Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Hughes.
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Plano, TX and grew up in Terrell, TX with my younger sister. My parents were teens and divorced shortly after my sister was born. We were raised primarily by my mom from that point. As a single mom (who was not receiving child support) although she worked hard, having multiple jobs, we struggled financially for several years. She was gone a lot
Luckily we had amazing grandparents who stepped in and helped my mom care for us. They were the reason we had a home as they let us move into a rent house they owned when I was in 6th grade. This became our childhood home. There were still times we didn’t have electricity or water and food was very limited. I was on a reduced lunch plan (back then it was $0.35!) I had to find or ask for money to buy lunch. Through friends, teachers, and staff we never went without.
My first job was at Schlotzsky’s Deli in Terrell- I started as soon as I turned 16 and after a year was promoted to manager. This helped financially and around this time our family was becoming more financially stable. I worked there until I left for college- the University of Texas at Arlington. I was the first person in our family to attend and graduate from college. I had no idea what I was doing or what to expect- and neither did they!
I chose to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology (why?? IDK) and (thank goodness) took nursing school pre-requisites. I worked full time as an anesthesia technician at Baylor Dallas throughout the entirety of college. This experience let me know I wanted to work in healthcare in some capacity. Shortly after I graduated with my Biology degree in 2008, I gave birth to my son, Mason, who will be graduating from high school this May. We were living in East Dallas and I was still working at Baylor. In 2010 I decided to pursue a Master’s in Healthcare Administration- the classes were in downtown Dallas, within walking distance from my apartment. I absolutely hated it! But I knew I needed to do something else to earn more money. Then, by some miracle, I saw the promotion UT Arlington had for the new accelerated BS in Nursing program, specifically for students working in the hospital setting. I had all the pre-requisites and was quickly accepted. I attended the first cohort and finished my nursing program, while working full time and being a single mother. I worked night shift full time, attended classes during the day throughout the week and completed clinicals on the weekend. It was brutal but it expedited my nursing journey and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to experience a program that worked so well with my life. Traditional in-person nursing programs would have taken much longer and would have been much more difficult to attend.
Right out of nursing school, in 2011 I still lived in East Dallas but started my first nursing job at Cook Children’s ER in Fort Worth. After 2 years I transitioned to Children’s ER in Dallas for the next few years. n 2014, I bought my first house on Cedar Creek Lake in Gun Barrel City and commuted to Dallas for work. I learned what Nurse Practitioners were for the first time working in the ER- I knew I wanted to further my medical career and help people. I applied to UTA’s Pediatric NP program and was accepted. At the time I thought I wanted to do Pediatric Acute Care, but something felt off. During the second semester I did my psychiatric rotation at a facility in Canton, TX called Sundown Ranch, which provided substance use and mental health treatment for teens. I. LOVED. IT. Right then I changed my program to the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program and instantly knew I was on the right path.
Before graduating in August 2016, I obtained a position at a substance use facility in Scurry called Treehouse. They let me work as an RN until my transition to PMHNP was complete in October 2016. I worked here for 4 years. While I am thankful for the experience, looking back I was burned out after year one. A drug rep used to come visit the facility and he encouraged me to open my own practice- which genuinely had never crossed my mind. I did clinical rotations at large, outpatient practices in Dallas and always told myself I would not be, or work for, an “in and out” clinic.
After thinking on it, a colleague and I decided to open a practice called Cedar Creek Wellness Group (CCWG) in Gun Barrel City, TX in February 2020. We still worked full time and in March started to get our first patients through CCWG. Then COVID hit March 2020. I had no idea how the practice would do during the pandemic, but it turned out really well for us and our community. People had time to attend visits for their mental health. They no longer had to drive an hour to Dallas or Tyler to get mental health care. Telehealth was widely covered by insurance which allowed them to continue to see us. We grew rapidly by word of mouth and were the first clinic in our area to prescribe and manage psychiatric medications, provide therapy services AND take most major insurances.
