Alex Dodson

Hello, and welcome. If you're here, life may not feel quite like your own right now. Maybe your mood is low, anxiety is running the show, or your emotions feel unpredictable. Maybe substance use has begun taking more than it gives. Whatever brought you here, I'm glad you are here. I want to hear your story and help you move toward a life that feels more like yours.

Before becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, I was a cultural anthropologist. I studied in Ghana as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, taught with the Peace Corps in Bangladesh, and earned a PhD in Social Anthropology at UT Austin, where I focused on Indigenous rights. Across all that work, one thing mattered most: listening closely to people's stories and understanding what mattered to them. That remains the heart of what I do today.

I work with teens, adults, and older adults from all walks of life because mental health struggles do not discriminate. I meet every person with curiosity, respect, and zero judgment. I have worked closely with LGBTQ+ individuals, BIPOC communities, and first and second-generation immigrant families, and I honor the culture, family, identity, history, and beliefs each person brings into the room.

Mental health care is equal parts science and human connection. Medications do not work the same way for everyone; biology, relationships, culture, stress, and daily life all shape the picture. That is why our relationship matters. My job is to earn your trust, understand the whole person, not just a list of symptoms, and be firmly in your corner.

You are more than a diagnosis, and your care should reflect that. A diagnosis can help us organize symptoms and consider which treatments may fit, but it never tells your whole story. Finding the right treatment is a collaboration: I bring clinical experience and expertise, and you bring what only you can know: what you are feeling, what is getting in your way, and what you want your life to look like. Together, we chart the path forward.

When I recommend a medication, I will explain the why behind it: what I hope it will help, how it might address other concerns you have shared, and which side effects deserve our attention. No mystery, no black box. If something is not working, we adjust the plan together.

I think of medication as a tool, not the whole toolbox. Used thoughtfully, it can be effective, quick to take effect, and safe. If it helps you get where you want to go, we keep using it. If it is the wrong tool, we change course. And when you no longer need it, that is worth celebrating too. My goal is simple: help you feel better with the least medication that works.

Medication management is only part of our work. I weave brief, supportive therapy into our visits using solution focused, person centered, and motivational interviewing approaches, with elements of CBT and mindfulness. I especially enjoy helping people reconnect with strengths they may have forgotten they possess. If ongoing therapy would help, I am also glad to help you find a therapist who feels like a good fit.

Our first meeting lasts about an hour, giving us room to slow down and see the full picture. We will talk about your physical and mental health, how you grew up, your relationships, what is working, what is not, and what your best life looks like to you. My hope is that you leave feeling heard, understood, and confident that we can figure this out together.

Follow up care is flexible. We may meet weekly or every other week when things feel hard or we are trying something new, then space visits out, up to every three months, as you feel steadier and more confident.

I am a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (MSN, APRN, PMHNP BC) and earned my Master of Science in Nursing through UT Austin's Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program. I treat depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, personality disorders, and substance misuse, including when several concerns arrive at once. Bipolar disorder and addiction are areas of interest because effective treatment can be profoundly transformative. Recovery is not the same for everyone, so I support both abstinence based and harm reduction paths.

My clinical experience spans residential addiction treatment, acute and outpatient psychiatry, nursing care for children and teens with neurological conditions, research on medication treatments for thought disorders, and care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including work with foster families and group homes. Through telehealth, I see patients across Texas.

From our first visit, I want you to feel seen, safe, and genuinely hopeful. There is a way forward. We will find it together, and I would be honored to walk beside you.