Montrose Spring Clinics - Mental Health Patient Care Seminar

Nicolas Taylor brings over two decades of clinical expertise to the challenge of behavioral health integration. Currently practicing at Cedar Point Health, he works alongside primary-care teams to provide specialized outpatient psychotherapy within a multidisciplinary medical model. A specialist in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Dr. Taylor is a certified practitioner through the IASTI (International Alliance of Solution-Focused Teaching Institutes). He focuses on high efficiency, evidence-based interventions that fit the pace of modern medicine. He holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Brigham Young University and has been a leader in the field for 25 years. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Taylor as he presents on “Integrating Mental Health Care into Everyday Medical Practice.”

Kara Harmon, PhD, is a licensed psychologist who joined Veterans Affairs (VA) as a PTSD/Substance Use Disorder Psychologist in 2009 serving as an Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT) Specialist with VACO certifications in Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Integral Behavioral Couples Therapy (IBCT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET), with additional training and expertise in Written Exposure Therapy (WET) and mindfulness meditation-based approaches.  Additionally, Dr. Harmon served as a consultant for the VA Prolonged Exposure Rollout Initiative and is lead supervisor for the PTSD Clinical Team Rotation in the American Psychological Association-accredited Pre-Doctoral Internship program. In addition to clinical practice, her primary aim is to train clinicians to increase retention and maximize values-based living for clients through improving conceptualization and use of routine outcome monitoring so clients can engage, complete, and benefit from evidence-based interventions for PTSD/trauma.

Dr. Harmon currently serves as the program Manager for the PTSD Clinical Team at VA Western Colorado Health Care Services (founding the Center for Post-traumatic Growth in 2019) which has close ties with the Military Sexual Trauma Program). This team is dedicated to providing time-limited, evidence-based treatment guided by measurement-based care to promote recovery for Veterans with complex trauma histories and comorbidities (to include substance use, mTBI, chronic pain, prolonged grief, etc.). She enjoys both travel and foodie excursions with friends as well as Colorado’s sunshine with hiking, rucking, biking, yoga, and—when there is a chance—spending time in her hammock.

Jessica Hawks, Ph.D. is a child and adolescent psychologist, Dale and Cindy Francescon Endowed Chair for Mood Disorders, and the Chief of Psychology and Clinical Director of Quality and Safety at the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Hawks oversees clinical practice and programming offered across the mental health care continuum at Children's and supports all faculty master's level therapists and psychologists. Dr. Hawks provides mental health services to children and families presenting with a wide spectrum of mental health concerns and regularly provides clinical consultation to professionals across the hospital system. She has particular clinical expertise in working with youth with chronic irritability and their parents. Dr. Hawks' clinical leadership and research efforts focus on innovative clinical program development and dissemination efforts aimed at bringing a transdiagnostic, evidence-based approach to pediatric mental health treatment services.

Kristin Heil, LCSW, PMH-C is an Instructor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus where she is a lead clinician in the PIPER Perinatal Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). In this role, she assists with program development and provides clinical services to people who are pregnant and postpartum who are experiencing moderate to severe perinatal mental health conditions. Additionally, she provides training and mentorship to psychiatry residents, doctoral psychology externs and MSW trainees. Her previous experience includes working in a hospital setting where she specialized in serving perinatal patients and families impacted by Substance Use Disorders, served on a CHoSEN steering committee, and assisted in standardizing protocol for screening pregnant and newly postpartum women to quickly identify anxiety and depression symptoms. Kristin received a Masters in Social Work from Colorado State University. She holds a certification in Perinatal Mental Health from Postpartum Support International. Kristin is trained as a Circle of Security International facilitator helping caregivers strengthen and improve their attachment with their children. She is trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to treat people with a diagnosis of perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder.