Online Psychiatrist for Lakeland, FL residents

Good psychiatric care depends on continuity: someone tracking your medication response and mood pattern over months, not reading your chart cold at each visit. At Ascend you see the same named provider from your first evaluation through every follow-up.

• PMHNP-BC board certified
• FNP-BC dual certification
• Florida-licensed APRN
• Same-week evaluations

Anna holds both the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC) board certifications, with more than ten years of combined clinical experience across psychiatry and primary care. That dual training is not a resume line; it changes what happens in the exam room. Psychiatric medications interact with thyroid function, cardiac conduction, kidney clearance, sleep architecture, and metabolic markers, and a prescriber trained to assess all of those systems catches interactions a psychiatry-only lens can miss. When Anna adjusts a mood stabilizer or a stimulant dose, she is looking at the whole patient, not one lab value in isolation.

She and Margot Krahn, PMHNP-BC, who also sees children 5 to 17 and older adults, see Lakeland and Polk County patients as part of the same practice, not a separate satellite panel. You see the same provider at your initial evaluation and every follow-up. Anna's adult caseload centers on ADHD, mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), anxiety disorders, and treatment-resistant presentations where a first- or second-line medication trial has not worked.

This page describes adult psychiatric care only. Ascend's child and adolescent psychiatry services are a separate program and are not delivered through this Lakeland adult psychiatry pathway. Talk therapy is provided by Ascend's separate Lakeland therapy team, and the psychiatric provider and a therapist can coordinate directly on a shared case with a single records release, which is one of the more meaningful advantages of a multi-specialty practice over two disconnected offices.

1. 1

   A thorough evaluation

   Before any prescription, your prescriber reviews your full psychiatric and medical history, current medications and supplements, substance use, and family psychiatric history. The initial evaluation runs about 60 minutes.

2. 2

   A documented plan, decided together

   Your prescriber explains the expected benefits, common side effects, and realistic timeline for a given medication (many antidepressants take 4 to 6 weeks for full effect) before you decide together whether to start it. This is shared decision-making, not a directive.

3. 3

   Monitored follow-ups, and labs by class

   Follow-ups check response and side effects at 2 to 4 weeks after a start or dose change, then space out once stable. Some medication classes require blood work: lithium, valproate, and metabolic monitoring for antipsychotics each have their own schedule.

4. 4

   A plan if the first medication doesn't work

   Non-response is common and expected. The typical next step is optimizing the dose, then switching class or adding an augmentation strategy. For depression resistant to two adequate trials, a ketamine therapy evaluation is a documented next step.

PMHNP vs. psychiatrist (MD): what the credential means

Both a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) and a psychiatrist (MD or DO) can diagnose psychiatric conditions and prescribe medication, including controlled substances, in Florida. The training paths differ, and Florida law treats qualified, experienced APRNs as independent prescribers rather than requiring physician co-signature on every chart.

• PMHNP-BC (Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner) completes graduate-level nursing education specialized in psychiatry, followed by national board certification. In Florida, qualified autonomous-practice APRNs have independent prescriptive authority.
• MD or DO psychiatrist completes four years of medical school followed by a four-year psychiatric residency.
• FNP-BC (Family Nurse Practitioner) is Anna's second board certification, uncommon in psychiatry, adding a general-medicine lens for cases with overlapping physical and psychiatric symptoms.

What this means practically for Lakeland patients: Anna Stouffer and Margot Krahn each evaluate, diagnose, and manage your medication directly, and Anna adds the whole-body view her family-medicine training brings.

• DepressionMost common

  First-line SSRI or SNRI, augmentation or class change if needed, and a ketamine evaluation pathway for treatment-resistant depression.

  Read more
• Anxiety

  Generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and panic disorder, managed with medication and, where skills work helps more, a therapy referral.

  Read more
• Bipolar disorder

  Bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymia, managed with mood stabilizers and the lab monitoring each medication class requires.

  Read more
• Adult ADHD

  A structured evaluation with validated rating scales before any prescription, then stimulant or non-stimulant options with monitoring.

  Read more
• PTSD

  Medication supports symptom control, but combination treatment with trauma-focused therapy is the standard, so we coordinate with a therapist.

  Read more
• OCD

  SSRI-based pharmacotherapy, frequently at higher doses than for depression, paired with exposure and response prevention therapy where indicated.

