Punitha Rathnam, MD
Psychiatrist
Dr. Rathnam graduated from the Christian Med Coll, Dr M G R Med Univ, Vellore, Tn, India in 1995. She works in Kinston, NC and specializes in Psychiatry and Neurology. She is a child and adolescent psychiatrist so her speciality help her assess and treat children with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Mood Disorders.
Gary Leonhardt, MD
Psychiatrist
Dr. Gary Leonhardt, MD, DLFAPA is in his forth decade of providing medical services to a challenging and diverse patient population. As the first graduate of the Psychiatric and Internal Medicine Residency Program at East Carolina University, he has also garnered added qualifications in forensic psychiatry and addiction medicine. He is recognized by the American Psychiatric Association as a Distinguished Life Fellow. Over his career, he has provided medical and administrative services in military, correctional, opiate replacement treatment, long-term rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient settings. Today, he maintains best practice medical services through a busy tele-health practice and continues to provide forensic evaluation services for the NC Board of Nursing.
Sonya R. Isler
MBA, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Sonya’s desire to become a nurse began at childhood as she observed the church nurse standing in white with a nursing cap on the right side of the church every Sunday morning as she sat with her mom and grandmom in service. She remembers visiting the local hospital and seeing nurses moving swiftly through the hallways caring for patients in starched white uniforms. These memories of nurses pushed Sonya to reach her goal of becoming a nurse and nurse practitioner. Sonya has been a nurse for 31 years that includes 5 years as a LPN and 26 years as a RN. She has worked in state and federal governmental agencies and local government in various roles over the years to include clinical and management positions. In 2015, Ms. Isler began the NP program at UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing and graduated in May 2018 with a Master of Science in Nursing, Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing in May 2018. Sonya has a passion for mental health and a ear for listening
Joseph Brown
Licensed Clinical Mental Counselor and Licensed Clinical
Addictions Specialist Associate
I am a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Mental Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist Associate. I am versatile and have training and experience working with many different issues. I am non-judgemental in my approach. We will work together to develop a plan that is centered to your individual needs and build goals that are achievable, so we can monitor your progress while working towards increasing your quality of life. I am skilled in multiple theoretical disciplines and like to utilize those skills to focus on making an individualized person-centered plan based on your needs. We will work together to give you options on building the best approach for you. My objective is to help you become informed thereby supporting you to become more accountable as your quality of life increases.I am supportive by nature and have overcome life obstacles believing in the process of empathy and not passing judgment on others. It has taken me years of practice to mold these into its truest sense. Trust is not easy for many people. It starts by having someone that can give you guidance and support without judgment to overcome your own life issues. Below are a list of my areas of practice, theoretical orientations, and populations served. I look forward to working with you.
Brenda Byrd
Practice Manager / TMS Coordinator
Tiffany Farmer
Clinical Mental Health Counselor/Clinical Addiction Specialist
Hello, my name is Tiffany. I am dual-licensed as an LCMHC (licensed clinical mental health counselor) as well as an LCAS (licensed clinical addiction specialist) in the state of NC. I have been working in the mental health field for 8 years working with kids, adults & families.
Johnnie J. Young
Lead Clinical Research Coordinator
Johnnie Young has worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator since leaving the Army after 14 years of Honorable service and graduating from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington with a BS in Clinical Research for 9 years. Currently at New Dawn Psychiatric Services coordinating research for Bipolar and Autism drug trials. Before joining the amazing team at New Dawn Psychiatric Services he worked at Navy Medical Center Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville NC, where he spearheaded the Military Suicide Preventions Interventions Research study, providing mental health care to active-duty Marines, while simultaneously leading a research team in Traumatic Brain Injury blast wave studies. Graduating with an MS in Clinical Research from Ohio State University, he continues to work with a multitude of research entities including The University of Pennsylvania as a member of the Community Advisory Board for TBI, PTSD, and Suicide.