About Katie Walsh, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

Katie was inspired to get her nursing degree during her work an acute inpatient psychiatric unit where she was employed from 2007 until her graduation from ASU in 2020. She was able to combine her knowledge from her previously earned psychology degree with nursing to provide holistic care for patients experiencing a wide spectrum of different mental health struggles, circumstances, and manifestations of illness. Her work experience allowed her to observe many of the inner workings of the mental healthcare system and fueled her passion for contributing to a humanistic and non-pathologizing health care system.

Creativity keeps Katie inspired; art, dance, music, creating spaces, and poetry are a huge part of her life. She loves traveling, especially visiting her family as often as possible in her hometown of Philadelphia. Her interest in plant medicines/psychedelics have led her to a community that has taught her how incorporating ritual in daily life and connecting with nature and the elements can be life changing. She believes that community-based cultures strongly contribute to the development of resilience and shifting the current western paradigm to one that is more based in interdependence and connection would lead to greater health on a macro level. 

Clinical Interests & Specialties

Katie’s clinical interests are vast; she is especially interested in the wide impacts of trauma on both individuals and groups. She loves attending conferences in the areas of integrative mental health, psychedelic therapies, and neuroscience. The research in these areas is rapidly expanding and being successfully applied in clinical practice, and she has a passion for learning about the new tools being developed to ease suffering and support healing of the body, mind, and spirit. Katie’s Evidence-based Doctoral Project was in included developing an educational program for staff at a peer led residential substance treatment center on a trauma-informed approach, in which the results were found to be significant. Increasing awareness of trauma-informed practices is a passion of hers, and she believes it can be beneficial in all settings, includes healthcare, schools, and workplaces. She believes that if all institutions and the general public developed more understanding for each other as humans, that would lead to more compassionate and tolerance, supporting a shift to improved mental health and an enhanced quality of life for the western culture.

Treatment Approach

Katie believes in a non-pathologizing and integrative approach, empowering each individual to access their own inner wisdom. She is an advocate for holistic care, as the interconnectedness between the mind and body have been supported by a multitude of evidence but is often ignored in the current healthcare system. She lets each individual’s needs guide each session. She is especially enthusiastic about newer therapeutic modalities that incorporate bodily sensations and can be practiced by clients outside of sessions, including somatic approaches, internal family systems, and compassionate inquiry.

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania awarded in 5/2004

• Associates Degree in Nursing from Phoenix College awarded in 12/2012

• Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Arizona State University awarded in 12/2014

• Doctor of Nursing Practice in Psychiatric-Mental Across the Lifespan from Arizona State University awarded in 5/2020

Licensure & Certifications

• Licensed to practice in the state of Arizona APRN 269310 exp. 4/01/2024

• ANCC board certified as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (Across the Lifespan) exp. 4/11/2026

• Completed Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Clinician Training through Resilience Behavioral Health Solutions 5/2021