ShaQuilla Simmons
Hello, I’m a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner-Board Certified. I have more than 13 years of nursing experience working in mental health settings with adults experiencing a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral health concerns. I provide compassionate, evidence-based psychiatric care that combines medication management with supportive psychotherapy to help patients improve emotional wellness, develop healthier coping strategies, and build long term stability in a supportive and nonjudgmental environment to adults ages 18-80. PLEASE MESSAGE ME BEFORE BOOKING AN APPOINTMENT TO DETERMINE SUITABILITY.
I have more than 13 years of nursing experience working in mental health settings with adults experiencing a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral health concerns.
First session
During your first session, we will discuss your current concerns, symptoms, mental health history, medical history, lifestyle factors, and what you hope to gain from treatment in a supportive and nonjudgmental environment. I will take time to understand your experiences, answer questions, and gather a comprehensive understanding of your needs to determine the most appropriate recommendations moving forward. My goal is for you to leave the session feeling heard, supported, and more informed about your mental health and available treatment options.
Strengths
I bring more than 13 years of nursing experience working in a variety of mental health settings, including inpatient psychiatric care, crisis stabilization, emergency psychiatric services, acute detox and co-occurring disorders treatment, and outpatient behavioral health treatment. My experience caring for adults with a wide range of psychiatric and substance use related concerns in both acute and long term treatment environments has strengthened my ability to provide compassionate, individualized, and comprehensive psychiatric care. This background has helped me develop strong clinical judgment, effective communication skills, and a patient centered approach that supports meaningful therapeutic relationships and positive treatment outcomes.
Ideal clients
I am best positioned to serve adults who are motivated to improve their mental health, emotional well being, and overall functioning through a collaborative and evidence based approach to treatment. I work well with individuals experiencing anxiety, depression, mood instability, substance misuse, life transitions, stress related concerns, and difficulties with emotional regulation who are seeking both medication management and psychotherapy support. I particularly enjoy helping patients develop healthier coping strategies, improve insight, strengthen daily functioning, and build long term skills for emotional resilience and stability.
Treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help patients identify and challenge maladaptive thought patterns, improve emotional regulation, and develop healthier coping strategies. My experience includes incorporating cognitive restructuring, behavioral interventions, grounding techniques, psychoeducation, and problem solving skills into treatment to improve functioning and reduce psychological distress.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
I utilize mindfulness strategies such as grounding exercises, deep breathing techniques, body scanning, guided imagery, mindfulness meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and present moment awareness exercises to help patients manage anxiety, emotional dysregulation, stress, and intrusive thoughts. I also incorporate techniques focused on emotional awareness, nonjudgmental observation of thoughts, and coping skills to improve distress tolerance and overall emotional functioning.
Motivational Interviewing
I utilize Motivational Interviewing techniques to help patients explore ambivalence, strengthen intrinsic motivation, and support behavioral change in a nonjudgmental and collaborative manner. My experience includes using reflective listening, open ended questioning, validation, goal setting, and change talk strategies to improve treatment engagement, medication adherence, coping skills, and overall functioning.
Solution-Focused Brief Treatment
I utilize Solution Focused Brief Therapy techniques to help patients identify strengths, build on existing coping skills, and develop practical, goal directed solutions to current challenges. My experience includes using future focused questioning, scaling questions, strengths based interventions, and solution building strategies to improve functioning, increase motivation, and support positive behavioral change.
Psychoeducation
I provide psychoeducation to help patients better understand their diagnoses, symptoms, treatment options, medications, coping strategies, and the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. My experience includes educating patients on symptom management, medication adherence, stress reduction, sleep hygiene, emotional regulation, and relapse prevention to support informed decision making and overall treatment engagement.
Location
Virtual sessions
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Licensed in
- PennsylvaniaLicense SP034167