chronic behavioral health issues, but chronic medical conditions as well. I found myself spending a significant amount of time trying to connect and collaborate with other medical professionals in the community so that I could have a more complete snapshot of my patients when trying to determine the best treatment approach.
A good colleague and friend of mine was in nursing school at the time and told me about his program. I was thrilled to hear about what he was learning and how he was able to integrate his clinical skills as a social worker and psychiatric nurse. I ultimately applied to the University of Tennessee Knoxville Nursing program, was accepted, and continued working full time as a therapist while I pursued my education as a psychiatric nurse practitioner. I graduated, obtained my license, and board certification in 2009. I have worked in and advocated for community mental health for over 24 years. Until recently, I worked at the McNabb Center for 13 years, with the last seven years spent primarily in administration providing clinical and administrative supervision for over twenty nurse practitioners working in eight different counties. I also helped implement and roll out several initiatives for the organization.
I have now ventured out my own for the first time. I opened Pathways To Wellness in July of 2022 and it was again another significant career move for me. I am so excited and happy to be doing what I love the most. I work with pediatric, adolescent, and adult populations and I have experience in treating all mood disorders, ADHD, psychosis, and anxiety disorders. I take a holistic approach with my patients and welcome collaboration with other professionals. I currently do not bill insurance, and I am an out of network provider.
On a personal level, my spouse is a psychologist and professor who works at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. We have been together for over ten years, we have two cats, and one spoiled rotten dog. We love being outdoors hiking, biking, traveling, and spending time with our loved ones.
I look forward to working with you!
Kellye