Who we are

Depression is debilitating in every aspect of life. Our founders have professionally and personally witnessed how depression can rob patients from enjoying their lives. Basic daily functions and socializing become monumental, if not impossible. If you are able to work, or even attend a social event, it is often akin to just moving the through the motions in a thick fog.

As clinicians, it often takes extensive management to weed through nuances to help patients with depression. As a friend or family member, it becomes personal, sometimes eliciting anger and frustration; it can make your heart explode when you watch the person you care about dwindle to the shell of a person. We understand.

We understand how rapid, caring treatment is urgently needed for patients, particularly those who have already tried 2 oral antidepressants without depression relief.

Hillary Mennella, DNP, FNP-BC

  • Dr. Mennella is an ANCC board certified family nurse practitioner with 20+ years of clinical experience in private practice, emergency medicine, and college health.

  • Hillary pursued her undergraduate degree in Biology & Community Health at Virginia Tech, moving on to nursing degrees from Johns Hopkins University and California State University, Long Beach. Her past work includes utilization management, hospital auditing and quality assurance, legal compliance consulting, clinical teaching, and over 10 years writing clinical skills and guidelines for an allied health professions international database. 

    The profound and common mental health issues she encountered in her clinical work and people closest to her led her led her to Duke University for her doctorate degree in an evidence-based quality improvement programming to screen for mental health disorders and explore attitudes about alternative based treatments such as yoga.

  • Hillary wants patients to know that depression it isn’t your fault. That feeling like you are “losing” the battle to recovery also isn’t your fault. You have tried, and it is exhausting to just exist in this depressive haze.

    About one-third of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) have an inadequate response to antidepressant medications and/or psychotherapy. Research shows that patients with treatment-resistant depression experience significant challenges, with less chance for remission with each successive use of different antidepressants.

    In addition to patients, Hillary has witnessed MDD & TRD steal joy from close friends and family. People with MDD & TRD want to experience love, happiness, the ups & downs of relationships; no one wants to be depressed, despite what people say.

    It also hurts and scares the people that love them, and at times their friends and families live in fear of suicide. Hillary has seen significant rapid recovery from MDD, TRD, and suicidal ideation and gestures with SPRAVATO® treatment. Patients are able to join their partners, children, and colleagues in life. SPRAVATO® treatment is truly life changing.

    We want to get you to that place of joy.

Raul Lopez, M.D.

  • Dr. Lopez is a board certified with the American Board of Emergency Medicine, working for over 35 years as an emergency room physician, with the past 12 years as the Quality Assurance Director. Additionally, he is a medical expert with the Superior Court of Los Angeles.

  • Dr. Lopez pursued his undergraduate degree in Biology at University of California, Santa Cruz while also devoting his summers to health and research fellowship programs at Harvard University, Indiana University, and Cornell. After graduating with his medical degree from UCLA, Dr. Lopez completed his emergency medicine residency at USC.

  • Depression and its cruel grip has touched Raul both professionally and personally, witnessing the tedious struggles amongst his patients and some close family members and friends.

    People feel stuck and are let down by the mere 14% chance that they will respond to a 3rd oral antidepressant. You may blame yourself, thinking that you aren’t trying hard enough in therapy or that something is wrong with you. Friends and family may shame you, saying that you just want to “be this way”. We know that you don’t, and we want to help you flourish.

    We’ve seen patients like you emerge from the heavy clouds of depression with treatment with SPRAVATO®, we support you and your continued therapy.