Leona Allen, APN

Leona Allen delivers life-changing care, helping people turn their lives around.

“Substance use often goes hand-in-hand with mental health issues,” Leona explains. “People often use as a means of coping with problems that have gone untreated for many years. Drugs, alcohol and tobacco become numbing cream, an attempt to change reality,” she says.

Leona is board-certified in psychiatric mental health by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. A graduate of Excelsior College, Albany N.Y., she earned her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing at Wilmington University, Delaware. She did her post-graduate psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certification at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

“When we first see them, they can be very fragile and malnourished, with untreated physical illness,” she explains. Once the patient is stable, Leona becomes a teacher, coach and cheerleader who helps them navigate their way to better health. “After 28 days in detox, we help get them on the path to sober living,” she says.

She has to build trust to get her patients comfortable talking through their problems. “I put myself in their shoes. I’m empathetic. I never judge. I break the ice by talking about my own experience with anxiety and depression. Gradually, they realize they can trust me and they start to open up,” she says. That’s when her patients can make real progress, getting to the root cause of their desire to use. “It’s an inkling of hope that can motivate them to change,” she says.

Healthcare interested her early. She had respiratory problems as a child that exposed her to hospitals and health professionals. “Initially, it looked like a smart career move. But now I know helping others is my true passion,” she says.