Clinical Director

My History and Approach to Mental Health Care

My name is Derek Walcker and I am a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) who resides near Howard County, and provides comprehensive, evidence based behavioral healthcare to all the residents of my home state, Maryland. Via telehealth, I am presently focusing on treating adults of all ages (18-senior) who are afflicted with any behavioral health condition (stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, Bipolar, Insomnia, etc.) and I use a combination of both medication and psychotherapy to provide speedy remission of symptoms, while creating a long-term psychotherapeutic treatment plan to provide sustained relief.

As every patient is unique, I am steadfast in tailoring an individual treatment plan for each patient with their participation. I emphasize educating the patient of their diagnosis and treatment options, which can include psychopharmacologic agents, in addition to knowledge of how these medications function, effect the brain, possible side effects, and timeframe of symptom remission. I also employ psychotherapy to target cognitive distortions, dysregulated emotions, dysfunctional behaviors, and poor stress management, to help the patient develop the cognitive skills necessary to create a sustained egosyntonic state and prevent symptom relapse. This approach allows the patient and I to address both their short- and long-term needs, while providing a path that allows them to reach their full potential in all areas of their life.

Patient Focus

My extensive experience in working with patients across the lifespan in both inpatient and outpatient settings, has honed my expertise in working with all adults spanning in age, from 18 years to senior citizens. Most of my adult patients battle either a single or multiple behavioral health conditions such as anxiety, ADHD, depression, OCD, Bipolar, and Insomnia; the symptoms of which are often exacerbated by difficulty managing the adversities in their personal and professional areas of life. While medication can help remit the symptoms of these conditions, preventing their relapse through psychotherapy is essential by helping the patient build the skills required to navigate through the daily challenges of the individual and social expectations placed upon them.

My Communication Style

My long tenure engaging with a breadth of patients from all ages, locations, and backgrounds has afforded me the demeanor to quickly establish a reciprocal and trusting rapport with my patients and their families. This is established by creating an inviting area of: comfort, dignity, encouragement, validation, absence of bias or shame, and developing the confidence within the patient to effect change. Often, my patients say I am empathetic but direct, as well as serious but have a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.

How I Approach Goal Setting

From the onset, the patient and I will work together to identify and establish both their short-term and long-term goals, in any and all domains of their life. Psychotherapeutic methods and strategies to realize these goals will be woven into the treatment plan and at the beginning of each session, we will evaluate and discuss their progress, alter the interventions if necessary, and update goals as they are achieved. Aiding the patient in developing the self-reliance and self-agency to actualize their goals is essential for continued personal growth.

What to Expect During our First Visit

While it is always customary for a patient to complete several questionnaires prior to the first visit, I see them as just tools -a way to quantify symptoms- and not something that is truly indicative of who you are as an individual. Understanding your unique situation and problems is paramount to successful treatment. As such, at this first session, I will target building a relationship with you by listening to your concerns, history, and recent or long-term symptoms; allow you to go at your own pace, and establish what you would like to achieve during our time together. We’ll discuss possible diagnoses for your symptoms, methods of treatment via medications and psychotherapy, and help explore which treatment options with which you are most comfortable. We’ll conclude by co-developing a treatment plan that addresses your immediate and long-term concerns, confirm that you have a firm understanding of each facet of our plan, and answer any questions you may have.

My Journey to Becoming a Mental Health Provider

Although I started my career in healthcare working in critical care areas including ERs, ICUs, organ transplant, and Shock Trauma, I decided to switch to behavioral health when I realized that many of my critical care patients required emergent care as a consequence of limited access to mental health treatment, and/or poor management of existing behavioral health conditions. This prompted me to switch career paths from intensive care to behavioral health. I initially spent 5 years working in various psychiatric inpatient hospital settings, where I learned to treat patients of virtually every background and population, who suffered from the most complicated and severe conditions. In this venue, I learned what oversights in outpatient treatment often led to inpatient admission, and thus switched to working in the outpatient arena, where I have prioritized the last 5 years of my career to ensure that those in need of behavioral healthcare can remain outpatient and never need see the inside of a hospital.

I am reinforced to continue this mission everyday as I see the subtle and vast improvements in my patients’ lives, as I aid them in finding sanctuary from their symptoms and develop the cognitive cornerstones necessary to help manage the tribulations of life and become the complete person they strive to be.