Dr. Noelle LeFlore Harper

Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

visit her website click on www.novelmentalwellness.org “

My journey began when I was a little girl. I had a family member who was diagnosed with serious mental illness. Watching this family member exhibit the symptoms of what I now know to be Schizophrenia was very confusing for me and, from what I could gather, for the rest of my family as well. I remember thinking about what was happening to him, how he must feel, what was causing his behavior and how we as a family could make him better. From that point on, I was drawn to mental health, curious about its causes and the ways in which I could help. I wanted to do something to help people get better and decided my contribution would be to become a board certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. 

After I began practicing as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner I quickly realized how wide-ranging and detrimental misconceptions and stigmas surrounding mental health and treatment can be. I recognized this as a general concept, but also began to see even more deficits and harmful language among those who considered themselves religious; more specifically those identifying with the Christian faith - as this was a large part of my patient population. Aside from the more typical barriers to seeking care for mental health disorders, Christian patients and their families/friends were often much more vexed, distressed and confused about how to navigate mental health and wellness. The anguish, confusion and tears led me to create Novel. I wanted to educate people about how spirituality and supplemental mental health treatment are not mutually exclusive. I wanted to use my knowledge of both the Christian faith and treatment of mental health disorders to promote mental wellness and help those dealing with mental health issues live freely.