Donna Grandi Assenti is a Doctor Nurse Practioner who is dual board certified in Family Practice as a Primary Care Provider and in Psychiatric Mental Health.  Additionally, she has more than 30 years of formal education, training within Integrative Medicine with an emphasis on Women's Health psychoneuroendocrinology. She is board certified in Family Practice, Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy, and provides consultation and ongoing care for patients at any age and at all milestones in life - from birth to post-menopause and beyond.

​

Her therapeutic style emphasizes respect for human dignity, clarity, and collaboration. She works with a wide range of conditions—including psychoneuroendocrine and hormonal conditions, puberty, menstrual, and postmenopause mood disorders; infertility, family planning, and postpartum issues; trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction-related struggles, ADHD, autism spectrum–related concerns, sensory disorders, and behavioral challenges—always tailoring her care to the unique needs of each individual.

​

The underpinning of Donna's therapeutic work is based on Catholic Apostolic beliefs and practices with an emphasis on teachings from Pope St. John Paul the Great for faith-based emotional healing. These teachings posit that human beings are composed of three distinct parts: the body, the soul (including the mind), and the spirit.  While the body connects to the physical world and the spirit connects to the spiritual world, the soul—which includes the mind—is the interface for our inner life, personality, and decision-making processes. 

​

A cornerstone of Donna’s work is her commitment to healing the whole person. As a practicing Catholic with lifelong roots in the faith, she brings a deeply integrated Christian understanding of the human person into her clinical work. She is an active member of the Catholic Psychotherapy Association (CPA) and the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), and is completing formation in the Encounter School of Ministries as well as a professional member  of  Kingdom Medicine Ministry.  She has also attended training with the John Paul II Healing Center similarly inspired institutes dedicated to Catholic anthropology and healing. In her personal spiritual life, she is in formation with the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites, a community that has profoundly shaped her approach to contemplative presence and compassionate care. Over the past 30 years, Donna has pursued extensive advanced training in Integrative Medicine that includes Functional Medicine, Applied Biochemistry Nutrition, Botanical medicine and a myriad of other integrative approaches with the aim to identify and treat the root causes of chronic mental-physical health conditions. Her holistic clinical process utilizes integrative approaches which combines evidence based traditional and functional medicine all within a therapeutic environment and process. She utilizes traditional and functional medicine assessments and testing that may include but are not limited to comprehensive pharmacogenetic tests, neuroendocrine hormone tests and gastrointestinal analysis tests. Treatment plans are fully individualized and may include evidence-based psychotherapy, medication management, hormone balancing and replacement, functional nutrition and other integrative supports.

​

She earned her Master’s Degree as a Nurse Practitioner with honors in Family Practice from the University of San Diego, followed by her Doctoral Degree in Health Leadership, Clinical Research Practice, and Higher Education from California State University. She later completed her Postdoctoral Psychiatric Mental Health degree at Washburn University as a Doctor Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with subspecialties in Integrative Psychiatry- Psychotherapy and Addiction Medicine.

​

Donna served as adjunct clinical faculty at the University of San Diego’s Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science and the Beyster Institute of Nursing Research. Donna has also taken a major leadership role in her parish’s Inductive Applied Study Bible Study, using her expertise to bridge the gap between the ancient text and the modern mind, and help others not just read the word, but live the word. Whether teaching or treating patients, she sees her vocation as a way of serving God by caring for His people with skill, compassion, and faithful integrity.