Michele Walden is a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC) with her Masters in Science and Nursing from the University of Kentucky. She is passionate about patient centered care and empowering her patients to be all they can be. She values care integration and an interdisciplinary approach to address patient needs within University Health Services. Michele possesses strong clinical skills enhanced by a natural ability to listen and build rapport with her patients. As a PMHNP, Michele's role is multifaceted and includes: assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning for her patients along with serving as a mental health advocate, therapist and educator. The vast majority of her career, she has worked primarily with pediatric and young adult populations. However, she also has experience with providing mental health care for veterans at the VAMC in Louisville, and providing care for the persistent mentally ill population of Danville and Harrodsburg, Kentucky.

Joining the University Health Service, Behavioral Health team is much like a homecoming for Michele, who returns to the Lexington area after 12 years of serving patients in other regions of Kentucky. Michele is always advocating for innovations in healthcare with special interests in unifying behavioral, integrative and complementary medicine.

Personal Statement

I chose to get into psychiatry after working for 14 yrs. as a registered nurse and noticing that the mind, physical body and spirit are all linked. When there is an imbalance in the mind or a "faulty way" of viewing or perceiving one's life, it can effect one's overall health and wellbeing. I took the steps needed to advance my degree, and I now work as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. I like to help my patients see that their thoughts, words, attitude, beliefs, behaviors and lifestyle are all linked, and can impact their health. I prescribe medication when deemed appropriate, but I also like to incorporate evidence-based approaches, techniques and tools that can decrease or eliminate symptoms. Mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy are two tools I incorporate in my practice that can make a vast difference in overall quality of life, improve mental health and bring balance to one's life.

Outside of practicing medicine, I love to be outdoors. I enjoy gardening, boating, fishing, traveling, dancing and cooking. One interesting fact that most people do not know about me, is that I am ambidextrous.