PA Mindset Matters

About PA Mindset Matters

At PA Mindset Matters, we shine a spotlight on exceptional PAs who are making a difference in mental health across all specialties. Our podcast and webinars are designed to connect and inspire the PA workforce—whether you’re a psych PA or a PA in primary care, emergency medicine, or any specialty—by providing practical insights and resources to integrate behavioral health into your practice. Together, we’re building a stronger, more connected community to raise each other up and deliver better patient care.

Publisher

jspissinger

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Aug 2025

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

39 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   From Understanding to Action: Catie Hodson's Approach to Medicine and Addiction

   In this episode of The PA Mindset Matters podcast, hosts PA Mercedes Dodge and PA Jessica Spissinger speak with Katie Hodson, PA, an outpatient psychiatry clinician in Wilmington, North Carolina, who focuses on opioid use disorder and co-occurring conditions such as PTSD, stimulant use disorder, anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. Katie discusses integrating addiction treatment with psychiatric care, using a collaborative, nonjudgmental approach that sets expectations, avoids punitive responses, and emphasizes meeting patients where they are. She reflects on her path to become a PA and her current clinical work focusing on psychosocial rehabilitation, addresses stigma from families and misconceptions about buprenorphine (including perioperative concerns), and highlights how public policy, housing, food insecurity, and insurance instability drive mental health and substance use outcomes. She also describes close collaboration with therapists, setting boundaries to prevent burnout, and self-care through family, exercise, faith, and grace.

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Mini Mindset: The Dual-Diagnosis Trap in Substance Use Disorders

   When depression, anxiety, insomnia, inattention, or mood instability shows up alongside substance use, the clinical picture can get complicated fast. In this Mini Mindset episode of PA Mindset Matters, we explore how intoxication, withdrawal, rebound symptoms, and neuroadaptation can mimic psychiatric illness—and why good clinical reasoning requires more than matching symptoms to a diagnosis. We discuss: How substance use can act as a clinical chameleon Why building a timeline matters before assigning a psychiatric diagnosis How withdrawal and neuroadaptation can resemble depression, anxiety, ADHD, or bipolar-spectrum symptoms Why the medication may not be the mistake—missing the driver may be Why true co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders often require integrated care The clinical question we keep coming back to: What is the substance doing to the clinical picture? And before treating the symptom, ask: What is driving these symptoms—and what does this patient need treated today? Listen for practical, clinician-to-clinician insights you can bring back to primary care, psychiatry, and everyday mental health practice. Follow PA Mindset Matters for more Mini Mindsets and conversations on practical psychiatry, behavioral health, and the reminder that Every PA is a Psych PA.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Addiction Medicine, Motivational Interviewing, and the Power of Connection with Kerith Hartmann, PA

   Addiction medicine touches nearly every area of healthcare, yet many clinicians receive limited training in recognizing and treating substance use disorders. In this episode of PA Mindset Matters, Jessica Spissinger, PA-C, LICSW, CAQ-Psych, and Mercedes Dodge, MPAS, PA-C, CAQ-Psych, sit down with Kerith Hartmann, MPAS, PA-C, an addiction medicine PA at Oregon Health & Science University. Kerith works across inpatient addiction medicine consultation and outpatient care for patients with substance use disorders, complex chronic illness, and overlapping pain concerns. She is also a board member of the Society for Addiction Medicine of PAs and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers. One of her strongest messages: “Learn motivational interviewing—really learn it. Not the concept, the practice.” In this conversation, we discuss: • opioid, alcohol, and stimulant use disorders• medications for addiction treatment• motivational interviewing in real clinical practice• contingency management• harm reduction and reducing stigma• addiction and chronic pain overlap• trauma-informed care• clinician resilience and burnout• building a career in addiction medicine Kerith also shares the personal and professional experiences that led her into this field and reminds us that clinicians do not have to identify as addiction specialists to make a meaningful difference for patients with substance use disorders. Listen to the full conversation on PA Mindset Matters and share it with a colleague who cares for patients affected by substance use. Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. #PAMindsetMatters #AddictionMedicine #MotivationalInterviewing #SubstanceUseDisorder #PhysicianAssociate

Contact PA Mindset Matters

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.