Addiction medicine touches nearly every area of healthcare, yet many clinicians receive limited training in recognizing and treating substance use disorders.

In this episode of PA Mindset Matters, Jessica Spissinger, PA-C, LICSW, CAQ-Psych, and Mercedes Dodge, MPAS, PA-C, CAQ-Psych, sit down with Kerith Hartmann, MPAS, PA-C, an addiction medicine PA at Oregon Health & Science University.

Kerith works across inpatient addiction medicine consultation and outpatient care for patients with substance use disorders, complex chronic illness, and overlapping pain concerns. She is also a board member of the Society for Addiction Medicine of PAs and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

One of her strongest messages:

“Learn motivational interviewing—really learn it. Not the concept, the practice.”

In this conversation, we discuss:

• opioid, alcohol, and stimulant use disorders

Kerith also shares the personal and professional experiences that led her into this field and reminds us that clinicians do not have to identify as addiction specialists to make a meaningful difference for patients with substance use disorders.

Listen to the full conversation on PA Mindset Matters and share it with a colleague who cares for patients affected by substance use.

Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

#PAMindsetMatters #AddictionMedicine #MotivationalInterviewing #SubstanceUseDisorder #PhysicianAssociate

You don’t have to work in addiction medicine to care for patients with substance use disorders.

Substance use shows up across healthcare—from psychiatry and primary care to emergency medicine, pediatrics, and hospital settings—and it often intersects with anxiety, insomnia, trauma, depression, chronic pain, and relationship stress.

In this Mini Mindset episode, Jessica Spissinger and Mercedes Dodge break down practical ways clinicians can recognize substance use disorder, reduce stigma, and feel more confident starting the conversation.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why shifting from “Why won’t you stop?” to “What is this substance doing for you?” can change the clinical encounter

Substance use disorder is not a failure of willpower. It is a treatable medical condition influenced by biology, environment, learning, trauma, relationships, and the brain’s reward system.

And treatment does not always begin in an addiction clinic.

Sometimes it begins with one clinician asking the right question and creating a safe space for an honest conversation.

Listen now and follow PA Mindset Matters for more Mini Mindset episodes translating psychiatry, behavioral health, and neuroscience into practical clinical care. 

What happens when we identify opioid use disorder—but the patient still can’t access treatment?

In this episode of PA Mindset Matters, Mercedes Dodge and Jessica Spissinger sit down with Arianna Campbell, DMSc, MPH, PA-C, CAQ-EM, DFAAPA, a PA with more than 25 years of emergency medicine experience and nearly a decade working in addiction medicine and healthcare systems change.

Arianna shares how a simple question in the emergency department—What are we actually going to do when we identify opioid use disorder?—helped launch work that eventually grew into California Bridge and expanded addiction treatment access across hospitals and communities.

We discuss:

• Buprenorphine and evidence-based opioid use disorder treatment

Arianna reminds us that improving addiction care is not only about knowing the evidence—it is about creating systems where patients can actually access it.

“We need to make it easier for people to get care.”

Listen now on PA Mindset Matters.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

In this episode of PA Mindset Matters, hosts Mercedes Dodge, PA-C and Jessica Spissinger, PA-C connect with psychiatric physician assistant Jasprina Ming, DMS, MPAS, PA-C at Psych Congress to discuss pathways into psychiatry, the mental health workforce shortage, and the broader impact of psychiatric care.

Jasprina shares how growing up with a mother with mental illness shaped her perspective, emphasizing that treating one patient often means supporting an entire family and community while helping reduce stigma around mental health.

She also discusses her clinical approach to depression, anxiety, and ADHD, highlighting the importance of both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy in outpatient care.

Her career journey includes transitioning from a registered vascular technologist (RVT), where she performed vascular ultrasounds, to becoming a PA to be more involved in the full continuum of patient care. Despite being told that opportunities for PAs in psychiatry were limited in her area, she pursued the field through dedicated training and mentorship.

The conversation also explores the realities of practicing psychiatry, including maintaining boundaries, avoiding burnout, and staying present outside of work. She shares practical strategies such as completing documentation during the workday and intentionally disconnecting after clinic to be fully present with family.

This episode highlights the human side of psychiatric care and reinforces that mental health is health, and that every clinician plays a role in recognizing and supporting it.

Mental health doesn’t live in one clinic—it shows up everywhere.

In this Mini Mindset episode of PA Mindset Matters, Mercedes Dodge, PA-C and Jessica Spissinger, PA-C take a closer look at collaborative care and why integrating behavioral health across specialties is essential for improving patient outcomes and reducing provider burnout.

From primary care to pediatrics to specialty clinics, behavioral health is already present—but too often, care is delivered in silos. In this episode, we explore how shifting toward a team-based, integrated model can help close gaps in care, reduce fragmentation, and support more comprehensive, patient-centered treatment.

Whether you’re in psychiatry, primary care, or any specialty managing complex patients, this episode offers practical insight into how collaborative care can be applied in real-world settings.