  Read more

If what you are experiencing feels like an immediate danger to yourself or someone else, call 988 or 911 now. This outpatient service is not equipped for real-time psychiatric emergencies.

Depression

Depression affects roughly 1 in 5 U.S. adults at some point in their lives, per the National Institute of Mental Health.³ Treatment starts with a first-line SSRI or SNRI selected against your symptom pattern, side-effect sensitivity, and any other medications you take, then moves to augmentation or a class change if the first trial underperforms at an adequate dose and duration. Many antidepressants take 4 to 6 weeks to show a full effect, which is why the plan includes a realistic timeline rather than a promise of overnight change. Patients who do not respond after two adequate medication trials are screened for a ketamine therapy evaluation for treatment-resistant depression.

Anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders are the most common class of mental illness in the U.S., affecting an estimated 19 percent of adults in a given year according to the National Institute of Mental Health.⁴ Generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, and panic disorder are managed with medication (typically an SSRI or SNRI, occasionally a short-term adjunct) and paired with a referral to Ascend's Lakeland talk therapy team when CBT-style skills work would help more than medication alone. Medication and therapy are treated as complementary, not competing.

Adult ADHD

A structured evaluation using validated rating scales and a full symptom history precedes any prescription. Stimulant and non-stimulant options are both on the table, chosen against your cardiac history, sleep, and prior substance-use history, with monitoring of response, appetite, blood pressure, and sleep at follow-up. Stimulants are Schedule II controlled substances, so ongoing prescriptions come with regular follow-up visits, scheduled by your prescriber under current federal and Florida rules. Federal telemedicine flexibilities are set by state and federal rules.⁵

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is one of the harder diagnoses to get right and one of the most consequential to get wrong, which is why it gets extra attention here. It is often mistaken for ordinary major depression, because most people with bipolar disorder seek help during a depressive episode and do not volunteer a past hypomanic or manic period unless specifically asked. A careful lifetime history, asking directly about past periods of elevated or irritable mood, decreased need for sleep, racing thoughts, or impulsive decisions, is what separates the two, and it matters before the first prescription, because prescribing a standalone antidepressant to someone with undiagnosed bipolar disorder can trigger a manic episode. Treatment centers on mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, lamotrigine) and, for some patients, atypical antipsychotics at lower doses, each with its own monitoring: lithium and valproate require periodic blood-level and organ-function checks, and lamotrigine requires a slow titration to reduce rash risk. Individual responses vary.

PTSD

Medication, often an SSRI or SNRI, supports symptom control, but medication alone rarely resolves PTSD on its own. Combination treatment with trauma-focused therapy is the standard most guidelines describe, so we coordinate directly with a therapist when one is involved. For Lakeland patients, that therapist can be part of Ascend's Lakeland talk therapy team, with the psychiatric provider and therapist coordinating under a single records release rather than working in isolation.

OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder responds to SSRI-based pharmacotherapy, frequently at higher doses than are typical for depression, paired with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy elsewhere in Ascend's network where indicated. Medication can lower the baseline intensity of obsessions enough to make ERP work more tolerable, but ERP with a trained therapist remains the psychotherapy with the strongest evidence base for OCD, so the two are used together when appropriate rather than as either-or.

Illustrative

Medication management is not one prescription revisited once a year. Different medication classes carry different monitoring requirements, and each one has a standard we follow.

A general guide to the arc of care. Prescriptions are sent electronically to your Lakeland or Polk County pharmacy of choice after the visit.

Honest fit matters more than a full waiting room. For some presentations we will recommend in-person care instead, and we will say so directly.

Insurance

We work with many major commercial plans and offer self-pay options. Coverage varies by plan and service. Our team will confirm with you. We verify your benefits before your first visit. See insurance and payment details.

Self-pay and HSA or FSA

Self-pay is a straightforward option if you are out-of-network, have a high deductible, or would rather not run a psychiatric diagnosis through insurance for privacy reasons. Insurance questions go to our care team, who confirm your coverage with you before your first visit. We share the number that applies to you before you book, not after.

What a visit does not include

The visit covers the evaluation or follow-up itself. It does not include medication at the pharmacy (billed through your pharmacy benefit), lab work when a medication requires bloodwork (billed through the lab), or records requests from a prior provider. We flag any of these before they become a surprise.

Insurance questions before your first visit

Insurance questions go to our care team, who confirm your coverage with you before your first visit. Our front desk can also run this verification for you before your first visit.

