Jeanne Nicholson is a board certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner. She received her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in August of 2018. Jeanne did her psychiatric residency at the Veterans Health Administration in Birmingham, AL, working with veterans with mood and anxiety disorders. Jeanne received her undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center located in Jackson, Mississippi. Jeanne worked for many years as a registered nurse at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport located in Gulfport, Mississippi, beginning her career in 2007.
Jeanne lived on the Mississippi gulf coast during hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, she witnessed the strength of people working together to rebuild their decimated communities, exemplifying the notion of “the sum is greater than its parts”. This notion is the backbone of Jeanne’s practice theory. Using the team approach allows clients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers to collaborate and support shared treatment goals. Jeanne likewise observed how traumatic experiences can leave lasting negative effects on daily functioning at home, work, school, and in personal relationships if not recognized and treated.
Jeanne’s background includes emergency care, oncology, and nursing informatics. Through her experiences as a registered nurse she became aware of the direct association between the mind, body, soul, and mental health/psychiatry. This encouraged Jeanne to further her education to become a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner.
Being a breast cancer survivor, Jeanne appreciates how distressing the diagnosis of a major illness can be on the person and on their families. One in four people diagnosed with a major illness will develop clinical depression. She hopes to normalize the multitude of emotions that one can feel when such a diagnosis is made. Treatment with medications may be needed, even if just temporarily to improve quality of life.
Jeanne’s training has allowed her to do comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, diagnose, and to prescribe medications across the life span. She considers working together as a team, to tailor a treatment plan for every unique individual, pivotal in the success of treatment goals. Jeanne works toward reducing the stigma related to mental illness so more people will seek help.
Jeanne is accepting new patients over the age of 18.
