Lena Russell, APRN, PMHNP-BC

Lena is a Psychiatric Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner with a diverse career history and over 20 years of experience working in healthcare. Lena is passionate about ensuring that patients from all walks of life receive compassionate, high-quality care, and has a background in community mental health. Lena has extensive experience working with severe mental illness and substance use disorders in vulnerable populations, frequently treating conditions such as Schizophrenia, Active Psychosis, Bipolar Disorders, Depressive Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, Complex Trauma, Attention Deficit, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Insomnia, Substance Use Disorders, Adjustment Disorders and Personality Disorders. She has experience in the Community Mental Health Outpatient Clinic, Daytona Beach FACT Team, Detox Centers and Needle Exchange Programmes. She is trained in adult, older adult and child psychiatry and sees patients throughout the lifespan.

During appointments with Lena she uses an integrative approach to address ot only the cluster of symptoms experienced, but the potential causes, and resolutions on a deeper level, such as addressing underlying trauma, and providing education on lifestyle. Lena appreciates the value of modern psychiatry and the guidance of the DSM-IV, whilst also acknowledging its limitations, in that humans are complex, spiritual beings with an intrinsic need for connection, purpose and meaning. During appointments with Lena, patients will find her to be unique in style, holistic and thorough in nature, remaining energetically present, and being guided by the patient’s own comfort level.

Prior to specializing in mental health, Lena spent some years in Emergency Medicine, working in Emergency Departments in both Florida and for the NHS in England, UK. She also served 4 years in the British Army as a Combat Medic and was deployed to Afghanistan on Op Herrick 15 in 2011, Kenya in 2012, London Olympics in 2012 and was based in Germany for the rest of her time in the military. Lena left the British Army with Exemplary Conduct in 2013. Being in the military and witnessing the impacts of traumatic events led to Lena’s interest in mental health, and how untreated trauma can deeply affect our mental health and lead to various psychosomatic disorders.

Lena is passionate about providing education on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics when used in a safe set and setting, and with reverence for the history and culture underlying these sacred medicines. She spent a year studying Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy through the Integrative Psychiatry Institute, which involved training from Rik Doblin, Dr Gabor Mate, Dr Rosalind Watts and Dr Robin Cahart-Harris. Topics were focused on ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA as well as other entheogens, synthetic psychedelics and dissociative anesthetics. Training also involved immersive training experiences in Colorado and Oregon. Lena is a certified ketamine provider and has studied a further ketamine course through Elite Nurse Practitioner, which focused on adjunct medications, monitoring, dosing and safety protocols.

Lena has been involved in the growing field of psychedelic medicine since 2013, attending lectures with Dr Robin Cahart-Harris in London before any formal courses were available. Lena previously worked for Fireside Project Psychedelic Peer Support Line for two years when the pioneer project first began. This involved providing real-time trip support, helping people through spiritual emergencies, providing grounding and calming techniques, and providing one to one integration and holding space for people to process their own meaning-making. Lena represented Fireside Project at Miami Wonderland in 2020 running a promotional booth and providing education to other professionals interested in this field. Lena has a breadth of experience in supporting people during and after psychedelic experiences, and appreciates the need for a calm, grounded and sensitive approach to holding space for people during alternative states of consciousness.

Lena studied Nutritional Psychiatry in 2023 through Dr Drew Ramsey MD to supplement her role as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, and she incorporates nutritional education into her daily practice as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She is well-versed in the benefits of a Whole Food Plant Based diet, anti-inflammatory foods, personalized supplementation, screening for nutritional deficiencies, and the important role of the gut microbiome in relation to mental and physical health.

Somatic therapy is a key part of the way Lena practices. In 2017 she studied Ashtanga Yoga in England, UK, through Yoga Dharma. This year-long course involved learning sutric tantric philosophy, asana and pranayama. Lena has taught Ashtanga, gentle yoga, slow flow and power yoga at various studios, and private events such as hen nights, pre-wedding yoga, corporate events and workshops. She also has certifications in Reiki and Vedic Bodywork through the Vedic Conservatory.

In her personal time Lena enjoys the early morning sunrise, walking her Italian Greyhounds on the beach, practicing yoga, and providing education on animal welfare issues. She lives a vegan lifestyle and cares deeply about the environment. She has volunteered in a monkey sanctuary and various animal rescue centers. Her favorite books include Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, and Stanislav Grof’s The Way of the Psychonaut. Lena values the importance of continued training and education and feels a responsibility to stay current in the ever-evolving field of psychiatry and psychedelic medicine. Lena has a deep passion for helping people find their inner healing intelligence, helping people in recovering from trauma and overall, in supporting people in restoring health, balance and peace. Her calm demeanor and compassionate approach leave patients feeling heard, cared for and supported on their wellness journey.