WHY CHOOSE ATLAS?
At Atlas, we believe in the mind’s innate potential to heal. Many in psychiatry today think the solution to mental distress is to look at a checklist of symptoms, pick a diagnosis, and find a medication to match. That may manage some symptoms, but it does not bring about true healing. It ignores what drives our painful emotions more than anything else: our beliefs. This is why Scripture is clear, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). The Bible points to the mind as the source of change.
STANCE ON MEDICINE AND DIAGNOSIS
The trend in psychiatry today is to encounter “mental distress” and assume that it means “mental disorder.” This leads to prematurely diagnosing patients and giving them the impression that they have a life-long mental illness that can only be “managed” but never healed. At Atlas, we believe that the mental and emotional obstacles that life throws your way can be resolved, often without medication or a formal diagnosis, and we are skilled to assist you in doing just that. Psychiatric medications often simply manage symptoms and mask the pain that is there to help you identify issues and resolve them. We believe that psychiatric medications can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain, so the optimal medication management is prescribing at the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time possible. We do believe there is a time and place for certain psychiatric medications, and we will ensure clients are fully informed of the medication’s function and side effects before prescribing.
WHY CHOOSE A NURSE PRACTITIONER?
Psychiatrists attend medical school and then move on to specialize in psychiatry, while nurse practitioners begin as RNs and go on to get their masters’ degree in specific areas of nursing. Despite their schooling differences, psychiatrists and nurse practitioners in Iowa practice in similar ways and are both able to prescribe medications. Because they are medical doctors, psychiatrists are more likely to use a biomedical approach when addressing their clients’ psychiatric needs. At Atlas, we approach mental health with a holistic model of care which takes into consideration all biopsychosocial factors, such as faith, relationships, trauma, and past experiences, as well as sleep, diet, and exercise.
WHY HOLISTIC?
Holistic simply means “the whole” of something. Rather than thinking of mental health as an isolated aspect of a functional person, a holistic approach takes the person’s mind, body, and circumstances into account. Faith, sleep, diet, exercise, trauma, past experiences, self-beliefs, current circumstances, family life, relationship health: all of these things factor into a person’s mental well-being, with our relationship with God causing the greatest influence. Only by viewing the “whole” self in light of God’s Word, can we determine the best path toward genuine, lasting change and mental wellness.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
At Atlas, we designed our practice around our clients’ needs, not the requirements of an insurance company. We want to maximize our face-to-face time with clients and minimize the time we spend doing paperwork and charting.
Because of that, the only insurance we accept at this time is Blue Cross Blue Shield. Some clients are able to be reimbursed by other insurance companies if their plan allows for “out of network” visits. We encourage all potential clients to check with their insurance companies before meeting with us. If you check with your insurance company and they agree to cover the cost of our services, we can provide you with a superbill that you can submit to them independently.
Many of our clients choose to pay out-of-pocket and not submit to insurance at all. That may sound surprising, but depending on the insurance plan, out-of-pocket can sometimes be a better choice. Also, this allows us to avoid sharing any personal mental health information with a third party. Some insurance companies require a formal diagnosis, which can be considered a preexisting condition on some medical insurances and, for some, can cause issues with job qualifications.
You may be able to use qualified HSAs, FSAs, or HRAs to pay private fees.
ABOUT MATT
Matt is a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and is certified in Mental Health Integrative Medicine. He received his Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Mount Mercy University in 2009 and his advanced practice degree from Allen College in 2020. He worked for five years as a dialysis RN, followed by eight years as a nurse at a local behavioral health unit. During that time, Matt discovered his passion for helping others with their mental health and was inspired to advance his career in the field.
Matt launched Atlas early in 2021 with the goal of giving his clients thorough, genuine psychiatric care. He is especially passionate about helping Christians overcome emotional strongholds. He also works for his local church leading Renew Ministry, a church ministry aimed at equipping Christians to help each other with overwhelming or persistent negative emotions.
At home, Matt and his wife have four children (two girls and two boys). Matt loves to read, learn, and research (especially about how the mind works). He loves to get outside for hiking, camping, canoeing, and travel with friends and family. He also enjoys playing board games and is very active in his local church.
