Clinician Spotlight - Darby McKee
When psychiatric nurse practitioner Darby McKee isn’t working with one of her many Happier Living clients, you’ll probably find her outside. Darby lives on a mini farm and spends a lot of her time in the dirt and mud taking care of the animals and maintaining the garden and structures. She also enjoys Kali, a Filipino martial art, scuba diving, and just about anything that takes her into nature. Another love is spending time with her children and grandchildren.
The nature and nurture balance Darby maintains allows her to listen closely to her clients, stay engaged with them and show interest in them and what they have to say, feel, and believe. They feel heard and understood and their importance and value are validated by her.
“I have always been interested in psychiatry and how the mind and brain work. Humans are fascinating and I enjoy listening to people and trying to understand their experience and figure out how I can help,” she says. “It is also very satisfying to be part of a solution instead of a ‘cause’ of disharmony, pain, and destruction. In other words, doing good instead of harm in my occupation.”
Happier Living’s core values and practices work well for her. “I especially resonate and agree with Happier Living's commitment to therapy and building a meaningful and trusting relationship with our clients,” she says. “I also appreciate both the MD and therapy case study groups where providers and therapists can co-mingle and ask questions and learn from their co-workers.”
She specializes and enjoys working with trauma victims: “normal people going through a rough period in their lives, teens and young adults who need someone to listen to them, really anyone who needs and wants help.”
Darby believes in a positive approach to life.
“Enjoy every day you have on this earth. Focus on the future and not on the past. Always look for the good in everything, because that is what you will be experiencing,” she says. “Life is a gift, and the way you experience it is up to you.”
