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Functional Psychiatry for Narragansett, RI

A traditional psychiatric work-up starts and often stops with symptoms. Functional psychiatry starts with the whole person: sleep, nutrition, hormones, gut health, and physiology, alongside mood and thinking, and uses targeted testing to look for deficiencies or physiological patterns that may be contributing to how someone feels. For the settled professional and academic population around South County and the west bay, from Narragansett’s coastline to Kingston’s university calendar to the year-round households in East Greenwich, South Kingstown, and North Kingstown, this kind of evaluation tends to fit how people already think about their own health: as connected, not siloed.

Rhode Island law does not permit Harborside to prescribe controlled substances, including stimulants or benzodiazepines, to patients in this state. Functional psychiatry here focuses on non-controlled medication management and the broader physiological picture, not on that category of medication.

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Functional Psychiatry for people in Narragansett, RI

Harborside is based in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, and delivers care to Rhode Island patients by video. You do not need to travel to Cape Cod or anywhere else. You need a private space, a phone, tablet, or computer with a camera, and a stable internet connection.

  • Appointments are scheduled video visits, generally 45 to 60 minutes for an initial evaluation and shorter for follow-ups.
  • Follow-up frequency depends on where you are in care. Early on, visits are often more frequent; once things settle into a routine, they typically space out.
  • If medication is part of your plan, prescriptions are sent electronically to a pharmacy you choose near Narragansett, South Kingstown, or wherever is convenient for you.
  • Lab and testing orders, when part of the functional evaluation, are arranged so you can get sample collection done locally, and results are reviewed with you in a follow-up appointment.

Everything happens through a secure telehealth platform. There is no waiting room, and there is no in-person office to visit for this service.

How telehealth care actually works

Functional psychiatry at Harborside is used for people dealing with persistent low mood, anxiety, fatigue that does not resolve with sleep, difficulty concentrating, irritability, or a general sense that something is physiologically off in addition to how they feel emotionally. It is also used alongside ongoing therapy for people who want their prescriber to look at the full picture, not only at a symptom checklist. This approach does not replace a full medical workup with your primary care provider, and it is not a stand-alone treatment for physical illness. It is a way of bringing more information into the psychiatric evaluation itself.

What we treat

The first appointment is a longer video visit focused on history: your health background, current symptoms, sleep, diet, stress, and any prior testing or treatment. Your clinician will talk with you about what targeted lab testing might be useful given your history, and will explain what each test is looking for before ordering anything. From there, you and your clinician build a plan together, which may include medication, referral for testing, and coordination with therapy if that is part of your care.

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 a working knowledge of functional and integrative approaches to the evaluation process. Full bios and credentials for each clinician are on the team page.

When therapy is part of your care, or when eating disorder support is needed, that work is carried out by Harborside’s licensed therapy team: Hannah Legesse, LICSW, Tori Mahoney, LMHC, Jacquelyn Duford, LCMHC ATR, and Lexie Carchedi, LCSW.

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 the pricing page, and questions about cost can be answered before anything is booked.

What it costs

If you are in Narragansett or anywhere else in South County or the west bay and want to talk about whether functional psychiatry fits what you are dealing with, the next step is scheduling an initial video appointment. You can ask questions about the process, testing, or cost before you commit to anything.

Learn more about the approach on the functional psychiatry service page, see what else is available across the state on the Rhode Island telehealth page, or find more on care across the region at the West Bay and South County page. If persistent low mood is part of what brought you here, our depression care page has more detail.

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 functional and integrative approaches to mental health, see the [CITATION: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NIH, overview of integrative mental health approaches].

Reviewed by Rachel Egan, RN PMHNP-BC, Clinical Director, Harborside Psychiatrics. 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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