With a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Dr. Hayden Finch is passionate about understanding and treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other severe and persistent mental illnesses. In addition to developing outpatient and residential treatment programs for severe mental illness in graduate school, she was involved in mental health policy and legislation advocacy. During her clinical internship, she was fortunate to combine her commitment to Veterans and passion for mental health by training at the VA, where she was involved in developing an inpatient severe mental illness treatment program.
A true lifelong learner and teacher, she is now applying her passion for education and mental illness to developing social media campaigns aimed at (1) reducing stigma about severe mental illnesses and (2) encouraging and coaching people with severe mental illnesses and their providers and family to work toward their recovery goals. She practices what she preaches regarding setting life goals and is most content when she is traveling the world with her family and exploring nature with her 2 dogs.