Christopher Perez is an experienced CRNA, Clinical Director and Cofounder of Axis Integrated Mental Health. He spent many years caring for kids as a pediatric CRNA in Colorado, in Peru during annual medical mission trips. He worked in a community access hospital ICU before entering the anesthesia profession.
Chris’ passion for helping others drove him to cofound Axis Integrated Mental Health with his wife, Liesl Perez, to help increase the availability of mental health services in Colorado. With Chris’ leadership, Axis has grown to over 20 employees, 3 locations, has treated thousands of patients, underwritten over $100K in free mental health care for the communities it serves, and become a center of excellence for the most difficult-to-treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, bipolar, and other mental health conditions.
You can read about Chris' own journey with mental health in his blog post "Therapy is For Everyone - Except me', And Other Lies I've Told Myself".
Liesl Perez spent over 20 years in corporate marketing, launching one of the first generative AI prototypes, SDL Content Assistant, and leading corporate marketing teams at Mapbox, Hubilo, TTEC, and SDL. Her passion for unlocking human potential, diversity, and inclusivity led her to cofound Axis Integrated Mental Health in 2020 with her husband, Chris Perez. Over the last three years, Axis has grown to over 20 employees, 3 locations, and underwritten over $100K in free mental health care for the communities it serves. In addition to being a co-founder, Liesl is TMS certified and enjoys treating patients with this innovative new technology and the power of storytelling. When not working with patients at her clinic, she also serves as a fractional CMO, working with a diverse roster of companies worldwide.
Liesl believes strongly in destigmatizing mental illness and she shares her own depression and anxiety journey regularly as a guest speaker on podcasts and with her husband in this interview. You may sometimes see her at the front desk, answering questions on social media or picking up the phone when people call-in, treating patients with TMS and storytelling, or even holding your hand during particularly rough treatments.
Dr. Jamie Teunis is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner. As the Clinic Lead, she is responsible for supporting our providers to ensure an exceptional and consistent standard of care for all of our patients.
Dr. Teunis specializes in a holistic approach to patient care, with treatment plans tailored to each patient’s individual needs. She is an expert at providing integrated psychiatric care to a wide range of different patient populations.
Ross Van Allen is a board-certified Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. After graduating from the University of Iowa graduate program, he started working at a clinic offering ketamine treatments, sparking his excitement for “out of the box” therapies, such as ketamine and TMS. He is dedicated to being a holistic provider who likes to examine all aspects of each individual’s livelihood, then utilizes lifestyle changes and/or a combination of tools (i.e., traditional medications, ketamine, etc.) to come up with a treatment plan tailored to every patient.
Ross and his partner have lived in Iowa their entire lives and made the move to beautiful Colorado to join Axis Integrated Mental Health. They bring with them two beloved two fur-kids: Floof, the cat and Luna, the dog.
Dr. Bryce Thacker began his career as an advanced practice nurse in family medicine. He then identified his passion for mental health and worked as a primary mental health provider for six years.
Dr. Thacker then returned to school to gain an even deeper knowledge of psychiatric care. Axis Integrated Mental Health is happy to have Dr. Thacker and his years of experience as part of our team.
Read more about Dr. Bryce Thacker and see his dog Wuf.E on our blog!
McKenna Bagan is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She started her career in OBGYN, but she soon discovered the glaring need for quality mental health care in her community, as well as her passion for psychiatry.
Since then, she has been providing psychiatric care across the lifespan from children to adults of all ages. She has specialized knowledge in hormonal issues and how these influence women’s mental health. McKenna is dedicated to helping her patients pursue mental wellbeing from an integrative approach.
My background in mental health includes the use of Psychedelic medications, treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, ADHD, and women’s mental health care. I received my PMHNP from SUNY in 2018 but have been in medical practice for over 12 years. I am also a mom of twins who are now in their twenties, which gives me unique insight and empathy into how parenting challenges can contribute to mental wellness. Also, I am passionate about animals. I currently have a senior disabled Chihuahua who has her own wheelchair and a blind Shih Tzu.
My holistic psychiatry philosophy is that mental health and physical health are tightly connected and we can go at the speed you're comfortable with. I am a humanistic provider who listens to your concerns, collaborates with you to create a treatment plan that will work with you and for you, and a psychopharmacologist who can explain in simple language how different medication classes work. We will go low and slow and make one modification at a time to ensure we tailor an effective plan.
Ashley Howell is a board-certified family psychiatric nurse practitioner with over a decade of experience in mental health and critical care. Ashley is an Armed Service veteran, which gives her unique insight and understanding into veteran and military mental health issues.
Ashley is passionate about working with patients who are going through a transition phase in life, such as high school students, college students, military members, and postpartum women. She is an LGBTQ+ ally and provider.
Dr. Roderick O’Brien has provided psychiatric services to the Denver area for over a decade. Before that, he served in the United States Air Force (USAF), practicing Neurology.
Dr. O’Brien completed his residency training in both Neurology and Psychiatry. He also carries board certification in Addiction Medication.
He has extensive experience in neurostimulation treatment options, including Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
Dr. O'Brien is trained to provide Ketamine infusions and Sparvato treatments to his patients. He is also certified to provide medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with buprenorphine (Suboxone) for individuals with opioid dependence disorders.
Andres received his MA from Santa Clara University and has been a practicing therapist for over 6 years. His clinical interests and specialties include depression, PTSD, behavioral therapies for OCD, helping individuals with chronic health concerns, and men's issues. When working with patients, Andres uses a variety of therapeutic modalities (ACT, DBT, CBT to name just a few) and he is actively working on Somatic Experiencing certification, a specific therapy modality designed to resolve symptoms of stress, shock, and trauma that accumulate in our bodies.
Andres is excited to be working in tandem with prescribers and treatment providers as one holistic care team to help patients reach their mental health goals quickly and sustainably.
Courtney is a licensed professional counselor who utilizes a variety of treatment modalities, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and trauma therapy, to assist her patients.
She believes in using a strengths-based, patient-centered, and empowerment-focused approach to treating patients. Courtney is honored to be a part of her patient’s journey toward healing and wellness.
Ashleigh got her business degree from Regis University. After completing her degree, Ashleigh worked at Denver Children's Home and Third Way as a treatment counselor for 17 years. Following her stint as a counselor, she managed 29 providers at CeDAR's outpatient clinic. She is truly a valued member of the Axis Integrated Mental Health team and is responsible for implementing the insurance-covered Spravato program at Axis. Her extensive experience in mental health affords her a unique perspective on patient-centered service that demonstrates Axis Integrated Mental Health's commitment to our patients.
Mackenzie Gray is responsible for client success, ensuring that every patient who enters the Spravato treatment program is supported every step of their journey. Whether it's to schedule patient follow-up visits, answer any questions about clinic operations, or connect patients to our social prescribing program, Mackenzie is focused on listening to patients and providing them with the support they need to maximize healing.
A proud military veteran, Mackenzie began her career at Axis Integrated Mental Health as a Spravato technician. With the success of the Spravato program, Mackenzie's role has evolved to focus on the patient experience and to ensure that every patient at Axis has the best chance of recovery.
