Untangling mental health Supporting Nevada鈥檚 mental health is a group effort -- with university ties. Meet alumni and faculty who are helping strengthen the state鈥檚 mental health workforce and learn why it matters now more than ever.
Untangling mental health
By Jessica Santina ’98 and Gaby Moreno
May 15, 2025
For Foundation Professor Marta Elliott, mental health is more than an academic pursuit — it’s personal. “It was 1985, and I was going through my own mental health challenges,” said Elliott. “This was not something that was widely recognized. I didn’t feel like it was something I could talk to my professors about, or even other students.”
Elliott made the difficult decision to take a leave of absence from her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following treatment, she returned to school, completed her undergraduate degree and earned a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. “Getting immediate, high-quality help can lead to complete recovery,” said Elliott, now Chair of the Department of Sociology.
Unfortunately, accessing mental health support in the Silver State isn’t easy. Mental Health America’s recent “Access to Care Ranking 2024” rated Nevada 45th for access to mental health providers, including psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and advanced practice nurses specializing in mental health care.
The University of Wisconsin’s 2024 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps reports Nevada’s provider-to-resident ratio to be 1 in 400. (In Oregon, by comparison, the provider-to-resident ratio is 1 in 150.) The result is that 86.9% of Nevadans — including 100% of rural and frontier county residents — reside in a federally designated mental health care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), according to 2023 data from the 69老湿机福利 School of Medicine’s Nevada Health Workforce Research Center. In December 2024, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimated Nevada needs 153 additional mental health providers to shed the HPSA designation.
The 69老湿机福利 is uniquely positioned to continue addressing this challenge by training mental health professionals, conducting research that informs policy and supporting the well-being of the student body. Meet some of the University alumni and faculty who are strengthening the mental health workforce in our state.
Andrea Thompson ’20 CERT
Nurse Practitioner, FEM Women's Wellness
“I do [all this] so that we can make sure we’re training our future psychiatric providers to care for this population that’s really been forgotten and often either does not get treated or hears misinformation, and that’s really setting people up for failure in the future.”
Mental illness is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and 19 percent of new mothers were diagnosed with postpartum depression in 2021. Yet, when nurse practitioner Andrea Thompson and her husband were starting their family in Washington, she was caught off guard by her own significant post-partum depression and a lack of access to treatment.
When the family moved to Nevada in 2016, Thompson began working as a family practice provider in Silver Spring's, Nevada. “As I was gearing up to have my next child here in Nevada, I was really looking for mental health support for myself,” she said.
Not finding it, she decided to create the kind of care the community lacked. This led Thompson to enroll in a post-master’s certification program in psychiatry for nurse practitioners at the Orvis School of Nursing. Today, she is a leading reproductive psychiatry provider in northern Nevada and the only psychiatric prescriber in the area with an additional certification in perinatal mental health from Postpartum Support International. In her practice, Female Empowerment Medicine (FEM) Women’s Wellness, she exclusively sees pregnant and postpartum patients, as well as those dealing with fetal loss or coping with infertility.
Thompson also guest lectures within the School of Nursing, passing along her reproductive psychiatry expertise to aspiring nurse practitioners. She has recently begun providing inpatient care and occasional emergency room consultations to further expand reproductive psychiatric services in our area.
Monique Normand ’13, ’17 MSW
Counseling Services Mental Health Clincian
69老湿机福利
“Social work is such a wide range of things… we have that community piece, the resource piece and we also do the clinical stuff — a lot of people don’t know that. But all of it is helping people and connecting people, and that’s something I really love.”
Originally from Las Vegas, Monique Normand enrolled at the 69老湿机福利 to pursue an English degree. But what to do after that? Fortunately, one of the moms at the preschool where she worked was a social work professor at the University, and she suggested Normand would be a natural in the field.
After doing some research, Normand enrolled in a master’s in social work program at Nevada. She instantly fell in love with it. While completing her graduate degree, she interned with the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) and led the first Reno Black Lives Matter march. She returned to the University to work in its Multicultural Center and, later, the Center for Student Engagement, overseeing the campus food pantry.
“I was working with students who were food insecure and learning it wasn’t just about the food. They had a lot of other things going on. One of them was sleeping in their car.” The students often thanked Normand for being the first to ask about their lives and suggest resources, which drew her toward clinical practice.
