About Stardust Affirming Care
A holistic, neuroaffirming practice for neurodivergent & LGBTQIA+ folx.
Our Practice
Stardust Affirming Care is a holistic, neuroaffirming psychiatric practice created for neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ folx who have too often felt unseen by traditional care. We believe you are the expert on your own experience, and that healing happens in relationship — not in a system that asks you to prove or pathologize yourself.
Our approach is collaborative, non-pathologizing, and whole-person. Our focus has grown toward Autism + ADHD Evaluations, gender-affirming care, and non-ordinary mental health care — the kinds of care the traditional system too often overlooks. Medication can be a genuinely useful tool, and it is only part of a much bigger picture centered on your voice, your lived experience, and your nervous system.
Sheri, PMHNP-BC
(She/Her/Hers) · Founder
I thought I was an alien. My whole life I tried to figure out why I could never quite fit in. At one point, I had come to the conclusion that this must have been my first lifetime as a human — I must come from some alien civilization reincarnated to study humanity — because even after decades of trying to "fit in" with society, being a "typical" human never worked for me.
It was not until I was in my 30's that I discovered my own neurodivergence as an Autistic/PDA and ADHD human, that my entire life began to make sense. Through my teen years, I was the anti-establishment (I mean, still am tbh), "uncontrollable" rebel with authority issues, getting myself kicked out of school after school and landing me a slew of inaccurate mental health labels with deep shame that stuck hard throughout my life.
Understanding my neurotype changed everything for me. For the first time in my life I understood that not only was nothing wrong with me, but that I am not alone in my experience as a neurodivergent human.
As a Vanderbilt-trained, holistic psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, I have witnessed the harm that comes from our traditional, western mental health system and the gross misunderstandings regarding neurodivergent folx even within the mainstream mental health community.
Stardust Affirming Care was created to work collaboratively with folx on their journey to better understanding themselves, their neurotype, and find self-empowerment and healing. I take a non-pathologizing approach with your voice and lived experience centered.
I personally have an eclectic background working in a wide variety of environments including the service industry, teaching at an alternative school in Houston, running a non-profit advocating for human rights and a broad range of social issues including racism, immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, healthcare and more, writing, facilitating trauma-sensitive yoga sessions, working with those struggling through acute mental health crisis, and providing holistic mental health care and medication management specializing in working with neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ folx.
In my free time I love to travel and learn about diverse cultures (and foods), think about space, physics, and existential shit, watch trashy TV with my partner, hike, and read a good Octavia Butler or N.K. Jemisin book. I'm also incredibly passionate about social justice, psychedelic medicines, harm reduction, and creating a more equitable world.
Sheri (She/Her/Hers), PMHNP-BC
Rich, FNP-C
(He/Him) · Family Nurse Practitioner · Gender-Affirming Care
Rich, FNP-C, is a Family Nurse Practitioner providing compassionate, patient-led hormone therapy and gender-affirming care at Stardust Affirming Care. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Rich brings a strong foundation of clinical expertise to his practice, drawing on his background as a Registered Nurse in emergency and critical care (ER and ICU) settings.
His dedication to gender-affirming care is deeply personal. Witnessing the systemic barriers and emotional challenges faced by a gender-diverse person in his own family profoundly shaped Rich’s career path, inspiring him to help create a safe healthcare environment where gender-diverse individuals can easily access the care they deserve.
As a trauma-informed, neurodivergent-affirming, and LGBTQIA+ allied provider with extensive cross-cultural experience, Rich actively rejects traditional top-down power dynamics in medicine. He believes in empowering his patients to guide their own healthcare decisions. As a practitioner, he recognizes the physiological benefits of mindfulness, therapy, and non-traditional holistic practices, while firmly anchoring his clinical guidance in rigorous scientific models. His core promise to his patients is unwavering: You will be seen, heard, and affirmed, at your pace.
Outside of the clinic, Rich is a wannabe endurance athlete with a passion for high-desert trail running. Having already completed a 50-mile ultramarathon, and not dying in the process, he is currently setting his sights on a 100-miler, fueling his training with his other passions, cooking. But when not working or running or cooking, you’ll find Rich binge watching a trashy reality dating show with his partner Sheri.
Haylo
Admin Support
Haylo keeps things running behind the scenes — helping with scheduling, communications, and making sure your experience with Stardust Affirming Care is as smooth as possible.