Connie was looking for adventure when she drove the Alcan from MN in the summer of 1977, having just graduated with a BS in Nursing from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. After 15 years of hospital, public health, substance treatment and office nursing, she chose to join the treatment team on an inpatient psychiatric unit, where her roles over the next 12 years included charge nurse, unit director, consultant to the ER for psychiatric emergencies and preceptor to BS nursing students. Looking for a new challenge, she earned her MS in Nursing at the University of MN, Minneapolis while on an educational leave from Providence Hospital.

 

Since 2004, Connie has worked as a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, treating adults ages 18 and above, with experience evaluating and delivering care to individuals in Anchorage area outpatient, hospital emergency department, hospital inpatient and crisis unit settings. She received clinical training at the Minneapolis and St. Cloud, MN VA hospitals and has worked as a Military Family Life Consultant at Manheim Army Base in Germany and on JBER.

 

As a provider at GCA, she performs psychiatric evaluations and provides medication management, with a limited availability to provide psychotherapy. With 28 years of experience in psychiatric nursing, Connie has come to know that achieving the best outcome for her patients requires listening well and partnering with them to develop a treatment plan based on individual needs. Connie values and respects the role of medication therapy as a treatment intervention, and believes that medications alone play a partial role in treating mental health symptoms. She emphasizes psychotherapy when indicated, creating community, and making healthy lifestyle choices related to nutrition, sleep, a balanced work life, and exercise, in addition to the use of medications at the lowest possible effective doses, as the means toward achieving optimal mental health. Connie’s clinical goals are to promote hope, increased well-being, and empowerment by exuding an optimistic spirit, drawing on experience and expertise and educating her patients.

 

Her areas of interest include Adjustment, Depressive, Bipolar, PTSD, Obsessive Compulsive, Panic, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity and co-occurring Substance Abuse disorders.

 

When not at work, Connie feeds her spirit with a variety of outdoor recreational pursuits, such as backcountry skiing, kayaking and more recently, scuba diving. With two of her adult children marrying Alaskans with extended families in the area, holidays and special occasions are large and boisterous. Her absolute favorite condition is being on the top of a mountain ridge, witnessing the awe of our Alaskan coastal and mountainous landscapes.