Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Rickman.
Michele , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a impoverished family in Wichita, Kansas, and my path to where I am today was anything but easy or predictable.
At 17 years old, while still in high school, I became pregnant. My pregnancy was complicated and high-risk — marked by preeclampsia and frequent medical appointments — which kept me on bed rest for much of that time. I ultimately did not graduate high school. Shortly after, I moved to Carthage, Missouri, and by 18, I found myself a single mother, determined to build a better life for my daughter.
As soon as she was born, I earned my GED. I was adamant about supporting myself and my child and chose not to rely on state assistance. I began working at a nursing home as a CNA at just 18 years old. Within months, the administration recognized my work ethic and commitment and offered to train me as a Certified Medication Technician.
Not long after, at 19, I had my second child.
Despite the growing responsibilities, the nursing home encouraged me to continue my education and offered to pay for me to attend LPN school. I took the opportunity — not knowing then how pivotal that decision would become.
After several years in long-term care, I applied for a position at a local hospital. In 1998, I became a psychiatric nurse, marking the beginning of a lifelong passion for mental health care. Over the next 15 years, I worked across multiple departments — from the psychiatric unit, to the emergency room, pediatrics, and eventually the CVICU. Each role shaped my understanding of patients, families, and the complexity of healthcare.
Then, in 2011, everything changed.
The Joplin tornado tore through the city, destroying both the hospital where I had built my career and my home. Around the same time, I had just been accepted into the brand-new Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC). I was now a single mother of three, displaced, grieving, and facing an uncertain future — yet I chose to move forward.
I enrolled in the program and became part of the first graduating class, one of only three students to complete it. I graduated in December 2013, the same month I turned 40 years old — a milestone that symbolized perseverance more than celebration.
After graduation, I began working as a pediatric and adolescent psychiatric nurse practitioner at a community health center in Southeast Kansas, serving underserved and rural populations. In 2017, I took another leap of faith and opened PsychSolutions, becoming the first private psychiatric nurse practitioner practice in the area. The clinic opened in Pittsburg, Kansas, in September 2017.
In 2020, I was invited to return to UMKC — this time as an adjunct professor in the same psychiatric nurse practitioner program I once graduated from. Teaching future providers was both humbling and full-circle. I held that role for nearly four years, stepping away in December 2024.
In January 2025, I relocated PsychSolutions to Baxter Springs, Kansas, expanding access to psychiatric care for rural Southeast Kansas. Just 11 months later, in November 2025, I opened a second clinic in Wichita, bringing services back to the city where my story began. I am now in the early stages of opening a third location in Overland Park.
From a teenage mother and high school dropout to earning a master’s degree in nursing, becoming a graduate-level professor, and owning multiple psychiatric clinics, my journey has been defined by resilience, purpose, and relentless determination.
The bottom line:
You can be successful — no matter where you start. Your beginnings do not define your future. Persistence, courage, and belief in yourself can change everything.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey has been filled with challenges from the very beginning. I grew up in poverty, became pregnant at 17, didn’t graduate high school, and entered adulthood as a single mother very young. I navigated high-risk pregnancies, worked long hours while raising children, and pushed myself through school while financially supporting my family. There were many seasons where survival came before dreams.
Professionally, I faced obstacles that constantly tested my resilience. I worked my way up in healthcare step by step while juggling full-time work, school, and parenting alone. In 2011, the Joplin tornado destroyed both my home and the hospital where I had built my career. At the same time, I had just been accepted into a brand-new psychiatric nurse practitioner program and was raising three children as a single mother. It was overwhelming — but I kept going.
Then, at 42 years old, in May of 2016, my life changed again when I welcomed my fourth child, London Eve. She was born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect. At just six weeks old, weighing only seven pounds, with a heart the size of a walnut, she went into heart failure and required open-heart surgery. That experience reshaped me in ways I can never fully explain — teaching me strength, patience, advocacy, and gratitude.
Building my own practice also came with challenges — financial risk, long hours, self-doubt, and the pressure of being the first PMHNP private practice in the area. Expanding access to psychiatric care in rural communities is demanding and requires constant problem-solving.
Now, at 52, I am a single mother to London, who is 9, and a businesswoman with two psychiatric clinics, with continued growth on the horizon. The road here has been anything but smooth — but every hardship became part of the foundation that allows me to serve others with empathy, resilience, and purpose.
I don’t see my struggles as setbacks. I see them as the reason I am who I am today.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about PsychSolutions?
PsychSolutions was built from both professional expertise and lived experience. At its core, my practice exists to provide high-quality, compassionate psychiatric care to individuals and families who often feel overlooked—especially those in rural and underserved communities.
PsychSolutions specializes in psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and ongoing mental health care across the lifespan, with a strong focus on children, adolescents, and adults. We treat conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, mood disorders, trauma-related conditions, and complex psychiatric presentations. What we are especially known for is taking the time to truly listen, educate, and partner with our patients rather than rushing them through care.
What sets PsychSolutions apart is our human-centered approach. Mental health is not one-size-fits-all, and I’ve always believed that treatment should be individualized, trauma-informed, and practical. I combine evidence-based psychiatric care with a deep understanding of family dynamics, life stressors, and real-world challenges. Many of my patients come to us after feeling dismissed or unheard elsewhere—and staying connected is something I take great pride in.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that PsychSolutions was built organically, from the ground up, without shortcuts. We became the first PMHNP-owned private practice in our area, and we’ve continued to grow because of trust, word-of-mouth, and consistent care. Expanding from one clinic to two—and preparing for a third—has always been about increasing access, not just growth.
I want readers to know that PsychSolutions is more than a clinic—it’s a commitment. A commitment to ethical care, community involvement, and meeting people where they are. Whether someone is seeking help for the first time or has struggled for years, our goal is to provide a safe, respectful space where healing feels possible.
At the heart of our brand is a simple belief that guides everything we do:
Hope. Healing. Solutions—Together.
That isn’t just a tagline—it’s how we show up for our patients and our community every day.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’ll be honest — I am a bit of a risk-taker, and I definitely have a touch of impulsivity. Not reckless, but just enough to shake things up and move when my gut tells me it’s time. I don’t always wait until everything feels perfectly safe or neatly mapped out — because if I did, I probably wouldn’t have done half the things I’m most proud of.
Some of the biggest risks I’ve taken didn’t feel bold at the time — they felt necessary. Going back to school while working full time and raising kids wasn’t safe or comfortable, but standing still wasn’t an option. Opening PsychSolutions was a huge leap — leaving a stable job to start the first PMHNP-owned private practice in the area with no guarantees. That required faith, confidence, and a willingness to bet on myself.
I’ve also taken risks by saying yes before I had everything figured out — relocating my clinic, opening a second location, and now preparing for a third. Is it a little impulsive? Maybe. But it’s also intentional. If people are waiting months for care and I know I can help, then not taking the risk feels wrong.
My relationship with risk is this: I trust my experience, I do my homework, and then I move. I don’t let fear run the show. Sometimes you have to jump before you feel ready — because readiness often comes after the leap.
So yes, I’ll own it — I take risks. I trust my instincts. And so far, betting on myself has paid off.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.psychsolutionsks.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063737225477
- Other: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/psychiatrists/michele-d-rickman-wichita-ks/443995
