My Mind & Me began with a deeply personal realization: children and families deserve mental health care that listens before it labels, investigates before it assumes, and brings parents, schools, and providers into the same conversation.
As both a mother and healthcare provider, I experienced mental health care from two very different perspectives. Professionally, I had years of clinical education and experience. Personally, I was a parent trying to understand what my own children needed.
That intersection became the foundation of My Mind & Me and its commitment to family-centered mental health care.
A Career Built Around Helping People in Crisis
My professional journey began with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and a minor in Child Psychology. I later earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and spent more than 16 years working in emergency and critical care.
In those settings, I learned to make decisions under pressure, recognize subtle changes in a patient’s condition, and respond when every second mattered. I cared for people experiencing trauma, medical emergencies, and complex health challenges.
Critical care taught me how important it is to assess the whole situation rather than focusing on only one visible symptom. It also taught me that effective care requires communication, careful observation, collaboration, and a willingness to adjust when a plan is not working.
However, becoming a parent showed me that clinical knowledge does not automatically make navigating the mental health system easy.
When Professional Knowledge Was Not Enough
At work, I understood how to respond to emergencies. At home, I faced a different kind of challenge: trying to understand and advocate for children whose needs were not always clearly recognized.
Their strengths could be mistaken for stubbornness. Their difficulty regulating emotions could be described simply as poor behavior. Concerns were often viewed separately by teachers, medical professionals, and other specialists, with no one connecting the complete picture.
I received information from different directions, but there was no clear roadmap connecting what was happening at home, at school, and within the healthcare system.
I began asking questions that did not always have straightforward answers:
Why was a child struggling to focus in one environment but not another?
Could anxiety, sleep, learning differences, sensory needs, or stress be influencing the behavior?
Why was behavior being treated only as a problem instead of being explored as a possible form of communication?
How could parents and teachers support a child if they did not understand what the child was experiencing?
These questions changed the direction of my professional journey.
Learning to See Behavior Differently
Children do not always have the language to explain fear, frustration, sensory discomfort, confusion, or emotional overload. Their needs may instead appear through withdrawal, irritability, inattention, avoidance, defiance, or emotional outbursts.
This does not mean every difficult behavior has the same explanation. It means we should avoid making conclusions before understanding the child’s development, environment, health, relationships, and experiences.
I began to see behavior less as something that simply needed to be stopped and more as information that needed to be interpreted carefully.
This perspective did not remove the need for accountability, boundaries, or treatment. Instead, it made those interventions more informed. Children still need structure, but structure is more effective when adults understand what the child is trying to communicate.
Becoming a Mental Health Provider
My experiences as a mother motivated me to expand my clinical education into psychiatric mental health care.
My professional journey has included psychiatric home health nursing, graduate education in psychiatric evaluation, diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy, and advanced training focused on neurodevelopmental and integrative approaches.
This training helped me connect the clinical knowledge I developed in nursing with the questions I had been asking as a parent.
I wanted to create care that considered more than a diagnosis. I wanted families to have space to discuss development, emotional health, physical well-being, family relationships, school experiences, sleep, daily routines, previous treatment, and the child’s individual strengths.
Most importantly, I wanted parents and caregivers to be treated as meaningful members of the care team.
Why Family-Centered Mental Health Care Matters
Parents and caregivers often hold information that cannot be captured during a single appointment. They see how the child responds to transitions, frustration, schoolwork, family interactions, changes in routine, and different environments.
Teachers may notice patterns that are not visible at home. Therapists and medical providers may contribute other important perspectives.
When these individuals work separately, families can receive fragmented or conflicting recommendations. When they collaborate appropriately—with the family’s permission—the care plan can become more consistent and practical.
Family-centered care means:
- Listening to the child and caregivers
- Respecting the family’s experiences and concerns
- Explaining treatment options clearly
- Developing goals collaboratively
- Considering the child’s strengths alongside their challenges
- Coordinating with schools and other providers when appropriate
- Measuring progress using meaningful daily outcomes
- Revisiting the plan when something is not working
It does not mean that parents are blamed for a child’s difficulties. It means their knowledge and participation are treated as essential parts of care.
Looking Beyond a Single Symptom
A diagnosis can help explain patterns and guide treatment, but it should not become the child’s entire identity.
Attention problems, anxiety, mood changes, emotional outbursts, sleep difficulties, or school avoidance can be influenced by multiple factors. A thoughtful evaluation considers what may be contributing to the concern instead of assuming that every child with similar symptoms needs an identical solution.
This broader view may include the child’s:
- Developmental and medical history
- Emotional and behavioral symptoms
- Sleep and daily routines
- Learning environment
- Family and social relationships
- Sensory experiences
- Previous treatment responses
- Personal interests and strengths
- Current sources of stress
- Individual goals
The purpose is not to search endlessly for one hidden explanation. The purpose is to gather enough relevant information to make careful, individualized decisions.
Creating My Mind & Me
My Mind & Me was created to offer the kind of connected care I needed when I was trying to advocate for my own children.
It grew from the belief that families should not have to assemble a mental health plan alone from disconnected recommendations. Parents should understand why a treatment is being recommended, what progress should look like, and what options may be available if the initial approach does not help.
The practice was also created around the belief that children are more than their most difficult moments. Their creativity, interests, relationships, and ways of experiencing the world matter just as much as their symptoms.
Our goal is not to force every child into the same model of functioning. It is to understand the individual child and develop support that helps them participate more fully in family life, school, relationships, and their community.
What My Mind & Me Stands For
My Mind & Me is guided by several core principles.
Listening Comes First
Families need time and space to explain what they have observed, what they have already tried, and what they hope will change.
Behavior Can Provide Important Information
Difficult behavior should be addressed, but it should also be explored thoughtfully. Understanding what may be contributing to it can lead to more appropriate support.
Treatment Should Be Individualized
Children with similar diagnoses may have different needs. Care should reflect the child’s history, development, environment, preferences, and clinical circumstances.
Parents and Providers Should Be Partners
Families deserve clear information and a meaningful role in treatment decisions. A strong care plan is created with them, not simply handed to them.
Progress Should Matter in Daily Life
Progress is more than a number on an assessment. It may mean better communication, improved school participation, more consistent sleep, fewer family conflicts, stronger coping skills, or greater confidence.
A Vision for More Connected Care
My Mind & Me represents the combination of my clinical experience, continued education, and personal journey as a parent.
It was created because I believe mental health care can be more compassionate, collaborative, and connected. Children deserve to be understood as whole people, and families deserve support that respects the realities of their daily lives.
No provider can promise a perfect outcome, and no single approach will be right for every family. What we can offer is careful listening, thoughtful evaluation, shared decision-making, and a commitment to developing care around the individual.
That is why My Mind & Me was created: to help children and families feel heard, informed, and supported as they work toward meaningful change.
If you are seeking family-centered psychiatric care in Mountlake Terrace or elsewhere in Washington, contact My Mind & Me to learn more about our services and whether the practice may be appropriate for your family.
This article is provided for educational purposes and does not replace an individualized evaluation, diagnosis, or medical advice from a qualified healthcare professional.