Normand received her social work license in 2018 and her clinical social work license in 2022, enabling her to help students through University Counseling Services. She oversees counseling internships, and she aims to become a licensed clinical social work (LCSW) clinical supervisor to share her knowledge and passion with up-and-coming counselors. She is also a board member of the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Great Basin Resource Watch.
Steven Nicholas ’96, ’07 M.A., ’14 Ed.D.
Marriage & Family Therapist (Private Practice)
Coaching Consultant, Nevada Athletics
“So many of our communities are trying to stop the bleeding rather than promote health. Mental health has consistently been stigmatized as a problem-focused model. I don’t see it as that. I see mental health as a health-creation model.”
A personal tragedy changed the trajectory of Steven Nicholas’ life. Raised in Lake Tahoe, Nicholas grew up aspiring to be an attorney, then a teacher; he obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science from the 69老湿机福利 followed by a master’s degree in secondary education from Sierra Nevada College. Then, in the early 2000s, a close family member died by suicide.
“I became incredibly curious about my own experiences of grief and pain, and I was really interested in how I had the capacity to hurt so much,” Nicholas said. “My own self-exploration dramatically impacted the work I do with others, and there was no turning back to the person I was prior.”
He attained a master’s degree and a doctorate in counseling and educational psychology in 2007 and 2014 respectively, and a license to practice marriage and family therapy shortly thereafter. “I couldn’t help but work with people who experience the darkest of pains, the most overwhelming of anxieties, and specifically suicidal populations,” he said. He immediately became focused on addressing what he calls “the suicide pandemic.”
Nicholas’ dissertation work led him to develop and subsequently publish “Living Ideation” in 2019. The book introduces a suicide prevention and intervention model that takes a proactive — not reactive — approach, emphasizing mental strength and resilience.
“The constructs I’ve written about for many years are embodied by three components: our level of connectedness with others, the ability to validate and navigate our emotions, and a sense of meaning, purpose and achievement,” he explained. “We find that people are in distress when they’ve lost one or all three of those things.”
“Living Ideation” enabled Nicholas to develop health programs in various agency settings here in our community and across the nation. Nicholas went on to explore mental health within the first responder population in his 2023 book, “Warrior Servants.”
Today, Nicholas is a practicing clinician who specializes in “helping the helpers,” including first responders and wildland firefighters. Additionally, thanks to progressive thinking by Nevada Athletic Director Stephanie Rempe, Nicholas is an embedded coaching consultant for Nevada Wolf Pack Athletics, working directly with coaches and athletes to focus on health and productivity.
Joshua Fitzgerald ’12 M.D., ’15 R, ’17 F
Medical Director, SOAR Program for First-Episode Psychosis
Associate Professor, 69老湿机福利 School of Medicine
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Renown Health
“Building programs, like SOAR, where we do some research, train residents and fellows, develop access to our crisis-entry points… I think that’s how we’re taking the lead with our community partners, like Renown, to advance systems of care and develop services that are needed in the community.”
In Nevada, one in six youths ages 6 to 17 experiences a mental health disorder each year. Experts agree that early intervention is key to managing or even overcoming it. That fact has helped determine the course of Joshua Fitzgerald’s career.
An associate professor in the School of Medicine (UNR Med) and dual board-certified child and adolescent and general psychiatrist, Fitzgerald knew early in life that he wanted to attend medical school and work in health care. A volunteer role at an autism clinic helped him see the value of developing long-term relationships with young children and their families through therapy. He graduated from the School of Medicine in 2012, followed by a psychiatry residency in 2015, and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship in 2017, also with UNR Med.
“One of the draws of working with youth is the ability to make an impact early, to get them the right therapies to allow them success, to reengage developmentally, with school socially,” he said. “If we’re directing early, we can hopefully prevent some of the long-term outcomes. That’s what led me to work with first-episode psychosis.”
This principle guides the University Health/Renown Health grant-funded SOAR Program for First-Episode Psychosis, of which Dr. Fitzgerald is principal investigator and medical director. Psychosis, a mental condition in which a person has difficulty distinguishing what’s real and what isn’t, includes such diagnoses as schizophrenia and delusional disorders. The program’s SOAR acronym points to its mission: support for families, outreach to the community, access to early interventions, and resilience through evidence-based behavioral health services. The clinic also provides training to residents and fellows.
