Providing whole person psychiatric medication management
Integrated with brief individual psychotherapy for adults and adolescents as a prescribing psychologist since 2008
values and the treatment Process: providing a different expe
- Dr. Vento draws on the psychotherapy tools, advanced diagnostic skills and understanding of the therapeutic relationship to inform her work with the psychiatric medications.
- She integrates elements of solution focused psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral skills and motivational interviewing as seems most helpful to a particular patient along with medications.
- She focuses on helping patients to better understand their symptoms and ways of living better with them.
- She utilizes a shared decision making/partnership model rather than a “I’m the doctor, just do what I say” model.
- Social justice, for all people and especially for who are members of marginalized communities, is an important value for our practice. She always wants to treat each person with dignity and respect. Dr. Vento has worked in settings focused on work with immigrant and Native communities and is an intermediate Spanish speaker.
- One of her undergraduate degrees in is in cultural anthropology and she has been a lifelong student of other cultures and languages. She travels widely, including trips for immersion Spanish study in Mexico and as as a part of the University of California's foreign exchange program at Chaing Mai University in Thailand.
- Dr. Vento understands that many people are understandably a bit anxious coming to meet with her for the first time. If it would help to talk on the phone first about what she does and what to expect, please let the office know.
- If you have a concern about how you are treated during treatment, please speak with Dr. Vento directly.
- She discusses the pros and cons of different options with patients until a collaborative plan is achieved.
- While that plan often involves psychiatric medications it can also be monitoring the variations in symptoms to get better data about triggers and patterns or opting to double down on non-medication strategies and reevaluate after a period of time.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DR VENTO'S APPROACH BELOW
WE'RE GROWING !!
NM PSYCH MED SERVICES IS HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE GROWING .
ANOTHER DOCTOR IS JOINING THE PRACTICE.
DR SCHWARTZ WILL BE TAKING APPOINTMENTS SOON.
WE WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO DR SCHWARTZ .
MEET DR. SCHWARTZ
For 23 years, I've provided comprehensive mental health services to diverse communities across rural New York, in both independent practice and county hospital settings, working with children, adults, and older adults through individual, couple, and family therapy. While I am still based in rural NY, I am super excited to begin working via telehealth with Dr. Vento and NM Psych Med Services. I fell in love with New Mexico back in college when I was an anthropology major learning about many places like Taos and Acoma and have visited many times. This combined with my ability to work in NM, which is a national leader in prescriptive authority for psychologists, and to help with the many unmet needs across the state has been a long-time dream come true.
Driven by deep curiosity, I have built a practice that covers wide terrains: psychodynamics and identity, neurological disorders, infectious disease consultation, rehabilitation medicine, reproductive health, and psychopharmacology. My doctoral training at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, was a foundation in many psychodynamic informed treatments of children and adults. I followed this with a two-year predoctoral internship in long term medical care, neuropsychology, physical rehabilitation medicine, and brain injury at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco. I built on that experience with a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in advanced pediatric and adult neuropsychology, brain injury, and rehabilitation medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and years of neuropsychological and behavioral medicine consultation. My work at the intersection of psychological and medical care naturally motivated me to expand my scope by completing an additional post-doctoral training and degree in medicine and psychopharmacology at Farleigh Dickinson University which allows me to better serve my patients whose needs require a comprehensive psychological approach under one roof.
I work with individuals and families across all stages of life on a wide range of complex concerns: traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, reproductive health, trauma, substance use, mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis, and relationship challenges. I'm committed to creating a collaborative relationship where together we can explore questions of identity, community, and personal growth, and I work closely with other medical providers and school systems to make sure care is coordinated.
My approach draws on psychodynamic therapy, cognitive and behavioral methods, and biological and medication treatments, combined as each person's situation calls for. But perhaps most importantly, I learn from every person I work with. I always tell people: "Come be cranky with me and we'll figure something out." Because sometimes that's exactly what healing looks like.
Outside the office, I'm an active voice in prescribing psychology advocacy at the state and national level, including facilitating a national RxP consultation group, and I'm committed to mentoring the next generation of psychologists. The rest of the time, you'll find me embracing life as a single father raising my daughter (or is she raising me?). With my dog in the mix, we hike local trails, garden, practice new languages, and have many (mostly) joyful misadventures in the kitchen.
HELPFUL RESOURCES