Mercy Itesa, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner

“I began coming to LifeStance before it merged with Western Psychological! I found the staff at Western Psychological to be kind, efficient and highly trained. The therapist and PNP were fabulous and I was extremely anxious when I moved from OR to WA and needed to choose a new provider and PNP. I'd just got comfortably settled when my provider moved on. The next provider was someone who helped a lot. Then came the merger and that provider moved on, too. I was with the next provider for a few years and was thrilled for her when she got a nice promotion, but it meant yet another chsnge of my provider AND then my PNP suddenly retired. But I have found my current provider and PNP to both be absolutely AWESOME! There's something Extra Special about them both. After my first session with Ollie Gibson-Lavelle I realized that, for the first time Ever, I had opened up, had spoken of things I had NEVER spoken of before (to ANYONE, not even my beloved husband); it felt really good to Finally tell someone and it was cathartic. I'm slowly beginning to face demons I'd kept buried for so long that... it was nerve-wracking, but in a good way. Mercy Itesa, my new PNP, is amazing!! She truly listens, helps to educate, not just mechanically write prescriptions. Together, the 3 of us are a formidable team that really communicates (I believe honest, open communication is EVERYTHING, regardless of who I'm dealing with). That's exactly what I find at LifeStance: honesty; integrity, compassion, understanding, great listening skills, and so very much more. I anticipate my sessions because they help; I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else for my mental health needs. I believe the decision to merge Western Psychological and LifeStance Health was a great one because something that was already great got even better!.”

“I, personally love this psychiatrist. She's so nice and understanding, but also straight to the point and concise. She makes sure that I have all knowledge when it comes to my problems and medications.”

“I’ve been working with Mercy for almost a year and really like her. She’s very knowledgeable on medication management and is flexible when it comes to working with her clients on what they feel works best for them also. She’s somewhat conservative in what she will prescribe, but I appreciate that as I don’t like being overloaded on multiple medications. She’s always very calm and polite, but willing to speak up for her clients when necessary. I highly recommend Mercy.”

“I have found all the staff a joy to work with. Mercy, my psychiatric nurse truely listens to me and how I feel my meds are working and if we need to adjust them. She is a very positive person and I enjoy seeing her dispite what my mood and effects of my current drugs. She takes the time to tweak, modify and outright change meds as neccesary.”