From Life to Lessons: Ava Smith's Path in Psychiatry

Season 2 Reflection: Highlights from Psych PA Institute, Guest Stories, and What’s Next

Hosts Mercedes Dodge and Jessica Spissinger of PA Mindset Matters reflect on wrapping their second season, highlighting interviews largely recorded at the inaugural PA Institute collaboration between Psych Congress and AAPA and previewing its return in early December in Orlando. They discuss their mission to connect psychiatric PAs and share standout guest takeaways. They note psych PA presence at AAPA, announce next season starting fall 2026 focusing on substance use, invite guests via pamindset.com, and thank APAP and supporters while sharing slide access through membership.

Caring Beyond Diagnosis: Humanity, Intellectual Disability, and the Heart of Psychiatry I Jo A. Hughes DMSc, PA-C, CAQ-Psychiatry

In medicine, it’s easy to focus on diagnoses, treatment plans, and checklists. But some of the most meaningful moments in care happen when we pause long enough to see the person beyond them. In this episode of Mindset Matters, we sit down with a leader in psychiatry to explore what it truly means to care for patients with intellectual and developmental differences—and how these experiences reshape the way we practice medicine as a whole. This conversation goes beyond career paths. It’s about humanity in care—and the responsibility we carry as clinicians to approach patients with curiosity, compassion, and respect for their lived experience. We explore: * Caring for patients with intellectual disabilities in a system not always built for them * Shifting from a diagnosis-driven model to a person-centered approach * How psychiatry deepens our understanding of behavior, communication, and connection * What these patients teach us about presence, patience, and meaning in medicine This episode is a reminder that some of the most impactful care we provide doesn’t come from having the right answer— It comes from being willing to see, listen, and understand more deeply. Whether you work in psychiatry or another specialty, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about what it means to truly care for your patients.

Mini Mindset: Menopause & Mental Health—Recognizing Hormonal Drivers Behind Mood Symptoms

In this Mini Mindset episode, we explore the often-overlooked connection between menopause, perimenopause, and mental health. Many women present with symptoms that look like depression or anxiety—but what if the underlying driver is hormonal? We discuss: * The clinical overlap between mood disorders and perimenopause * Why some patients experience partial response to SSRIs * The role of sleep disruption, vasomotor symptoms, and estrogen fluctuations * How to differentiate brain fog vs ADHD vs mood disorders * Practical treatment considerations, including SNRIs and collaborative care with OB-GYN We also highlight insights from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) and why clinicians need a broader lens when treating midlife patients. This is a conversation about curiosity, validation, and better care for women in transition.

From Life to Lessons: Ava Smith's Path in Psychiatry

In this episode of The Mindset Matters, psychiatric PAs Mercedes Dodge and Jessica Spissinger interview Ava, a psych PA and clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M, about her transition from emergency psychiatry to outpatient academic practice. She reflects on working across 13 Houston-area hospitals, the lack of continuity in emergency care, and how her mother’s mental illness shaped her path into psychiatry later in life. Ava discusses her current role—primarily adult outpatient care with teaching responsibilities—along with PA advocacy, job-search strategies, and prescribing challenges in Texas. She also shares favorite resources and wellness habits like puzzles and Peloton.

Embracing Summertime Mood Challenges: Reverse SAD Explained

In this episode of PA Mindset Matters Mini Mindset, hosts Jessica Spissinger and Mercedes Dodge review the third and final seasonal onset mood disorder discussing “reverse seasonal affective disorder,” or summer-onset depression. They note it’s less common than winter-onset SAD (about 0.5–2.5% vs. 5–10%) and can be missed because summer is assumed to be a season which most people enjoy. However, for those who struggle with summer depression, it may present atypically with agitation, irritability, restlessness, insomnia, appetite loss, and weight loss, sometimes resembling anxiety or manic irritability, and is linked to prolonged daylight, humidity, heat, and circadian disruption (including spring time change). They emphasize planning ahead, screening for seasonal patterns over at least two years, and prioritizing environmental management (dimming evening light, reducing screens, blue-light blockers, blackout curtains, temperature control, avoiding the “indoor trap,” and timing outdoor activity). We review psychotropic, lifestyle and treatment planning approaches.