Rachael Waas Shull

As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Rachael is passionate about working with individuals to achieve mental health. She has an extensive background in caring for and working with individuals in times of struggle and transformation as a birth doula, a labor and delivery nurse,and a nurse educator. Now as a PMHNP, she is bringing her 13 years of nursing experience specifically to support patients in their pursuit of mental and emotional wellbeing. Rachael utilizes an integrative approach that understands medication as a tool alongside sleep, nutrition,social support and psychotherapy as important elements to health and balance. She appreciates the vulnerability required in seeking care, and her curiosity and compassion foreach individual’s unique circumstance fosters collaborative decision making with her patients.

 

As she has worked with the pregnant and birthing population for her entire career, Rachael has a particular interest in perinatal mental health and is skilled in supporting individuals before, during, and after pregnancy and birth, including the struggles that can come related to birth trauma, pregnancy loss or interruption, and various postpartum mood and anxiety changes. She holds additional certification and training in perinatal mental health. Additionally, Rachael possesses a depth of understanding of the challenges of healthcare workers, particularly those in acute medical settings, and for this reason, she hopes to help foster sustainable mental health care practices and support mental wellbeing among healthcare workers. She also has interest in and clinical experience working with ADHD and autism, and appreciates working with patients exploring these clinical areas.

 

Originally from Michigan, Rachael has been in the Pacific Northwest for more than 20 years. She is happy to be raising her three kids in between the mountains and the ocean. Prior to nursing, Rachael earned a degree in Peace Studies and Sociology from a small liberal artscollege in Indiana. She remains engaged in issues of social justice and will forever be interested in how the inequities of our social structures have the potential to harm, and remains dedicated to understanding her role in providing anti-racist, socially just, equitable care. In pursuit ofbalance in her own life, she loves to read, bake sourdough, be outside, play games and watch movies with her family, and listen for wisdom in unexpected places.