Jasmine Levy, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Jasmine earned her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received her board certification as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She previously worked as a registered nurse, where she focused on child and adolescent psychiatry. Here, she noticed the shortage of child and adolescent mental health providers across multiple settings and the profound impact this had on the mental well-being of the patients she cared for. Thus, she was inspired to further her education and pursue additional training to increase access to quality, patient centered care.
In addition to her clinical experience, Jasmine possesses a unique ability to connect with individuals, a capacity to understand them, and the desire to meet them where they are. She is genuine, warm, empathetic, and believes that everyone is capable of recovery and success. Jasmine believes in collaboration when creating an effective and individualized treatment plan, which includes involvement from interdisciplinary team members, other healthcare providers, the patient, and their family. She applies the principle of the biopsychosocial model in her patient care. While she is qualified to serve patients of all ages, she specializes and has a great passion for working with the child and adolescent population. It is important to her to provide a caring, empathetic, and non-judgmental environment, where they feel comfortable discussing mental health concerns. Jasmine has a mission to support, advocate and educate the community, with a goal to end the stigma surrounding mental health.
In her free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family and snuggling up with her Dachshund. She loves to travel and spend time by the water. Jasmine is excited to be a part of the team at Cedar Oaks and looks forward to meeting you!
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Melissa Jackson-Westbrook, Psy-D
Psychologist
Dr. Melissa Jackson-Westbrook is a licensed clinical psychologist in North Carolina. She was born in Alaska and grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a concentration in forensic psychology. She completed her internship at the Federal Correction Complex in Butner, North Carolina.
Dr. Jackson-Westbrook has worked in a variety of settings including jails and prisons, an inpatient psychiatric hospital, and outpatient private practice. Her main passion is psychological assessment. She has extensive experience with forensic assessment, general psychological evaluations, and psychoeducational testing. Many of her reports have been used for possible school accommodations.
In regards to therapy, Dr. Jackson-Westbrook utilizes mostly Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) but believes in an integrative approach. She also sometimes incorporates DBT principals and enjoys assertiveness training. She is a firm believer that motivation is the key to success within the therapeutic process.
In her free time, Dr. Jackson-Westbrook enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants, and spending time with loved ones, including her husband and dog Ollie.
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Shari Scott, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Shari Scott joins the Cedar Oaks team after relocating from Wisconsin. She attended Duke University for both her NP education and her Masters degree in nursing education. She holds undergraduate degrees in nursing and psychology. Shari has worked in a variety of nursing areas including neurology, labor and delivery, sexual assault nursing and insurance. Most recently she was the Director of Nursing at a medical detox facility.
Shari has a special interest in the rapidly evolving area of psychedelics in mental health, as well as addiction. She is board certified across the life span.
"I believe that each of us has the ability to work towards being the best version of ourselves, but we need to make the choice to do so, with the support of those around us. Each of us matters and is worthy, however it is so easy to get caught up in everything happening in the world around us and stop listening to our own needs and our choices. I will work WITH you to find the best combination of services for you personal needs. This may mean therapy, education, exercise, medication or all of the above, but I will support you along your journey."
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Katie Shanaberger
Educational Consultant
Katie Shanaberger is an educational consultant, special education advocate, and parent coach. She is a mom who understands raising neurodiverse children such as those with ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disabilities, gifted abilities and more. She joins our team with her teaching expertise and parental education knowledge.
Katie received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in elementary education at High Point University. She has over 15 years experience working as an elementary classroom teacher, an intervention/remediation specialist, a curriculum specialist, and as an AIG (academically and intellectually gifted) teacher. Katie holds a K-12 license in gifted education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). She has expertise with children who are twice exceptional (2e). Twice exceptional children have learning and thinking differences, as well as advanced skills in at least one academic area.
PARENT COACHING:
Katie specializes in working with parents to support their child's unique social-emotional and learning needs. She has a passion for helping parents with neurodivergent children. She understands what families may be experiencing in their parenting journey as they deal with a wide variety of struggles. Katie uses coaching strategies to create ways for parents to best support their child in the school and home environment. She also creates personalized plans to support wellness for the family.
EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT:
Katie meets with parents to create a plan with suggestions for school placement based on your child's unique needs. She works with parents to review school records and psychological evaluations to help determine the best educational path.
Schedule a consultation if you have questions regarding your child about any of the following: has poor grades, school attendance issues, homework battles, difficulty with peer interactions, IEP or 504 plan, speech and/or occupational therapy (OT) needs or school-based disciplinary reports.
EDUCATIONAL ADVOCACY:
Katie provides advice on matters within the educational setting by working collaboratively with parents and the school system. She personally understands the overwhelming process about where to begin when a school concern arises and how to handle existing conflicts. She provides guidance to help ensure the best possible outcome for the child. She attends informal meetings such as conferences with teachers and/or administration. She also attends formal meetings with school personnel to problem solve and gather data to determine next steps for the following types of plans- Individualized Education Program (IEP), 504, tiered intervention, and Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP).
In her free time, Katie enjoys spending time at the beach with her husband, four children and three dogs. She also loves connecting with friends and volunteering in her children's school. Katie is active in the local community with coaching soccer as it fulfills her desire to model and develop positive relationships. She loves her soccer family and being Coach Katie!
