You don't have to arrive healed.
Ember & Bloom is a psychiatric mental health clinic. I do evaluations, diagnosis, and medication management — the medicine side of mental health care. While I am not a therapist, I am happy to help you determine if medication is needed and help point you in the right direction for therapy resources.
My name is Kathy Spears. I have been a nurse for twenty years. I have witnessed so many patients leave healthcare appointments feeling like something was decided about them instead of with them. That is not how I choose to practice. I want you to have a voice in every decision we make, while not feeling like you have to know the answers.
New clients welcome · Se habla Español
So you know exactly what you're booking
Providing the best mental healthcare takes a team effort. You are part of that team. Here is a list of what I bring to the team, and what I cannot offer at this time.
- Psychiatric evaluation. Sitting down one on one so you can discuss your current situation and concerns.
- Diagnosis. Explained in plain language, with time for your questions.
- Medication management. Starting, adjusting, combining, and safely stopping medication. This is where we develop a plan of action, together.
- Follow-up care. The check-ins that keep the plan working as your life changes.
- Therapy or counseling sessions. I don't have a therapist on staff yet. If therapy is what you need, I'll say so and help you find it.
- Inpatient or hospital care. That is a higher level of care than an outpatient clinic can give.
- Drug and alcohol rehabilitation. You deserve a program built for it, and I'll point you toward one.
Plenty of people see me for medication and someone else for therapy. That combination works well, and I am glad to work alongside your therapist.
What actually happens, start to finish
No surprises.
You reach out
Call or email. You don't need to explain everything on the phone, and you don't need to know the right words.
I send you intake paperwork
It tells me just enough about you to know whether I could offer you what you need. This means we can determine this before you spend money or time on an appointment.
Your first appointment is a full hour
Not fifteen minutes. We talk about what you want to address, in your own words, so you don't feel rushed.
We choose where to start, together
You may have many things you want to address. We discuss which one is the top priority for you. That's where we begin.
We weigh the options honestly
We discuss treatment options, possible side effects, risks of choosing no treatment, and how each option could fit into your life. Then we decide together.
The frequency of follow-ups is dependent upon the treatment plan. Safety in the treatment plan is always my top priority. During the follow-up appointments you have the chance to voice how you feel the treatment plan is working for you. Then we can discuss if any possible changes are needed.
Everyone has struggles. Everyone's struggles are unique.
That means the approach should be unique too. I want to meet you where you are and walk with you from there.
Sometimes less is more
My goal is the least amount of medication needed to be effective, for the shortest time needed. When it is time to stop a medication, we develop a plan together to keep you safe during that process and have the least risk of side effects. If you do need medication long term, I want you to understand what is happening in your body and why it helps. My goal is still for you to be on the lowest dose needed for you.
You get your voice back
Many people tell me they don't feel heard or like they have a choice in their care. I want to give you your voice back and partner with you toward your goals — not hand you a plan and tell you to follow it.
The whole person, not a symptom list
Good care starts by seeing all of you: your experiences, your environment, your relationships, your strengths, what you have lost, what you believe, and what you are hoping for. I work in a trauma-informed way. I know your history impacts you, but I don't require you to relive every detail to take your concerns seriously.
Mental health isn't separate from the rest of your health
I have worked med-surg, pediatrics, geriatrics, and labor and delivery. Mental health runs through every one of them. If your mind isn't well, your body will tell you about it — so I pay attention to both.
People are more than the worst thing that has happened to them.Kathy Spears, APRN, PMHNP
Healing does not require pretending the painful parts of your story never happened. And while I hope your care happens here with me, what I actually want is for your mental health to be supported. Sometimes personalities do not mesh well. Sometimes situations change. There are many variables that could lead someone to look for a new provider. My goal is that if you do need to seek someone else, you feel supported in that transition.
Across the life-span — and a particular love for new mothers
Whatever brought you here, it is worth an hour of someone’s full attention.
