Ann Marie Beins, RN

When I began my nursing career more than 35 years ago, I never imagined I would become a mental health nurse. Mental health nursing is different from any other kind of nursing. You can’t apply pressure to stop bleeding or coach a mom through labor. You can’t sit with a family as their loved one dies. But you can listen to a wounded soul who is suffering. For people with mental illness—depression, anxiety, personality disorders—it’s lifelong, with good days and bad. What keeps me here is simple: love for human beings. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, and every person deserves respect.

Healing begins with acceptance—accepting that you’re struggling with addiction, depression, anxiety, or trauma so deep that you need help. Without acceptance, there is no healing. I tell clients right away: “Be open and truthful with us. We are not here to judge—we are here to help you heal.” For some, it’s the first time they’ve heard those words.

Healing is like peeling an onion. The layers come off slowly through medication, individual therapy, group therapy, and expressive therapies such as art, music, and drama. Watching those layers fall away is such a privilege. Healing is lifelong, and I hear often, “Saint Luke Institute saved my life.”

Read more about Ann Marie here.