Business ownership has been the biggest awakening of my life. The original partnership broke down and in 2023 I decided to separate and go off on my own- within the same building, same clients, my biller and my medical assistant. An NP who had just joined my first practice decided to join us as well. This is how we transitioned to Premier Mental Health and Wellness. Even though we were in East TX, I wanted people to feel like they were getting Premier, compassionate and individualized service. Before the final dissolution date of CCWG in October 2023, due to some major operational concerns the remaining CCWG staff expressed to me, my business partner was removed to keep CCWG in business. Our original dissolution terms included my previous business partner taking full ownership and we would pay our applicable bills. However, it was clear it was on a path to closing down within a matter of weeks. I felt so strongly about the staff members (3 therapists) potentially losing their jobs and their clients losing mental health care. So, I took 100% ownership and kept both practices running, trying to figure out what to do. Should I have me and my Premier staff go back to working under CCWG? Or move everyone to Premier? Premier had new software contracts and the old company had software and billing contracts that still needed to be honored. The billing had been incorrectly set up and it was honestly an operational nightmare that had to be cleaned up. When CCWG contracts completed in summer of 2024, all staff were employed under Premier and we have continued our services since then.
We have continued to grow and have had minimal turnover. Through my experiences and landing as a business owner, I’ve been able to create a life my younger self and son deserve.
We grew up extremely poor until I started working in high school. When I think of myself as the little girl who was shy, scrounging for money to eat, and no idea of what I was capable of… I think she would be so excited and proud. She’d probably gasp and say, “Wow I didn’t even know living like this and doing this was an option!” I would have never imagined my life as it is now. Business ownership was not even on my radar until that drug rep encouraged me to look into it. All of my experiences, good and bad, big and small, have led me to where I am now, and I could not be more grateful. I tell the story about my failed business partnership because it made me realize two things: 1. I had doubted myself and 2. When you do things out of fear, or compromise on parts of your dream, it will fall apart one way or another to give space for you to do what you originally intended to do. Moral of my story- go for your dreams unapologetically and authentically, even when you’re scared. Yes it’s scary but what’s scarier is not trying at all or living a mediocre version of your dream.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh there were some struggles!
Although my grandparents helped us, they didn’t know how poor we were sometimes. Financially it was rough.
I struggled academically my first semester of college and actually failed two classes, which I had to retake the following semester (aced them!). I eventually joined a sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, which provided the structure I needed to get my grades up, teach me about accountability and provided affordable housing on campus.
There’s a history of mental health issues in our family, which were problematic on and off throughout childhood and into young adulthood.
In the middle of college (undergrad Biology degree) my grandmother died from brain and lung cancer and my grandfather died a few years later, which devastated our family.
Raising my son as a single mom from birth was difficult while working full time (nightshift) and going to school.
When I was working as an RN finding childcare at night and working nights, weekends and holidays was difficult.
After I became an NP, at my first job I really started to struggle with staying on top of my charting. At age 33, I was diagnosed with ADHD and once I started treatment I became aware of how hard I had been struggling pretty much my whole life. Working in the ER was the perfect environment for my ADHD so when I moved to a slower paced position I found this to be much more difficult. This is when I started becoming passionate about providing care for ADHD.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We opened in 2020 and were one of the first and only mental health clinic that has therapy and psychiatric medication management within a 50 mile radius of Gun Barrel City. Our practice consists of 3 therapists and 3 Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. My other NPs are actually dual certified, meaning they are certified and trained in both Family and Mental Health care. We offer both in-person and online services.
I have personally been a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) since 2016. PMHNPs can treat mood disorders, anxiety, depression, PTSD, psychotic disorders, OCD, eating disorders, substance use disorders and ADHD. Over time, and with years of additional trainings, my specialty has narrowed to complex-PTSD, perinatal/postpartum mental health, reproductive psychiatric care and ADHD.
I am also a trained Hypnobreathwork Facilitator, which is a modality that utilizes a combination of guided imagery, breathwork, parts work, hypnotherapy and inner child healing. I incorporate various psychotherapy and integrative health interventions during my psychiatric medication management visits. I’m also a big believer that movement can be healing and can provide brief somatic focused therapy, which can calm the nervous system. I also offer executive functioning/ADHD coaching and take a hormone informed approach to women’s mental health care (i.e. prescribe hormones for psychiatric symptoms caused by hormonal dysregulation). De-prescribing (safely reducing psychiatric medications or tapering completely off) is one of my favorite services to provide.
