Book a therapist or psychiatrist in Bend, OR covered by Aetna

Life’s challenges can feel overwhelming at any stage—whether you’re navigating adolescence, adulthood, relationships, parenting, or the transitions that come with aging. Anxiety, depression, grief, and life changes can disrupt how you think, feel, and connect with others. Therapy offers a supportive place to slow down, feel understood, and develop effective tools to move forward with greater clarity, balance, and confidence.

Life doesn’t come with a roadmap—and when stress, anxiety, grief, or major changes pile up, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or alone. Therapy offers a place to slow down, feel understood, and begin finding your way forward with clarity and confidence.

I provide a compassionate, supportive space where you can explore what’s holding you back, build resilience, and reconnect with your inner strength. Together, we’ll work toward meaningful change so you can feel more confident, grounded, and at peace.

Who I Work With

I work with individuals across the lifespan, including:

• Teenagers and young adults
• Adults experiencing anxiety, depression, or life transitions
• Women and single mothers
• Men facing male-specific challenges
• Older adults navigating aging-related concerns

I also work with couples, parents, and business partners, helping strengthen communication, emotional understanding, and connection.

As a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, my path to psychiatry was shaped by over eight years as a bedside nurse. I watched patients face fear and uncertainty that often went unaddressed — and I knew those feelings deserved their own dedicated space. That's what brought me to outpatient psychiatry. I work with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults, and I have experience treating depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, trauma, substance use, and more — including LGBTQ+ individuals and those navigating maternal mental health, grief, and chronic illness.

I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master’s degree in Couples and Family Therapy. I have extensive experience working with children, teens, adults, and families across a range of concerns. My specialties include anxiety disorders, trauma and PTSD, ADHD and executive functioning challenges, and child and adolescent therapy with parent coaching. I enjoy helping clients better understand themselves, navigate difficult emotions, and build healthier relationships and coping strategies.

Hi! I’m Vanessa! I’m a wife, Mom and entrepreneur. I’m also a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in integrative psychiatry and women’s mental health. I run a niche mental health clinic called Kavah Wellness Psychiatry. I hold a bachelors degree, two masters degree and a doctor of nursing practice degree. I have almost a decade of experience in the mental health sector. I love everything mental health!

Making the decision to start therapy is a profound investment of your time, energy, and vulnerability. If you are looking for a blank-slate clinician who simply nods and listens, we might not be the best fit. I offer a highly engaged, malleable, and unflinching partnership.

My approach is rooted in the belief that while the work of untangling our lives is deeply structural, the room itself doesn't always have to feel heavy. I bring a grounded warmth to my practice—which means knowing how to sit quietly in the gravity of a difficult truth, but also knowing when to break the tension, exhale, and find the light in the sheer complexity of being human. I won’t just sit in silence while you do all the heavy lifting; I am an active collaborator who adapts to exactly where you are.