Additionally, Fitzgerald sees young patients in his psychiatric practice at the University Health clinic on Neil Road in Reno, for diagnoses ranging from ADHD to autism, depression, anxiety, and more. He acknowledges that the pandemic helped call attention to a lack of access for young people to care and support. Through his work with UNR Med and training fellows and residents, he’s hopeful about improvement; he says many of them remain in the community to practice, helping to slowly grow access points.
Madalyn Larson ’21, ’24 MPH
Medication Assisted Treatment Program
Coordinator, Community Health Alliance
I'm learning about so many different things, like how our money works in Nevada, and our tax revenue. All these things are on a macro level. Then, having boots-on-the-ground experience at Community Health Alliance, I can see the micro level, and you need both of those things to make good policy. I’m on fire for this stuff right now, it’s so exciting!”
“My heart’s always been in mental health,” said Madalyn Larson, a Las Vegas native whose parents are both 69老湿机福利 alumni and therapists. “[My parents are] both in long-term recovery themselves, and I was in the rooms of AA and NA from a young age, so it predisposed me to learn more about mental health and substance abuse.”
Larson embarked on a bachelor’s degree in community health sciences at Nevada, discovering that she was most interested in harm reduction, particularly substance use and sex work, two prevalent concerns in Nevada.
Larson received her Master of Public Health at Nevada in 2024, focusing her research on substance use, particularly opioids. She worked with Nevada Recovery and Prevention (NRAP), a college coalition of students in recovery and their allies. Then, as an intern with Community Health Alliance, she conducted a needs assessment for a prospective medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program.
After graduation, Larson was offered the chance to lead Community Health Alliance’s new grant-funded MAT program, a role she accepted in January 2025. The program provides people struggling with opioid addiction, referred due to their interest in recovery, with access to FDA-approved partial opioid agonists — medication designed to reduce withdrawal symptoms and drug cravings.
Larson’s MPH experience has also led her to work with Nevada legislators to draft a bill to make harm-reduction tools, like naloxone (also known as Narcan), available within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). It would provide the opportunity for widespread saturation of opioid overdose medication to save lives and decrease stigma among NSHE students, faculty, staff and the surrounding communities.
Rosy Chavez-Najera ’18, ’21 M.S., ’23 Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist and Associate Clinical Director
SOAR Program for First-Episode Psychosis
“The University plays a really big role in our community; it supplies a lot of the services that are needed, in conjunction with providing the education about its benefits. These two things go hand in hand. The University is a critical piece in having a healthy Nevada.”
One practitioner serving patients at SOAR is Rosy Chavez-Najera, who received her full complement of training at the 69老湿机福利. Originally from Reno, Chavez-Najera knew she wanted to be a psychologist from an early age. As an undergraduate, she began to realize that to fully understand an individual’s psychological needs, it was necessary to view them through a social lens, since individuals don’t live life in a vacuum. She earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology in 2018, specializing in research and minoring in addiction treatment services.
“I love understanding humans. I sought to understand their behavior, their cognitions and their emotions. I really wanted to help people as much as I could in a comprehensive way, so that meant treating them individually,” Chavez-Najera said, explaining what led her to earn her Ph.D. in psychology in 2023. She joined the clinical practice at SOAR, where the emphasis is on strengthening patients’ resilience and improving functionality. Additionally, she provides service through NAVIGATE, a comprehensive, wraparound clinical program providing early and effective treatment to individuals who have experienced first-episode psychosis.
Chavez-Najera’s passion is in treating serious mental illness, where she sees an especially high need. “There are complex symptoms requiring clinicians to provide specialized care. There’s a high burnout rate, and many professionals often opt out of treating these conditions.” The entire scope of her training is useful in the treatment she offers at SOAR. For example, one common comorbidity with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders is substance abuse. Negative outcomes for leaving these conditions untreated include unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, self-harm and even death. Her sociology training has also helped her grasp the role that social stigma and taboos play in mental health care, particularly for young people.
Campus support services are key
Yani Dickens ’99, ’18 MBA
Director of Counseling Services
69老湿机福利
"Over 10 years [as training director], we expanded the training program to contribute to the education and training of future mental health professionals, also providing services to our students and more outreach. During that time, we trained at least 100 future mental health professionals, most of whom have remained in the state to practice.”
Director Yani Dickens, who joined Counseling Services in 2008 as a psychologist and became director in 2021, has played a key role in expanding mental health support on campus. Initially, stigma was high, and many students weren’t aware of available resources. Over time, Dickens helped expand training for graduate-level counselors, growing Nevada’s mental health workforce. In 2019, Counseling Services became accredited by the American Psychological Association, strengthening its ability to provide high-quality care.
