Meet a first-time APNA Annual Conference presenter
By Marissa Siegel
Katelin Crane, MSN, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, recently attended the APNA Annual Conference for the first time. She is also one of the 2025 APNA Board of Directors Scholars and a first-time APNA Annual Conference presenter.
A current PhD student at Villanova University, Crane was excited to share her dissertation work in her Conference presentation, “Unveiling the Digital Maze: A Comprehensive Scoping Review on Problematic Media Use and Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents,” with the APNA community.
Crane joined APNA in 2020 as an accelerated BSN student and has already established a multifaceted career in psychiatric-mental health nursing. She first worked in prisons as an RN before becoming a PMHNP, clinical instructor, and, most recently, founder and owner of a private practice.
Crane’s mentor, Marissa Siegel, talked with Crane about her work and entry to private practice. Below are excerpts from their conversation:
Siegel: How did you choose your PhD dissertation topic?
Crane: For my dissertation, I’m using NIH data to examine the relationship between problematic media use and depression in children and adolescents with the goal of determining causality (e.g., Does depression influence media use, or vice versa, or is it bidirectional?) to help better target interventions. I’ve been interested in this topic since my first undergraduate degree in psychology, when I worked with Dr. Sarah Domoff for my honors thesis project. She is an expert in child and adolescent mental health, and her work has greatly shaped my clinical interest as well as my program of research.
Siegel: What experiences with previous jobs led you to open your own practice?
Crane: I had quite a difficult time finding a role as an NP that I felt balanced satisfaction with the work and life/work balance. My first two jobs were toxic for different reasons. Both were cash-pay only private practices. I felt that the desire for money superseded patient care, and I never felt like I was valued, as my medical decision-making was constantly being questioned.
I transitioned into a community mental health role, where I saw only children and adolescents. Unfortunately, the demands from the institution to see an increasing patient volume made me feel like I was sacrificing quality care and ultimately led to such extreme burnout that I considered leaving clinical practice altogether.
I ended up starting my own practice, Philly Psych Solutions, on a whim, with the plan that it would be a fun side hustle. It then grew quite rapidly, and I made the decision to take the leap and become fully self-employed. I absolutely adore being able to see the patients I want, for as long as I want, and I get to increase access to mental health care by taking insurance and offering sliding scale and some pro-bono options.
Siegel: What is your top piece of advice for PMHNPs interested in opening their own practice?
Crane: You have to believe in yourself to bet on yourself!
Siegel: How do you incorporate psychotherapy into your practice as a PMHNP?
Crane: I felt very well-prepared by my MSN program’s therapy courses — we had an entire semester of cognitive behavioral therapy as well as courses in internal family systems and other psychotherapeutic modalities. I often challenge cognitive distortions, assist patients with behavioral activation and activity scheduling (In the words of my professor: “Action precedes motivation!”), and work on developing coping skills for patients to use in between sessions.
I believe that mental health is like a stool. One leg is medication, one leg is therapy, and one leg is lifestyle. If any one of them is unstable, the whole thing is, too.
About the author: Marissa Siegel is a psychiatric nurse practitioner and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She has been a member of APNA since 2013, when attending her first Annual Conference as an undergraduate student solidified her decision to become a psychiatric nurse. Siegel has worked in community mental health since 2017 in outpatient and mobile crisis settings. She is happy now to share her passion for mental health with nursing students at all educational levels.
Published October 2025
>>> Interested in being first-time APNA Annual Conference presenter? The APNA Call for Abstracts for the APNA 40th Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, will open later this year.
About APNA: The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is a national professional membership organization committed to the practice of psychiatric-mental health nursing and wellness promotion, prevention of mental health problems, and the care and treatment of persons with psychiatric disorders. APNA’s membership is inclusive of all psychiatric-mental health registered nurses including associate degree, baccalaureate, advanced practice (comprised of clinical nurse specialists and psychiatric nurse practitioners), and nurse scientists and academicians (PhD). APNA serves as a resource for psychiatric-mental health nurses to engage in networking, education, and the dissemination of evidence. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
