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Rachel Sutton

PMHNP-BC

Before Rachel Sutton became a psychiatric nurse practitioner, she worked for 13 years as a nurse in a variety of environments including intensive care, neurosurgery, and gastroenterology. She has witnessed first-hand the mental health impacts that disease can have on human beings.

“My experience has given me a greater appreciation of the brain-gut connection, and how often mental health issues manifest as physical symptoms,” Rachel said.
A native of Lee’s Summit, MO, Rachel acknowledges several compelling drivers that led her seek graduate studies in psychiatry.

“Mental health is certainly an area that is vastly underserved, and one that I am passionate about,” Rachel explained. “I lost a best friend to suicide a few years ago. It was devastating but became my everyday ‘why.’ That event inspires me to be patient, kind, and caring. I want to do everything I can to help people heal mentally.”

Ironically, considering that about 60% of the patients at Inspired Psychiatric Care (IPC) indicate ADHD as a condition they want to be treated for, Rachel has achieved high levels of education and experience while also managing her own ADHD.

“As someone with ADHD myself,” Rachel said, “I am particularly interested in treating this because neurodivergent minds are beautiful and have the capability to flourish with the right resources. One thing that drew me to IPC is their ADHD Center of Excellence.”

Rachel also sympathizes with the mental health issues experienced by women. “I believe that societal norms, post-pandemic life, and stigma has placed an unreasonable burden and pressure on many women,” she said. “Juggling work, raising children, and trying to be everything to everyone can be overwhelming. I want to help women navigate tough areas in their life to find good coping mechanisms and medications that can alleviate symptoms that can ultimately bring them some amount of peace.”

Another quality that drew Rachel to IPC is the practice’s commitment to providing psychotherapy with every visit, not just medication management.

“The most gratifying part of what I do is building relationships with my patients, so we can work together as a team to prioritize their wants and needs and come up with a plan that is doable and effective for them,” Rachel said. “IPC allows me the time to integrate psychotherapy into my work, which is an aspect I love. That, combined with medication management, lifestyle changes, resilience training, coping mechanisms, and dietary modifications allow me to focus holistically on the patient. This holistic approach is a very gratifying aspect of my role as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.”

A deeply curious person, Rachel also enjoys the continuing intellectual growth required by her profession. “I am constantly studying,” Rachel said. “It is very important to me to bring evidenced based practice and combine that with compassion to people’s lives. I want to make them feel heard, validated, and understood.”

Specializations:

ADHD • Anxiety • Bipolar • Depression • OCD • Trauma