There are clinicians who work within the system, and then there are those who reimagine it. Dr. Joanne Patterson, a holistic psychiatric nurse practitioner born and raised on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is the founder of The Integrative Mental Wellness and ReLeaf Clinic, a multistate telehealth practice that blends psychiatric care with botanical medicine, culinary psychiatry, and whole-person healing.

Patterson is a 2025 American Psychiatric Nurses Association Nurse Innovator Award recipient, a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and the creator of the NeuroFunction ADHD Skills Program, designed specifically for Black and Caribbean women.

Rooted in St. Croix

Dr. Patterson’s approach to healing is deeply shaped by her Caribbean upbringing. Growing up in St. Croix, within both Aruban and Trinidadian traditions, she experienced healing as something embedded in everyday life. It lived in the kitchen, in bush teas, and in the way the community showed up for one another.

That early exposure continues to guide her work today.

St. Croix taught me that a person is whole, and that you cannot truly help someone by treating only one piece of them.

Botanical Medicine Meets the Prescription Pad

Her tagline is one of the most distinctive in her field: “I lead with botanical medicine and carry the prescription pad.” In a profession that often pressures clinicians to choose between holistic and clinical approaches, Dr. Patterson has built a model that integrates both.

I committed to that approach because I have lived on both sides of it. I am board-certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, so I deeply respect what medication can do. But I am also a board-certified advanced practice holistic nurse, and I come from a tradition where botanical medicine was the first medicine.

She is candid about the resistance she has faced.

You do not defend it by arguing. You defend it by doing the work well, by getting strong outcomes, and by letting the people you have helped speak for you.

Building NeuroFunction for the Women Who Were Overlooked

Through her NeuroFunction ADHD Skills Program, Dr. Patterson addresses a longstanding gap in care. She emphasizes that ADHD has often been overlooked in Black and Caribbean women, many of whom were expected to cope silently and labeled incorrectly instead of being properly diagnosed.

I was thinking about the woman who always felt like she was working twice as hard to keep up and never understood why.

Her goal was not only to provide diagnosis, but to offer tools, clarity, and relief.

A National Stage, a Sharper Voice

Her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show marked a shift in how she communicates her work to a broader audience.

On a national stage, you cannot hide behind clinical language. You have to speak from the heart and make it real and accessible.

That clarity is reflected in the name of her clinic, ReLeaf. The name speaks to relief, botanical medicine, and renewal. It captures the essence of her philosophy in a single word.

On PMDD, Perimenopause, and Being Believed

Dr. Patterson is direct about the challenges Caribbean women face when seeking care for hormonal mental health concerns.

There is a long history of women’s pain being minimized. For Caribbean women, there is an added layer, because we are so often raised to be strong and self-sacrificing.

She stresses that conditions like PMDD and perimenopause are real, physiological, and deeply impactful.

Part of my work is simply telling women that they are not imagining it, and that they deserve to be heard and helped.

Food as Medicine, Care as Integration

Culinary psychiatry is a key part of her approach. She views food not only as nutrition, but as culture, identity, and emotional connection.

Food is medicine, and in our cultures food is also love, memory, and identity.

She recalls working with a patient whose persistent low mood began to improve after incorporating culturally familiar, nourishing foods. Rather than restrictive dieting, the focus was on alignment with the patient’s heritage and lived experience.

Her broader philosophy centers on integration. Rather than separating her psychiatric and holistic training, she uses both in tandem, guided by each patient’s needs. Listening, she explains, is where the real work begins.

Off the Clock: Soca, Buljol, and Stillness

Outside of her clinical work, Dr. Patterson describes herself as grounded and introverted, valuing stillness, faith, and meaningful connection.

Nothing lifts me like soca and 90s dancehall playing. That music is pure joy and it takes me right back home.

She also brings her cultural roots into her kitchen.

 I am a proud self-taught bust up shut queen.

With an Aruban mother and a Trinidadian father, her home remains a space where culture, food, and healing continue to meet.

Dr. Joanne Patterson practices via telehealth across Maryland, Washington D.C., Georgia, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at mentalwellnessreleaf.com.