Today’s Counseling Services offers individual and group counseling sessions, anonymous mental health screenings, a crisis hotline, a virtual relaxation room, workshops, the Helpful Outreach Wellness Leaders (HOWL) peer educator program, mental health firstaid sessions and drop-in events, along with “Let’s Talk,” brief, impromptu counseling sessions available in its Annex Outreach Center in Great Basin Hall.
One of the most popular initiatives led by Counseling Services is Stay Pawsitive, which brings therapy dogs to campus to help students de-stress. Among them is Otter, a rescued terrier mix, who visits the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center Breezeway every other week. Through partnerships with local therapy dog organizations like Paws 4 Love, Counseling Services offers students a much-needed break.
Dickens continues to push for broader impact as cochair of the Nevada System of Higher Education Mental Health Task Force, which works to address mental health issues and workforce shortages. Through therapy services, outreach programs, and stress-relief initiatives, Dickens and his team remain committed to fostering a supportive environment where students can thrive.
Researchers play a crucial role
Paul Kwon
Director of Clinical Training
Professor of Psychology, College of Science
Inspired by stories of perseverance, Paul Kwon investigates how people, particularly members of the LGBTQ and other marginalized communities, cope with environmental stressors. His work examines how people can thrive and succeed despite prejudice and stigma.
Kwon’s research highlights three key components to boosting resilience: optimism, emotional openness and strong social support networks. Kwon emphasizes that building resilience shouldn’t fall solely on individuals — society has a responsibility to foster inclusion.
Through collaborations with Northern Nevada HOPES and the Nevada Gender Clinic, Kwon is expanding access to mental health resources while reinforcing the importance of belonging and support systems for overall well-being.
Marta Elliott
Foundation Professor
Chair of Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
Marta Elliott’s firsthand understanding of serious mental health conditions offers a unique and invaluable perspective — particularly in understanding the roots of stigma.
“My research and that of others’ have shown that framing mental illness as a disease like any other doesn’t reduce stigma. In fact, it can magnify it, increasing fear and pessimism about a person’s ability to lead a full life. ”
Instead, research suggests that when people understand the traumatic events that may have contributed to someone’s mental health struggles — either alone or combined with genetics — it becomes easier to empathize. Elliott’s professional and personal experiences led her to establish a scholarship endowment to support University students who are facing mental health challenges. “I wanted to let students know they belong here, just as much as anyone else,” she said
Shannon Burleson ’19 MSN
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Orvis School of Nursing
Shannon Burleson ’19 MSN always saw her love of horses as a hobby. But as her career as a nurse educator evolved, she recognized how the benefits she experienced could help others. Her time working in high-stress environments — including in intensive care units and flight nursing — revealed the powerful impact that interacting with horses had on her well-being. Now an assistant professor of nursing, Burleson founded the Resilience Equine Assisted Learning (REAL) program to reduce stress, prevent burnout and build resilience in nursing students.
Research confirms its effectiveness, and universities like East Carolina, Oregon Health & Science, and the University of Michigan are collaborating to expand the program. By combining evidence-based resilience training with the unique therapeutic power of horses, the REAL program is helping future nurses nationwide to develop the emotional strength and coping strategies necessary for their demanding profession.
Mental health challenges extend far beyond individual struggles — affecting families, friends and entire communities. As the University drives change through research, education, and student support, local residents are building on those efforts.
A $500,000 gift from Grace Church in Reno — collectively raised by its members — will provide University graduate students with scholarships and paid shadowing experiences at Northern Nevada HOPES, Community Health Alliance and Renown Rehabilitation Hospital. The congregation focused on mental health “because the need is real, and the state of Nevada is way behind in addressing these issues,” said Grace Church Pastor Karen Durst.
For Elliott, even small steps can create meaningful change. It took her years to save enough to establish her endowment, and a few times each year, she still asks friends and family to consider contributing. “I’m only one person, and if I’m funding one [student] a year, I don’t think it’s just a drop in the bucket. If each of us who is able established a fund to help even one other person, that would create a significant impact,” she said.
While the challenges are substantial, collective actions offer hope and tangible solutions. Whether by giving or exploring a career in this vital field, we can work together to break down stigma and strengthen our community ties.