About the Practice

Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry was created to offer a different kind of psychiatric care—one that honors the complexity of the human experience and looks beyond symptoms alone.

Care here is rooted in the understanding that mental health is not separate from the body. Stressful, traumatic, or overwhelming life experiences can affect the nervous system, disrupt brain signaling, and influence the gut–brain connection in ways that shape mood, cognition, emotional regulation, and overall well-being.

This practice takes a whole-person trauma-informed approach, exploring underlying contributors to distress while supporting clarity, steadiness, and resilience as capacity is rebuilt over time.

A Thoughtful, Trauma-Informed, Root-Cause Approach

Care at Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry is grounded in nervous system safety, collaboration, and respect for each individuals story.

Psychotherapy is the foundation of care. Psychiatric evaluation and medication guidance are offered thoughtfully and collaboratively when clinically appropriate- not as a default, but as one possible support within a broader individualized care plan.

Rather than focusing on symptom suppression alone, care emphasizes understanding patterns, restoring regulation, and supporting meaningful, sustainable change.

Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry was created with deep intention to offer grounded, compassionate, and safe care for individuals who have been carrying more. Care here recognizes that the human mind and nervous system were designed with an inherent capacity for hope, healing, adaptation, and the restoration of balance.

Rooted in both Scripture and science, this approach honors the long-standing wisdom of renewal through prayer, hope, and meaning while remaining firmly informed by evidence-based psychiatry and growing research on the mind–gut connection. Care is provided with intention, grounded compassion, and respect for both faith and clinical integrity.

Care That Respects Your Pace

Care here is offered at a pace that respects your nervous system and prioritizes stability, trust, and sustainability. Many individuals seeking care here have spent years adapting to chronic stress, emotional suppression, or survival-based coping. These patterns are understood as adaptive responses- not failures or weaknesses.

Healing is hard work, and hope is often what makes engagement possible. Hope helps prepare the nervous system for change—and when hope feels out of reach, you are not alone. This care offers a steady, supportive presence to help hold that hope until it can take root again.

Sessions are designed to allow space for reflection, integration, and insight to emerge naturally over time.

Who This Practice is Designed For

Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry is designed with intention to help adults navigate anxiety, depression, emotional overwhelm, burnout, sleep disruption, grief, identity transitions, or stress related symptoms- especially when experiences feel layered, persistent, or rooted in deeper patterns.

Care may be particularly supportive for individuals who feel that traditional, symptom-focused approaches have not fully addressed the underlying drivers of distress.

When clinically appropriate, discreet private pay support may be offered for concerns in which stress or trauma is intertwined with substance use.

About the Clinician

Hi, my name is Stacey Leija, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC. I am a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and my work is rooted in whole-person, trauma-informed care.

I bring nearly two decades of experience supporting individuals across a range of medical and mental health settings. My approach is grounded in a deep respect for the interconnectedness of the nervous system, emotional health, and the body’s response to stress over time.

In our work together, I focus on thoughtful assessment, collaborative care planning, and practical support that helps you move toward greater clarity, steadiness, and resilience—at a pace that feels safe and sustainable. Psychiatric care here goes beyond symptom suppression alone; medication, when used, is offered intentionally and in alignment with each person’s goals, values, and overall plan of care.

My intention is to provide care that feels steady, respectful, safe, and attuned to each individual’s pace.

I am licensed in Arizona and board certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Scope of Care

Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry provides outpatient psychiatric care and psychotherapy for adults.

This practice does not offer crisis services, emergency care, or intensive outpatient treatment. Care is provided through scheduled appointments only, with clear boundaries that support ethical, contained, and sustainable care.

Clinical Credentials

Stacey Leija, MSN, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner

Licensed in: Arizona
Board Certified: American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

Clinical focus includes trauma-informed psychiatric care, psychotherapy, and psychoeducational integrative approaches that support nervous system regulation and gut-brain connection. Psychospiritual available upon request.

A Space Intentionally Made to Explore What Feels Right

You do not need to have all the answers before reaching out.

Mind & Microbiome Psychiatry offers a steady, thoughtful space to explore care thoughtfully—to ask questions, to understand options, and to determine whether this approach feels aligned with your needs.

You are welcome here, and your choices matter.