Diane Young

Family Nurse Practitioner

Diane Young is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), who completed her training at Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington and graduated at the top of her class.

Her belief in patient education to facilitate individual empowerment helps patients reach personal health goals and continues to motivate her own continuing education in Functional Medicine.

Traditionally Primary care has been the most accessibly avenue for mental health issues and deals with between 79- 90% of antidepressant prescriptions written for patients. Working in primary care she noted more and more patient’s mental health needs were not being adequately met with medications alone. In her research of the most common medications, she noted that many symptoms were being medicated but patients were not getting better or having happier lives and nearly 50% of the patients “treatment resistant” or stopped taking the medications due to intolerable side effects. Out of frustration she was prompted to learn more about integrative mental health strategies that focus on biochemical causes of mood dysfunction. She regularly attends conferences on the topic of mental health and has hundreds of hours of ongoing specialty training in integrative mental health, traumatic brain injury and dementia prevention strategies. This ongoing research piqued her interest in the dependence treatment and abuse realm where relapse has been a consistent problem.

With over 17 years in healthcare, she is passionate about preventative health, optimizing wellness and reducing the progression of chronic diseases. Her interest in mental health includes holistic approaches to help with depression, anxiety, stress resilience and improving overall quality of life. Her expertise in integrative strategies to help manage thyroid disorders, hormone balancing, and brain injury contribute to improved outcomes in patients dealing with mental illness and substance abuse. This specific area of specialty in mental health blended with primary care has been especially rewarding for her and benefited many patients.