I want people to heal on a much deeper level when they are on their healing journey with us. I believe therapy and responsible prescribing can help people stabilize so they can work on addressing and healing the core issues. I train my NPs to do more than prescribe- they are trained to take a whole-person approach and assess all aspects of a person’s life that may impact their mental state. They also incorporate therapeutic and wellness focused support. Additionally, they have the ability to consult with our in-house therapists forming a steadfast treatment team.
All of our providers are also trained in perinatal mental health, making us an official Blue Dot Spot- a designated maternal mental health informed clinic that can provide specialized mental health care to women and girls during and after pregnancy.
I am most proud of what we have brought to our community and the quality of care we provide to our patients- our team genuinely customizes each person’s care to fit their needs. I’m also proud of providing a supportive work environment for my employees. We are also proud to be one of the very few clinics between Dallas and Tyler to offer Spravato.
We offer: Psychiatric medication management, individual counseling, weight optimization services, wellness/vitamin injections (Lipoden, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Tri-Immune, Myer’s Cocktail), hypnobreathwork and Spravato (esketamine- a nasal spray similar to ketamine to help treat severe treatment resistant depression). We also partner with Genesight and Genomind for pharmacogenetic testing- cutting edge tests that show how your body breaks down medication to make more informed medication choices. Some of our facilities are capable of collecting labs so our patients can get their labs done on the spot.
We have 3 locations- Gun Barrel City, TX; Canton, TX; Monument, CO and a fourth one opening in April in Uptown Dallas.
What’s next?! Our NPs are working towards Perinatal Mental Health certification and becoming Menopause Society Certified Practitioners to support women’s health through all phases of life. Additional ways I increase access to mental health care include providing preceptorship for PMHNP students (i.e. acting as a clinical rotation site for universities), providing clinical mentorship to PMHNPs, and providing business mentorship for PMHNPs who want to open a practice and become a businesss owner. There is no gatekeeping here- I want everyone to be successful because when we succeed, our community benefits.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
1. Ask advice from someone who is in the same industry (if you can). People from other industries would give me advice on certain things, but it would not pertain me. Get help from someone who is doing the same thing you are doing. You won’t be doing it the exact same way they are, but networking and talking to others can help improve your systems, give you ideas and more importantly give you support.
2. Reach out to people you don’t know or don’t know well, but are doing what you want to do. The worst they could do is say no or not respond to your request. I would message colleagues on Facebook and somewhat well known NPs I saw on social media who were heavily involved in NP programs or organizations and had their own practice. I was surprised at how many responded and willingly answered my questions. One of my nursing school peers started a practice two years before me. We were not close but she was the first one I reached out to when I started my practice. We still to this day check in and run ideas by each other. She helped me a lot when I was first starting, even though she was so busy. Successful people don’t gatekeep.
3. Don’t isolate. Business ownership can be lonely at times, even with a fully staffed business. Surround yourself with people who understand what you are going through. Look for business ownership groups locally, nationally and internationally.
4. Actively seek a mentor. Even if you think you are in a niche business, or think there won’t be mentors, it is very likely there are more mentors or resources than you think. You need to actively search for them (Google, FB groups, IG, etc.). Ask others if they know anyone. I’ve also asked general questions in FB groups and received thoughtful suggestions or were directed to places to look. Call. Email. Stop by. Message on social media. Get on it!
5. Don’t fall for some of these overpriced business masterminds or business mentoring groups. Some of them require a large financial and time committment, which may be fine for some. Some of them can be very informative. Just know you don’t have to do that to network or be successful.
Pricing:
- We accept most Medicare, BCBS, Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, UMR plans
- Initial Psychiatric or Hypnobreathwork Evaluation: $275 (self pay)
- Iniital Therapy Session: $200 (self pay)
- Follow-up Psychiatric, Hypnobreathwork, or Individual Therapy Visit: $150 (self pay)
- Wellness Injections: starting at $20 each, we always have specials!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pmh-w.com
Image Credits
Courtesy of Lifted Logic (but property of Premier Mental Health and Wellness)
