A Little About Me

Hi, I'm Melissa, a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Welcome to Luna Psychiatry!

My path into healthcare was anything but traditional. My own early life experiences, moving between different states, and spending seven years traveling and working aboard small cruise ships shaped my perspective on people, resilience, and the many ways our experiences influence who we become.

Those seven years were an incredible experience, but far from glamorous. Long hours, hard work, and figuring things out without much of a safety net taught me independence and adaptability.

When I eventually returned to Rhode Island to pursue nursing, I already knew psychiatry is where I wanted to be. Over the years, I've cared for adolescents, older adults, and people living with serious mental illness, as well as individuals navigating complex medical and psychiatric conditions.

Those experiences, both personally and professionally, have taught me that everyone has a story, and what we see on the surface rarely tells us the whole picture. That’s something I carry with me in how I show up for my patients today.

Why I started Luna Psychiatry

My interest in functional and integrative medicine grew out of my own experiences as a patient.

I've been on the other side of healthcare, searching for answers and feeling frustrated when the solution seemed to be another prescription. I started asking more questions, doing my own research, and taking a more active role in my health.

That curiosity eventually led me to functional and integrative medicine, changing how I thought about healthcare and the kind of care I wanted to provide.

I wanted to bring that same curiosity into my psychiatric practice, combining my background in conventional psychiatry with a more comprehensive, individualized approach that looks beyond symptoms alone.

That's why I created Luna Psychiatry.

I believe patients should take an active role in their care. My job is to provide guidance, explain the risks, benefits, and alternatives, and help you make informed decisions about your treatment. I welcome questions, different perspectives, and even research you've come across on your own. We can look at the evidence together and figure out what makes sense for you.

To me, good psychiatric care is a partnership. My hope is that when you come to Luna, you feel comfortable being yourself, sharing your story, and knowing you're genuinely heard and respected, regardless of your background or life experiences.