03/09/2026
Think back to a time you had an incredible experience with a provider. Why was it meaningful?
Chances are it wasn’t just the treatment plan.
It was trust.
It was feeling heard.
It was being respected.
It was feeling like you were part of the team.
Who I am —
Picture an 18-year-old sitting across from a high school principal, saying he plans to drop out.
If you had told that young man the person in this photo would one day co-found a private psychiatric practice, he wouldn’t have believed you.
At 13, I was sitting in a science room storage closet because I was “too disruptive,” “too much,” already feeling written off. After enough experiences like that, you start to believe them.
If the sentence “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” triggers a specific childhood memory — and you lost recess because the entire class had to write it over and over — that was me. I’m sorry. Consider this my formal apology, 27 years later.
Years later, I learned the truth: I had undiagnosed ADHD.
I was never defective. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t broken. It was a neurodevelopmental disorder. I tried to get evaluated at 20, but the provider wouldn’t listen.
This is where it gets heavy.
After a few attempts at college, I never believed I could become a nurse — until the day my mother was diagnosed with cancer. I knew I could do this. I became relentless. Even times when I didn’t fully believe in myself, I leaned on the words of a few influential teachers — replaying them until they became my strength.
She only saw me graduate high school. But I’ll never forget coming home and barging into her room on her hospice bed, waving an A- in Chemistry like it was gold. She looked at me and at that point- she knew her son would be alright. Harbor Within exists because of her. Opening our doors isn’t just starting a practice — it’s closing one chapter and beginning an even bigger one.
Sharing this is vulnerable. But I believe vulnerability builds trust. This is me taking that first step with you.
At Harbor Within, you have a provider who will listen, take you seriously, provide evidence-based care, and build the plan with you.
— Justin Kaiser, PMHNP
Founder, Harbor Within
