Debra Robertson, RN
“True healing is about collaboration and compassion—helping people find courage to care for themselves.”
“We wanted to create a workplace where people wanted to come to work, where everyone felt respected and cared for.”
“Wellbeing is shutting up the doom squirrel in my head long enough to see and appreciate the goodness in my life.”
Debra Robertson co-founded Spectrum Mental Health with her wife, Rhonda, in 2018 to create a workplace that values respect, kindness, and humanity. Debra’s career spans over 15 years in psychiatric nursing, leadership, and healthcare management, with a focus on community and acute mental health care. Her journey into healthcare began early, inspired by personal experiences with medical care and a deep desire to combat stigma surrounding mental illness.
Before pursuing nursing, Debra worked in community mental health, managing residential care for individuals with severe mental illness. She stepped away from her job to have a child, but returned to work part-time not long after. Debra and her family faced significant upheaval when a loved one experienced a devastating and lasting mental health crisis, and the family’s needs shifted drastically. After looking at the best options to have stable income and flexibility, she made the decision to dive into nursing school and complete her RN.
Life is nothing if not surprising, and the unexpected detour, against all odds, led to something surprising - and wonderful. While in nursing school, she met her future wife, Rhonda (a whirlwind and splendid adventure that continues today) and they began building their life together as Deb graduated nursing school and returned to community mental health, this time with training, family support, and a significant shift in financial stability due to her nursing degree.
In her last management role in acute mental health, Debra had the good fortune of being in a management role and team that succeeded in making real improvements in patient care and collaborating meaningfully at work. Sadly, the magic didn’t last - the program was cut, and Deb ended up taking a position that quickly became toxic and untenable. Debra and Rhonda had both seen the negative impacts of poor working conditions and toxic management practices. The partners knew healthcare jobs didn’t have to be that way, and the practice (then Spectrum Mental Health) was born.
When Rhonda launched Spectrum in 2018, Deb started working a few hours a week to support her wife’s vision in creating a healthy and welcoming workplace for PMHNPs. As the practice grew, Deb eventually supported aspects of both clinical and operational functions. She takes pride in keeping the office running smoothly and fostering a supportive, collaborative team environment. She sees her role as one piece of the larger mission to provide compassionate, human-centered care that empowers patients and staff alike.
“We wanted to create a workplace where people WANTED to come to work and where we are all respected and cared for - a place where we could kind of call home.” The mythical workplace was born, and Deb is particularly proud of the team - “we have a group of people that are just really committed to working well together, helping each other, and caring for our patients. The whole office operates with kindness, boundaries, and the freedom to be real humans, and you see it in everything from our daily interactions to the way people check on each other and hold very human expectations for one another.
Debra’s kaleidoscope
“My kaleidoscope would look like the swirling colors of the northern lights. It’s natural beauty on such a grand scale - a cosmic scale. That is part of our natural world but gives you a peek into infinity. It’s a little terrifying, but beautiful.”