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Functional Psychiatry for Williston, VT

Unlike a traditional psychiatric work-up, the functional medicine approach takes the whole person into account. Instead of matching symptoms to a medication, Harborside uses targeted testing to look at underlying deficiencies and physiological concerns that may be contributing to how you feel. In Williston, a town built around Burlington’s suburbs and Vermont’s population center, patients tend to be well informed and used to asking questions before agreeing to a plan of care. That fits this approach well: it asks for a longer conversation up front, and it is built for people who want to understand the reasoning behind a recommendation, not just receive one. Because Harborside’s Vermont clinicians cannot prescribe controlled medications, functional psychiatry here focuses on evaluation, targeted testing, and non-controlled treatment options.

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Functional Psychiatry for people in Williston, VT

Harborside is based in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care to Vermont patients entirely by video. You do not travel to an office. You need a private space, a stable internet connection, and a computer or smartphone with a camera. That is the whole technology requirement.

An initial appointment runs longer than a routine follow-up, because it involves a detailed history and a discussion of what testing, if any, makes sense for your situation. Follow-up appointments are shorter and scheduled at an interval your clinician sets based on what you are working through together, often every few weeks at first and spaced out over time. If a non-controlled medication is part of your plan, your clinician sends the prescription electronically to a pharmacy you choose near your home in Williston or anywhere else in Vermont. Lab or testing orders, when used, are typically handled through a local lab or an at-home kit, depending on what is being assessed.

Communication between visits generally happens through a secure patient portal, so questions about a medication or a testing result do not have to wait for the next scheduled appointment.

How telehealth care actually works

Functional psychiatry at Harborside is used with adults dealing with concerns like persistent low mood, anxiety, brain fog, fatigue that does not resolve with rest, sleep disruption, and mood changes connected to hormonal shifts. Many patients come in after standard approaches have addressed some symptoms but not others, and want a clinician who will also look at nutrition, gut health, thyroid function, and other physiological factors that can affect mental health. This is not a replacement for therapy or for straightforward medication management. It is an additional lens some patients want alongside those services, and your clinician can help you decide whether it fits what you are dealing with.

What we treat

Your first visit is a conversation, not a checklist. Expect questions about your mental health history, your physical health, your sleep, your diet, your stress levels, and any patterns you have noticed in how you feel. Your clinician will explain whether targeted lab testing is appropriate for you and what it would look for. You will leave the appointment with a plan you helped shape, not a plan handed to you. If testing is ordered, a follow-up appointment is used to go over results and adjust the plan.

What the first appointment involves

Medication management and functional psychiatry at Harborside are performed by psychiatric nurse practitioners: Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, who is also Harborside’s clinical director, Emily Pardue, RN PMHNP-BC, and Kirstin Ritchie, RN PMHNP-BC. Each is qualified to evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe for mental health conditions, and each brings the functional approach into how they build a plan with you. Full bios and credentials for each clinician are on the team page.

Therapy and eating disorder work at Harborside are delivered by the licensed therapy team: Hannah Legesse, LICSW, Tori Mahoney, LMHC, Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR, and Lexie Carchedi, LCSW. Depending on what you are working on, your care may involve one of these clinicians alongside a prescriber, or one alone.

Who our clinicians are

Harborside is a private-pay practice and does not bill insurance directly for appointments. Current fees for an initial and a follow-up appointment are listed on our pricing page, and questions about cost can be answered before anything is booked.

What it costs

If you are ready to schedule, or you want to ask a question first, you can reach out through Harborside’s website to set up an initial appointment. There is no requirement to have testing done beforehand or to know exactly what you are looking for. Patients in Williston and elsewhere in Vermont work with us the same way: an initial conversation, a plan built together, and follow-up care by video from there.

Getting started

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

This page is educational and is not medical advice. It does not create a provider-patient relationship. For guidance on nutrition and mental health research, see the [CITATION: National Institute of Mental Health or NIH Office of Dietary Supplements page on nutrition and mental health, for a government source on functional/nutritional factors in mental health].

Reviewed by Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, Clinical Director. Last reviewed: {LAST_REVIEWED}.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is functional psychiatry the same as functional medicine?

No. It’s psychiatric care from a licensed psychiatric nurse practitioner that also reviews lab work and lifestyle factors, not a separate functional medicine practice.

No. Whether labs make sense is decided together at the first visit, based on your history and symptoms.

Bring it to your first appointment. Existing results can often be used instead of repeating tests.

No. Labs are typically billed separately by the lab itself and may be partly covered by insurance depending on the plan.

Yes. It’s meant to work alongside an existing therapist or primary care provider, not replace them.

Functional psychiatry includes the same prescribing and monitoring, plus a review of physical health factors like sleep, nutrition, and lab markers.

If you need help right now

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For mental health crisis support, call or text 988. Harborside Psychiatrics does not provide emergency or after-hours care.

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