By LOIS KINDLE
While mental health services in southern Hillsborough County are severely lacking, the recent opening of AuraSynergy in Sun City Center is a welcome step in the right direction.
The practice is owned by Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Emma Armand, who offers in-person and virtual visits for psychiatric assessments and medication management. Her role is to diagnose, prescribe and treat.
With her nursing background and expertise, clients find her patient, caring and trustworthy in addressing the stigma around mental health conditions.
Armand specializes in the treatment of traumatic brain injuries, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, phobias and addiction maintenance. These include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, substance-induced psychosis, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, insomnia, ADHD, PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder, behavioral disorders, substance use disorders and more.
She also offers GeneSight Psychotropic testing via swab, which indicates how a client’s genes may affect his or her medication outcomes.
If talk therapy is indicated, Armand refers the client to a licensed psychotherapist who will provide counseling for a variety of mental health/emotional issues. In the event therapy isn’t working, the psychiatric nurse practitioner can then determine if medication is warranted to address chemical imbalances.
Armand is accepting new patients ages 13 and older. She also accepts the following insurance PPO and group plans: United Healthcare, Florida Blue, Aetna, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Humana, Cigna and Magellan, Medicare and Medicaid. She’s working on adding TriCare and is part of the VA Community Care Network.
Armand also accepts self-pay clients, who can pay as they go or take advantage of discounted package plans.
The AuraSynergy office officially opened Aug. 20 at 1647 Sun City Plaza, Suite 204C, Sun City Center.
For more information or to make an appointment, visit email info@aurasynergy.co/, email info@aurasynergy.co or call (813) 338-5065.
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Psychiatric nurse practitioner Emma Armand recently opened AuraSynergy at 1647 Sun City Center Sun City Plaza, Suite 204C (in the two-story building across from the post office), to offer area residents in-person and virtual visits for psychiatric assessments and medication management.
About Emma Armand
Armand is originally from New York. She joined the Air Force when she was 17 and served 12 years as a logistics specialist until 2012. Her final duty station was MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.
Highly educated in her field, Armand holds associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in nursing, which she earned in 2007, 2013, 2018 and 2023, respectively, plus post-grad certification as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in 2020.
She has on-the-job experience in emergency services, psychiatric inpatient units and traumatic brain injury centers. Prior to opening her practice, she worked at community care facilities like Centerstone in Bradenton; the VA Hospital in Tampa; and South Bay (now HCA Florida South Shore) Hospital in Sun City Center.
“While working as a nurse at the VA and several HCA Florida hospitals, I noticed many patients had the commonality of both physical and mental pain, which go hand in hand and solidified my decision to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.”
