Professional Expertise

Marina Pitsilos is a Clinical Director at Axis Integrated Mental Health and a Board-Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of experience spanning direct patient care, addiction medicine, and executive healthcare leadership. In her role as Clinical Director, Marina guides the vision of Axis: delivering cutting-edge depression treatment through empathy and compassion, through lived experience.

Her clinical specialties include trauma, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. She is trained in alternative depression treatments including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), Spravato (esketamine), and ketamine therapy, bringing both the clinical depth and the leadership experience to ensure these treatments are delivered with precision and care.

Approach to Care

Marina believes that lasting mental health recovery requires the mind and body to heal together. Her approach integrates somatic (body-based) therapy with integrative psychiatry, helping patients understand and regulate their nervous systems rather than simply manage their symptoms.

Marina takes time to understand not just what a patient is experiencing, but why their nervous system is responding the way it is. Somatic awareness, trauma-informed assessment, and thoughtful medication management all work together in her care model. For patients navigating substance use alongside mental health challenges, her background in addiction medicine and Medication Assisted Treatment ensures fully integrated, nonjudgmental care.

Marina is also an advocate for deprescribing, the careful, supervised reduction of psychiatric medications when clinically appropriate. Her goal is always for patients to feel genuinely better, not simply medicated.

Personal Connection

Marina’s path into mental health was not purely academic. For nearly thirty years she experienced the effects of trauma-related disconnection from her own body. Her healing journey, which included somatic experiencing therapy and ketamine therapy, transformed not only her life but her entire clinical perspective.

She is open about that journey, sharing her story with patients who need to know they are not alone. Her passion for somatic tools, nervous system regulation, and integrative medicine is not just professional curiosity. It is the direct result of experiencing their power firsthand. She believes that with the right support, healing is possible for everyone.

Education and Credentials

1. MSN, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner — Walden University
2. BSN — Rasmussen College of Nursing
3. BS, Biology / Psychology Minor — Purdue University
4. ANCC Board Certification — Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
5. Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP-I & II)
6. TMS Certified — NeuroStar TMS Therapy Technology
7. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Certified — Fluence
8. Somatic Experiencing International — Intermediate Level (SEP in progress)
9. Natural Medicine Healing License — State of Colorado (2026)
10. Psilocybin Therapy Training — Integrative Psychiatry Institute (in progress)
11. Seeking Safety Certified | Buprenorphine Waiver (SAMHSA)
12. Licensed PMHNP in the State of Colorado

Why Patients Choose Marina Pitsilos

For those who have tried medication alone and still felt stuck, she offers something genuinely different: a Clinical Director and provider who understands that mental health is inseparable from the body’s history, and who has the training and lived experience to address both.

Her background across residential treatment, outpatient care, addiction medicine, and healthcare leadership means she can navigate clinical complexity with confidence and compassion. Whether a patient is beginning their mental health journey, exploring advanced treatments like TMS or Spravato, or working toward reducing medications, Marina brings depth, warmth, and a collaborative spirit to every appointment.

Marina is now accepting new patients at Axis Integrated Mental Health. Book an appointment →