Why I started Mynd Thera PLLC
Why I Started Mynd Thera PLLC
I'm Dr. Nicholas Mischel, and I am a psychiatrist and a neuroscientist. For the past six years, I’ve been an Assistant Professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and for even longer, a specialist in neuromodulation, using advanced brain stimulation platforms like Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and targeted medications like ketamine to treat the most stubborn forms of depression and other psychiatric conditions.
This work has been a passion of mine—a perfect blend of my two worlds: clinical medicine and neurophysiology research. I founded Mynd Thera to deliver these treatments, but the true origin of this clinic is a far more personal and painful story. It’s the story of my friend, Kevin.
The Moment the Professional Became Personal
I first met Kevin over 15 years ago in a vocal music A Capella group we were both a part of, called Two Weeks Notice. We called it that because we all said that if we ever had the chance, we would give our 2 weeks notice at our day jobs and sing together every day. He was a big presence, both physically (LOVED the gym) and emotionally. He had the biggest heart. He was a tireless and devoted Speech-Language Pathologist, and his best memories were walking through the halls of Detroit Public School as “Mr. Bald”. He was a funny, brilliant guy, but he was unlucky and he also battled depression for years. In 2023, his battle grew darker than I had ever witnessed.
I had a professional conflict of interest, so I made a personal referral for a full evaluation for neuromodulation. The treatment I specialized in—TMS—could have been what he needed, and the evaluating psychiatrist determined it was medically necessary.
This treatment, which can be life-saving, would have required $6,000 in treatment charges to his insurance company. And that is where the system failed him.
Kevin’s insurance company denied coverage. And without giving any further options, they ignored any potential harm coming from this denial and moved on to the next charge slip.
The system isn’t designed to keep persons informed or knowledeable about their care. It isn;t designed to allow communication and collaboration between entities that are only viewed as “competitors” in a “marlketplace”. I wasn;t informed of the routine administrative denial that came directly from the insurance company to Kevin’s phone, unfiltered and unexplained. My mind was consumed with other professional duties. I was an Attending Psychiatrist at Wayne State, a Medical Director for a regional health plan, and I was involved in scientific research at Wayne State. In all that administrative noise, I failed to follow up.
I didn't see him as a desperate patient—I only saw him as a friend who was in the system.
Two weeks after the denial, I got the call from our mutual friend.
"Kevin shot himself early this morning."
I remember seeing her name on my phone screen, thinking, “Why is she calling me right now”? I remember the immediate, sinking realization: "F**k me, I forgot to check on Kevin."
A Promise
That feeling of regret—is now the administrative fuel for Mynd Thera PLLC.
Kevin died not because the medicine didn't exist, and not because he couldn't be evaluated, but because the bureaucracy and complexity of the healthcare system cost him a life-saving treatment.
Mynd Thera PLLC is my commitment to ensuring that no other patient is lost in the gears of the system.
We don’t just offer advanced treatments; we clear the path to them.
We fight the administrative battles.
We ensure that when a patient needs a medically necessary treatment, they get it.
And most of the time it’s easier and faster to just do it ourselves.
Mynd Thera exists to bring the highest-level, evidence-based neuromodulation and neurophysiology science from the neuromodulation labs in Wayne State, Duke, Harvard, Stanford, London, Melbourne, and anywhere in the world directly to our patients in the most efficient, streamlined, and effective way possible. Our first mission is simple: we won't let systemic insurance hurdles kill you.