Hover or tap any of these for a plain-language explanation
Pregnancy, postpartum, and women's health
I have a history working in the labor and delivery department. Women's health and mental health are the two loves of my nursing career, and they are the reason I chose to advance my education.
If you are looking to become pregnant, struggling with fertility, pregnant, newly postpartum, or somewhere in the long stretch afterward that nobody warned you about, you are welcome here. Motherhood adds an extra layer to mental health. It can be very overwhelming with heavy emotions. You don't have to meet a set score to ask for help and support.
That is a strength, not a limit. I see people across the life-span, and you do not need to be a new mother to belong here.
Appointments are available in person and by secure video, whichever is easier for you.
A few things I want you to know before you ever pick up the phone.
- Ask for help.
- Start where you are.
- Have hard days, and still be growing.
- Heal at your own pace.
- Begin again — as many times as you need.
- Arrive healed.
- Have the right words.
- Know what comes next.
When I'm not the right fit
I would rather tell you upfront, so that you don’t feel you have wasted your time or money.
If you are in crisis right now, you do not have to wait for an appointment. Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 if you are in immediate danger.
- You want therapy only
I don't have a therapist on staff yet, so I am not the right place for talk therapy on its own.
- You need inpatient or hospital care
That is a higher level of care than an outpatient clinic can give safely.
- You need drug or alcohol rehabilitation
I am not set up for that, and you deserve a program that is.
Kathy Spears
APRN, PMHNP
Twenty years of nursing, and one thing I kept running into
I have been a nurse for twenty years. I started in mental health, and then I worked med-surg, pediatrics, geriatrics, and women's health and labor and delivery. What all of it taught me is that mental health is woven into every aspect of our health. When we are struggling mentally, it reflects in our overall health.
The other thing it has taught me is that many people do not always feel heard by their providers. Patients have expressed to me that they did not feel they had a choice or a voice in the decisions made regarding their care. That is what I set out to change when I opened this clinic.
I also want to be honest about something a lot of clinicians leave off their websites, that is that I am not a perfect person. I have not had an easy life. I have been through my own hard things. That is exactly why I want to be here for other people. I know how I felt when I was struggling and felt I had no one who was truly listening. I never want anyone I am caring for to feel that way.
Ember & Bloom came from both my own struggles and my passion for nursing, caring for people during some of the hardest moments in their lives.
My Christian faith shapes how I see the world — particularly what I believe about redemption, restoration, grace, and the possibility of new life after real loss. I hold that deeply, and I hold it for myself. Your beliefs, your values, and your culture are yours, and they are welcome here exactly as they are. My faith will never be a condition of your care.
- Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)
- Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
- Twenty years in nursing — mental health, med-surg, pediatrics, geriatrics, women's health and labor & delivery
- Se habla Español
Why it's called Ember & Bloom
Life can burn things down in ways we never expected. Sometimes you are left standing in what feels like nothing but ash, wondering what could possibly come next.
But ash doesn't have to be the end of the story.
The ember is what remains — the part of you that survived, even when everything else seemed lost. The bloom is what can grow from that place: healing, purpose, resilience, and hope. It may look different than what you planned. It can still be beautiful, healthy, and fulfilling.
What happened to you does not have to determine what happens next.
Where things stand, honestly
Ember & Bloom is a new clinic, and insurance credentialing takes time. Below you can enter your insurance provider to see where we are in the credentialing process. These will be updated as the credentialing is approved.
Self-pay is available. Call 870-595-4973 for current rates for the initial one-hour evaluation and for follow-up visits.
Call me. That's the whole first step.
You don't have to know what to say. You don't have to have it organized. Just call.
- Emailkathy.spears@emberbloommentalhealth.org
- Fax855-261-2323
- LanguagesEnglish · Se habla Español
- WhereArkansas — in person and by secure video
- PrivacyEverything you tell me is confidential and handled under HIPAA.