Find a psychiatrist in Aurora, CO — covered by insurance

I’m Makala Smith, a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC). I am committed to providing holistic mental health care through a balanced and patient-centered approach.

My background includes neurology, trauma, and public health nursing. I earned my Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree from University of Colorado after I realized the need for psychiatric providers in my rural community of Meeker, Colorado and surrounding areas. By furthering my education, I am able to provide specialized, thoughtful, empathetic psychiatric care.

Hi, I’m Erin McMahon, a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (DNP, PMHNP-BC) providing telehealth care across Colorado. I focus on outpatient medication management for adults navigating anxiety, depression and other mood disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and women’s mental health.

Before becoming a psychiatric NP, I spent more than a decade as a nurse in emergency and critical care, along with inpatient psychiatric experience — so I bring a steady, grounded presence, even when things feel complicated. My care is rooted in shared decision making: you’re an active partner in your treatment, not just a recipient of it. I take time to understand not only your symptoms, but your history, your life, and what matters most to you before we talk about next steps. I’m trauma-aware, identity-affirming, and comfortable with complexity, and I offer culturally humble care to clients of all identities and backgrounds, including LGBTQIA+ individuals.

I have a particular soft spot for high achievers, eldest daughters, and the people who quietly hold everything together for everyone else. Your first visit is about getting to know you — not rushing to a diagnosis or a prescription. We’ll talk about what brought you in and what you’re hoping for, and my goal is for you to leave feeling genuinely listened to, with a clearer sense of what working together might look like. I’m not your typical provider, and I tend to attract clients who aren’t looking for typical care.

I chose to become a psychiatric provider because I am inherently compassionate, and I enjoy talking to people about what's really going on with them, not just what they portray in public. This is always such an honor. I myself am always learning from my patients and their journeys. I love that there's always room for growth and it's never the same.

I’m Krishawnda (or Shawnda for short)! I’ve been working as a nurse since 2011. I was a RN for 9 years and have been a psychiatric nurse practitioner since 2020. My BSN was obtained from the University of Kentucky. My graduate degree is from Eastern Kentucky University. I have worked in geriatric psych, adult psych, and child psychiatry.

Melissa ("Mel") Klootwyk, MSN, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over eight years of psychiatric mental health experience providing care across inpatient, PHP, IOP, and outpatient settings to children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Mel has experience treating a broad spectrum of mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, to more complex mood, trauma-related, thought, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

I am a graduate of University ofTexas Health Science Center, Houston, and Wilkes University, Wilkes-Bare, PA. I hold a dual board certification as a PMHNP and FNP with an Emergency Medicine certification as well. I have 16 years experience in Psychiatry across the lifespan, Emergency Medicine, and Internal Medicine. Treating adults, children and adolescents, autism, addiction, as an acute care hospitalist, and Assistant Medical Director to acute care psychiatric facilities.