How we track whether medication is actually working

We do not ask you to simply trust that things are improving. Depending on your diagnosis, your prescriber may use brief, standardized symptom measures (such as depression or anxiety screening scales) at intake and periodically afterward, so both of you have an objective marker of change alongside how you subjectively feel. If those measures and your own sense of progress are not moving after an adequate trial, that is the trigger to optimize the dose, switch class, or add an augmentation strategy.

The tradeoffs are real, and we would rather you know them before you call.

A large clinic may have more providers, but that often means a rotating panel and, at some clinics, behavioral health referred out to a separate entity. A directory or app can be faster to browse but gives you no visibility into real wait times or plan fit until you have already reached out.

What Ascend offers is a named Florida-licensed prescriber, Anna Stouffer or Margot Krahn, who sees your case from evaluation through every follow-up, many major commercial plans plus self-pay options, and a same-week evaluation most weeks, in person at our Wesley Chapel office or by secure video, so a long commute is not what it takes to get seen.

Ascend Mind and Body of Wesley Chapel
27724 Cashford Cir Ste 102
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
Phone: (813) 670-3005

Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Get directions.

Drive time to the Wesley Chapel office

We serve patients from Lakeland, Winter Haven, Auburndale, Bartow, Plant City, Haines City, Mulberry, and surrounding Polk County, in person at our Wesley Chapel office or via telehealth, so long as you are physically located in Florida at the time of your visit. Many parts of Polk County sit within federally tracked mental health workforce shortage areas; you can check current designations for any Florida county using HRSA's public shortage-area lookup tool.⁶ Florida telehealth lets Ascend put a licensed prescriber in front of Polk County patients without a long drive.

Lakeland is one of three Ascend offices, alongside Tampa (Carrollwood) and Wesley Chapel. The Lakeland office is home to therapy and psychological testing; psychiatry is in person at Wesley Chapel and by Florida telehealth statewide. Because Ascend also offers talk therapy and ketamine therapy, a Lakeland psychiatry patient who also needs therapy or a ketamine evaluation can be referred within the same organization rather than starting over elsewhere.

Related Lakeland care within the same practice: Lakeland talk therapy for individual counseling, coordinated with your psychiatric provider under a single records release.

We are not going to tell you the first medication will definitely work, that any single drug works the same way for every person, or that medication alone resolves everything. Non-response to a first medication is common and expected, and many antidepressants take 4 to 6 weeks to show a full effect. "Helps most people" is not the same as "guarantees a specific outcome for you." Individual responses vary by diagnosis, medical history, and how consistently you attend follow-ups and report side effects.

What we can tell you: an accurate diagnosis, taken from a careful history, is the single most important input, which is why the initial evaluation is thorough rather than a five-minute prescription. Medication is monitored, adjusted, and, when a first trial underperforms, changed on a documented plan rather than left to drift. And for most conditions, particularly bipolar disorder, combining medication with therapy produces better long-term stability than medication alone, which is why coordinated therapy is available through the same organization.

When to raise a change with your prescriber

• After an adequate trial at an adequate dose, you notice no shift at all in the specific symptoms you came in for.
• A medication is causing side effects that bother you or interfere with daily life.
• Your symptom pattern changes, for example a new period of elevated or irritable mood, decreased need for sleep, or racing thoughts.
• You are tempted to stop a medication on your own; call first, because several classes carry discontinuation or relapse risk if stopped abruptly.

None of these mean psychiatry has failed; they usually mean the current regimen needs adjusting, and optimizing the dose, switching class, or adding an augmentation strategy is a normal part of the process, not a last resort.

For a deeper look at any single condition treated here, see: depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, adult ADHD, PTSD, and OCD.

1. The Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 456.47, Telehealth. flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2023/456.47
2. Florida Board of Nursing. Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Autonomous Practice. flboardofnursing.gov
3. National Institute of Mental Health. Depression. nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression
4. National Institute of Mental Health. Anxiety Disorders. nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders
5. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Diversion Control Division. Telemedicine. deadiversion.usdoj.gov
6. Health Resources & Services Administration. Health Workforce Shortage Areas. data.hrsa.gov/tools/shortage-area
7. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org

Last medically reviewed by Anna Stouffer, PMHNP-BC on 2026-07-05.

This page is educational and does not replace an individualized clinical evaluation.