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For Kasey Rabe, PMHNP-BC, Psychiatry, the path to Trinity Health wasn’t a straight line, but it never strayed far from home.

Born and raised in Minot, Rabe knew early on that she wanted to spend her career caring for children. What she didn’t know was exactly what that would look like. She started as a CNA, drawn to the profession by a lifelong instinct to give back and a desire to be the kind of nurse she had admired growing up.

From there, she worked in home health and hospice before landing a role in the Child and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization (CAPH) program, a position that would ultimately shape the rest of her career. CAPH provided intensive mental health treatment for children and adolescents who needed a higher level of support than traditional outpatient care but didn’t require full hospitalization, allowing them to remain in their homes and communities while getting that support.

“I’ve always been very passionate about giving back and providing care to people, especially children,” Rabe said. “Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be a mom and have children of my own. When I became a CNA, I looked up to the nurses around me and saw the difference they could make in someone’s life. That inspired me to keep learning, keep growing and eventually find the area of nursing where I felt I could make the greatest impact. That’s what drove me to keep climbing the ladder.”

The end of the CAPH program was a turning point for Rabe. She knew how much pediatric behavioral health support the community still needed, and that insight became her motivation. She enrolled at the University of North Dakota to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, determined to continue serving children who would otherwise struggle to find help.

Her own story is part of why she does the work. Rabe was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at a young age and has been open with patients and families about it ever since.

“Sometimes I will tell a child, ‘I have ADHD, too,’ and you can immediately see something change. They realize I understand what they are describing because I have experienced some of those struggles myself…that’s truly when I started seeing a lot of my patients open up,” she said.

Rabe has found that when appropriate, sharing her own experience helps children see a different story for themselves; one where a diagnosis doesn’t define what they are capable of, and where someone who struggled the way they do went on to build a career helping others.

That same openness shapes how Rabe establishes trust with the families she sees. She works primarily with children and adolescents entering kindergarten through the teen years. She’s quick to note that families don’t need a referral to get on her schedule and that psychological testing isn’t required before she can begin the treatment process, either.

“With local resources being limited, it can take some time for psychological testing to be completed. I don’t want children to suffer while they wait,” Rabe said.

Every appointment starts with the whole family in the room, and for Rabe, that’s not just a courtesy. “I don’t just have one patient,” she said. “When I am treating a child, I am really caring for a family. Their parents, siblings, stepparents, grandparents, or foster parents are all a part of the child’s story. If I want to understand what that child needs, I have to understand the environment they are living in too.” From there, she makes sure each child still knows they have a voice in their own care.

“I hear kids say all the time that they feel like nobody listens to them. Sometimes the most important thing I can do is give them a safe place, without everyone else in the room, and simply listen,” she said.

For Rabe, success isn’t measured only by symptoms managed or medications prescribed, though her goal is always to use the least amount of medications necessary to help them function and feel like themselves. It’s measured in the moment a diagnosis finally makes sense to a family, and in parents who tell her they wish they’d found her sooner.

“When everyone comes together, and they’re able to say, ‘This changed my life. I wish I had known this sooner,’ those are the moments that remind me exactly why I chose this career,” she said.

That instinct to give goes beyond the clinic, too. Rabe helped establish a Minot chapter of the Pink Ladies, a nonprofit supporting people undergoing cancer treatment, and served as its president for five years and now serves as board chair.

“That’s just who I am,” Rabe said. “I’ve always been a giver and very compassionate. I believe that’s why I’m here, to give back.”

For any parent or child who’s hesitant to make that first appointment, Rabe has one message. “They’re not alone. I want them to feel like they can talk about their struggles and not feel like something is wrong with them,” Rabe said. “A diagnosis does not change who they are or determine their future. My goal is for every child that leaves my office to always feel heard, understood and a little more hopeful than when they walked in.”

For families interested in learning more or scheduling an appointment with Kasey Rabe, PMHNP-BC, please call Trinity Health Behavioral Health at Riverside at 701-857-5998.