Wendy Hall, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) at Carson Valley Health
Could a different approach help patients need less medication over time? Wendy Hall, an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) at Carson Valley Health, is bringing personalized psychiatric care that helps patients understand themselves and truly feel better rather than just cope.
Her approach is grounded in functional and integrative psychiatry. She looks beyond symptoms to uncover deeper causes inside and outside the body. The functional approach considers how the body affects the mind, while the integrative approach explores how life and experience shape emotional health.
“Medication has its place, but we also look at the whole picture; lab biomarkers, nutrition, health history, and lifestyle,” Hall said. “It all plays a role; if you only focus on one piece, it is much harder for a patient to achieve true, sustained wellness.”
To support whole-person care, Hall recently completed a Functional & Integrative Psychiatry program with Psychiatry Redefined. This institute, founded by James Greenblatt, MD, trains clinicians in integrative mental healthcare.
“I spent years searching for a framework that looked beyond symptom management to the whole person,” Hall said. “This program provided the evidence-based, clinical tools to truly address the underlying biological roots of mental wellness.”
This approach includes a close look at medical and lifestyle history, lab and genetic test results, and a tailored plan for each patient. For people who have been in psychiatric care for years, the thought of needing less medication can feel impossible.
“Many people never believed they could get off their medications, but over time, they start to feel like themselves again,” Hall said. “And even if they don’t end up getting off completely, we can taper them down very slowly to the lowest effective dose.”
This way of thinking is gaining ground at Carson Valley Health. Another provider, Carla Farnworth, APRN, has joined the program and uses this approach too. Hall sees it as a chance for patients to redefine their mental health struggles positively.
“There are pros and cons to everything, and it helps them realize this isn’t something wrong with them, it’s just how they’re wired. Then we can talk about ways to support that and help them feel better,” Hall said. “When they see the results, it’s like understanding their own superpowers.”