Meet the Team Cady Wellness Institute

Margaret's clinical path to her current career wound through music-her original course of study. She was a Magna Cum Laude undergraduate at Vanderbilt, double majoring in child development and music. She then completed courses toward a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA prior to returning to her Vanderbilt roots and completing her nursing studies.

Following her background in clinical psychology, Margaret served as a research therapist for The Center for Psychotherapy Research and Policy at Vanderbilt University as a research therapist in Multisystem Therapy. She is certified as a Multisystemic Therapist for the treatment of adolescent youth and families struggling with behavioral problems. It was during this time that she co-authored a paper with Weiss, Bahr, et al. on the "Iatrogenic Effects of Group Treatment of Antisocial Youth" which was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 2005.

Margaret completed her RN, MSN, ultimately graduating from the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in 2006 with a specialty as an Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She was awarded the Laura Catherin Rankin Memorial Scholarship, a full-merit scholarship for her academic and professional excellence. While completing her studies, she continued to accrue awards and honors including the School of Nursing Specialty Award I Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, (2006 Recipient) as the most outstanding graduate based on academic achievement, clinical practice, leadership, and community service. She was also awarded the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing Alumni Association Award for Student Excellence in Service & Leadership to the School & Community, (2006 Recipient).

Since graduation Margaret has pursued her passion for understanding a holistic approach to mental health among various populations, particularly PTSD, complex PTSD, TBI (traumatic brain injury), depression, and anxiety disorders. Margaret's interests include the treatment of the whole person in functional and integrative medicine. Increasingly, this has broadened to include the use of nutraceuticals and bio-identical hormones when indicated.

Margaret's dedication to the men and women of the US Military is evident in her past locations of clinical practice. She served as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at the Ft. Campbell Army Post, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, supporting the Warrior Transition Unit by providing psychiatric evaluations, diagnoses, medication management, and coordinated care with multidisciplinary teams. In addition to her work as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Centerstone in Clarksville, TN, she was also named to the National Health Service Corps in 2011. From 2013 through June 2016, she worked as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at a Veterans Affairs Community-based outpatient clinic in Hopkinsville, KY and then later in Clarksville, TN.

She was named an adjunct instructor and mentor at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing from 2014-2018, and continues to precept students from a range of programs. Currently, Margaret is a fellow with the Integrative Psychiatric Institute, where she relishes learning more about epigenetics, green pharmacy, natural treatments, adjunctive therapies, and now the most recent therapeutic approaches to aid in healing. She firmly believes we are designed to heal. Recently, Margaret has engaged in learning ketamine-assisted therapy for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. In her free time, Margaret enjoys time with family and friends, travel, national parks, gardening, and nature. She loves dogs and animal rescues. She is a self-described "foodie".