Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Crystal Nelson.
Hi Dr. Nelson, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up the middle child of three girls in rural, Virgnia. My father and mother have been married 52 years and have provided me the security to be all that I am. I have wanted to be a doctor since I was five years old. At that time, the only black doctor I had ever seen was the fictitious Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the Cosby Show.
So, I set my sights on becoming an OB/Gyn. I stayed locked and loaded on this dream and in 1997 enrolled at Spelman College as biology major. By the fourth year of medical school at Morehouse School of Medicine and having my first child, I realized it was not the type of doctor I wanted to be. At the prompting of a mentor, I explored another rotation in psychiatry. I had done a rotation at the state mental health hospital and was not in love with the specialty but was intrigued that my mentor felt that it was the better fit for me. She observed my ability to connect easily with postpartum mothers and pick on up emotional issues. I did an acting internship in Psychiatry and after that, it was history. Psychiatry was everything I wanted in medicine. It was an ability to treat the whole person. What my grandmother called discernment and what my teachers labeled as talkative were the exact traits needed to be a psychiatrist. After completing training, I worked in the field gathering information that would lead me to venture out on my own and do medicine on my terms. For the last four years, I have been the owner of my own practice and have grown to service over 3000 clients with four providers.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It has not in any way been a smooth road. At one point, in order to graduate from college I worked two jobs while being a full-time student. I married my high school sweetheart in my senior year of college. I decided not to go directly to med school and took a job with a pharmaceutical company in California. Within one year, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. This began an 11 years journey of cancer, his treatments, medical school and a baby. My husband died within one year of me completing my training to be a licensed psychiatrist. I then became a single mother who was grasping to balance my career. I had every reason to quit and not reach it to this point. I have been told many times over that what I did and continue to do was not doable and here I am.
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?
Blueprint Psychiatry –we treat mental illness and various areas of physical and psychological impairment.
We focus on the uniqueness of the individual and create personalized treatment plans using pharmacogenomics.
We incorporate traditional medication management and non-traditional approaches such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the treatment of depression as well as nutritional guidance and support.
I am proud that we are outside of the box and are always on the cutting edge of the field of psychiatry.
I am proud of the excellence we offer within our company. We keep medicine humane and personable where people are allowed to be heard.
What does success mean to you?
Success is merely being persistent to remain disciplined after real-life sets in and motivation wanes.
Contact Info:
- Email: INFO@BLUEPRINTPSYCHIATRY.COM
- Website: www.BlueprintPsychiatry.com
- Instagram: @drcrystalnelson
- Facebook: @BlueprintPsychiatryLLC
Image Credits:
Livi Blue photography
Nikkia Nelson Sudi Spence Vavoom Factory
