The Intersection of Neurodivergence, Psychiatry & Social Justice
My name is Maria Ingalla, and I am a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, late diagnosed AUDHD woman and mother of two autistic toddlers. I started Paperflower Psychiatry about 5 years ago when I realized the mental healthcare system was broken -- it wasn't about healing people, it was about money. At that point, I decided to make an openly political & inclusive private practice. It has grown to an established organization with 5 locations across Arizona.
I started doing mental health education on TikTok after I became pregnant with my first child and could no longer teach as a professor in the university setting. I currently have 145,000 followers and have done education and advocacy on neurodivergence, medication management, pregnancy and mental health and policies affecting mental health. I have a podcast along with my colleague, Tabitha, that you can find on Apple Podcasts called Brain Trash: From DSM to Dumpster Fire. We speak about the broken system of mental health, and provide information on autism and neurodivergence.
Recently, I launched Paperflower Foundation to bridge costs of mental health care and psychotropic medications for people who can not afford them. Equity is intentional. If our government can't take care of us, it is up to us as a community to step forward and support one another. I take no salary -- all donations go directly to funding care of Arizonans.
