Meet Adria Goodness, MN, PMHNP-BC

Philosophy of Care

I come to mental health care via humankind’s most enduring healing arts—midwifery and nursing. The philosophies of both callings champion empowerment. Nursing philosophy is holistic, which means that I look at the “big picture” of your life for inherent strengths, while exploring the struggles that led you to seek help. Although I am no longer practicing midwifery, I continue to draw heavily on the philosophy and strive to create a health care experience that "respects human dignity, individuality and diversity among groups."

Having worked in nursing, midwifery, and mental health for nearly two decades, I am no stranger to suffering, triumph, and transformation. My professional experiences in a variety of settings and roles, have given me different angles on health and wellness across the life cycle. Some highlights have included:

• Cross-cultural care of Latino families in a migrant health clinic
• Adolescent psychiatric care in our public schools
• Delivering babies into the arms of astonished parents

When working with adolescents, women, men, and couples during key developmental windows including the transition to adulthood, the childbearing years, and peri-menopause, I draw on the bridge of my dual specialty training in women’s health and psychiatric nursing.

My comfort with  hormonal physiology, fetal and infant development, and the marital adjustment after having a baby are of particular benefit to those experiencing infertility, pregnancy loss, pregnancy or postpartum depression, bipolar, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders. My experience and skills are also helpful to those who are gestating and parenting multiples.

Approach to Treatment

As a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) I can offer you various types of psychotherapy and/or medication. Since many issues and symptoms have several root causes, your treatment will be multifaceted as you learn what makes you feel healthy and happy. Together, we will choose the focus of our efforts and your path to feeling well. 

We can embark on psychotherapy to cultivate helpful patterns of feeling and behaving in order to improve your self-esteem and relationships. I can teach you new coping skills and effective self-care to optimize your resilience. During each session I offer empathic listening and in-depth discussion to relieve your emotional pain and increase your insight, making way for lasting changes and deep peace.

A variety of psychotherapies are effective for reaching these goals. Your treatment with me is likely to include education, stress reduction and relaxation training, and interpersonal work. We may do therapy that improves our understanding of your strengths and vulnerabilities, sifting through the discoveries for solutions to life’s challenges. Previously unseen connections between your thoughts and feelings can be revealed with cognitive therapies enabling us to write a new script for feeling well. One, or a combination of these approaches and others, is likely to provide much needed relief.

Alternatively, or in concert with psychotherapy, medications may be useful to address the biological origins of your distress. For example, our genetic make-up and hormones effect how we experience daily life and stress. If your anxiety, mood, or other symptoms are intense and persistent, treatment with medication may lead to improvement in your ability to cultivate additional relief through other means such as exercise, social support, and psychotherapy.

Sometimes, individuals arrive taking ineffective medications, or having uncomfortable side effects. I will address your medication-related concerns and expenses while minimizing the discomfort that can accompany changes.

Since all of us are one part of a larger system of relationships, I can include caring partners and other family members, in the occasional session. With your permission, I can educate loved ones in an emotionally safe, ethical, and confidential atmosphere, in order to improve support from the people who matter most to you.

Whether you pursue psychotherapy and/or treatment with medication, I will care for you in a manner that is true to who you are and hope to become. 

What is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner? 

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