Book a therapist or psychiatrist in Newton, MA covered by Aetna

I am a dedicated psychiatric nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience in both acute care and psychiatric nursing. In my practice, I believe that understanding your issues is the first step toward healing. I take the time to truly listen to your experiences, validating your feelings, and recognizing the weight of what you’re going through. With a holistic approach to psychiatric and medical management, I specialize in the medication management of ADHD, Anxiety, OCD, Trauma, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, and Insomnia. Together, we’ll work to help you find the balance and peace you deserve.

As your therapist I will work alongside you to help you learn to identify your emotions, learn healthy ways to express yourself, and healthy and effective ways of communicating with others. Together we will also identify your strengths as well as possible unhealthy thinking or behavioral patterns and how they relate to your everyday experiences and emotions.

I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who runs a private practice called Next Play Therapy. I work with adolescents, young adults, adults, and athletes. My background includes both school-based counseling and outpatient therapy, where I’ve helped clients manage anxiety, stress, depression, self-esteem challenges, and life transitions. I also have experience coaching high school athletics, which has shaped my passion for helping athletes build confidence and mental resilience. My goal is to create a supportive space where clients feel comfortable, understood, and empowered to move forward.

Healing Across the Lifespan: A Partnership in Mental Wellness

Choosing a mental health provider is a deeply personal decision. You aren’t just looking for a prescriber; you are looking for a witness to your story, an expert in the biological complexities of the brain, and a partner in your recovery.

My name is Jessica Stanley, and I am a Board-Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC). My journey to this practice has been defined by a unique duality: the macro view of a healthcare executive and the micro focus of a dedicated clinician. Before opening the doors to this practice, I served as the Clinical Director for a large-scale healthcare organization. In that role, I was responsible for the oversight of complex systems, the mentorship of large clinical teams, and the implementation of evidence-based protocols across diverse populations.

While my time in leadership allowed me to impact mental health at a systemic level, my true passion has always remained in the quiet, transformative moments of the exam room. I have returned to full-time clinical practice to bring that high-level expertise back to where it matters most: the individual human experience.

Mental health does not exist in a vacuum, nor does it look the same at age seven as it does at seventy. I specialize in treating patients across the entire lifespan. Whether I am working with a child struggling to navigate their first years of school, an adolescent facing the pressures of identity formation, or an adult managing the heavy mantle of career and family, my approach remains the same: comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence based.

Areas of Specialization

I am trained to treat a broad spectrum of psychiatric conditions including:

ADHD & Neurodivergence

Anxiety Disorders

Depression

PTSD & Trauma Recovery

Now accepting patients in Massachusetts! Offering in office visits on the fourth Monday of each month in Westford, MA from 8:00 until 11:30 and virtual visits throughout the week.

I have been in healthcare for over 20 years and enjoy partnering with patients . As a gay man, I understand the comfort that comes with working with someone from the community.

I get so excited to watch clients learn more about themselves, build self confidence and grow as individuals. The transformations I have witnessed in the people I have worked with over the years is amazing and awe inspiring. Emotional pain can be incredibly difficult to deal with, especially on one’s own. Ultimately, we all deserve to feel better about ourselves and learn to care for ourselves in a more kind and accepting way.

My background includes supporting individuals, couples, and families from a variety of backgrounds in navigating personal and life challenges, including depression, anxiety, trauma, parenting skills, grief and loss, transitions, etc. Currently, I am only offering individual services.

I also have 10+ years of specialized experience in working with survivors of sexual violence and non-offending loved ones in understanding the impact of trauma and exploring their own healing journey.

Katy is a LMHC and has over 12 years of experience working with a wide range of mental health conditions. In addition to general treatment, Katy has experience working with the perinatal population to address mood and anxiety conditions in addition to emotional complications resulting from grief and loss, infertility, relationship issues, birth trauma, parent-child attachment issues, and attachment-based trauma that exacerbates during parenting.