Introducing: Elizabete C. Rodrigues

In an effort to support the next generation of psychiatric providers, I would like to introduce you to Elizabete, a PMHNP (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner) student who will be shadowing me and my work for a brief period of time this coming Fall 2026 as part of her education.

Nurse Practitioners who are being educated to become psychiatric providers are required to a certain number of hours shadowing an established mental health provider in order to graduate and I am excited to be able to support Elizabete.

As a result there is a likelihood that Elizabete will be shadowing me either in the office or by telehealth on a day and at a time during which you and I are scheduled to meet. Elizabete and I both understand this isn’t always comfortable for clients, so we’re hoping this introduction helps with that. 

A couple other things to keep in mind:

1) Elizabete is focusing on me and how I do therapy, not so much on you and your story

2) Elizabete, being a well-established and successful medical professional already, is well-versed in HIPPA and is bound by the same confidentiality that I am

3) there is no therapeutic interaction between you and Elizabete, only the exchange of pleasantries if you wish and

4) you absolutely have the right to decline to have Elizabete shadow me during your session; simply inform me ahead of time of your desire to not participate in this education prior to the start of your appointment.

I will also be double-checking your willingness to participate when the session begins.

I hope this information, paired with Elizabete’s bio below, helps you make your decision. Elizabete, and I, express our deep appreciation for your consideration and, if willing, your participation.

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My name is Elizabete C. Rodrigues, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, and I am a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Educator, and graduate nursing student at New Mexico State University. I have more than a decade of nursing experience caring for individuals and families across a variety of healthcare settings and am continuing my education through a Post-Graduate Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) Certificate program. From September through December 2026, I look forward to completing supervised observational clinical hours to further develop my understanding of psychotherapy, therapeutic communication, and patient-centered mental health care. With your permission, I may quietly observe selected sessions as part of this educational experience. My role will be observational, and I am committed to respecting your privacy, confidentiality, comfort, and therapeutic relationship throughout the process. I sincerely appreciate your consideration   and the opportunity to learn from this experience. 

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Greetings & Introductions

First off - thank you for reading. I believe in the power of writing even when there isn't a reader, but the possibility of a reader really does bring a whole new energy to the exercise.

My goal in writing through this medium is to share some of my otherwise private reflections and meditations on my work and various other work-adjacent topics with anyone curious enough to come looking for them. My hope in doing so is that it is accessible and substantive and gives something to folks with whom I'm not otherwise connected.

This blog will generally work with a central concept of grief and loss, although posts will likely branch out to touch a number of different subtopics as I explore grief and loss from every possible angle. I can project ahead to some of these subtopics now although many of them, I believe, will emerge organically over time. I imagine there are many ways in which grief and loss will come up in my daily work, local happenings, world events, current affairs, and mental health more generally. I believe we could all benefit from closer examinations and deeper reflections on such matters and I hope to do my part here.

My goal is to post content on a biweekly basis, every-other-week, though you may have to forgive me if this proves to be too ambitious. I’m already finding it to be difficult to thread the needle between quantity and quality in blogging; seems like a more difficult balance to strike than I probably ever gave it credit for. But, I will try. 

I look forward to building a relationship with you through this medium and am grateful for your time and consideration of my words. If anything on this blog particularly speaks to you please consider using the contact page to reach out to me and let me know. I’d be thrilled to hear from you.

I feel that sets the stage rather nicely.

Onward.

Owen