The Story of Astra: A Better Way to Practice Psychiatry
If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're looking for answers, support, or simply someone who will listen. Whether this is your first time seeking psychiatric care or you're searching for a provider after feeling unheard elsewhere, we know that taking this first step isn't always easy.
Choosing a psychiatric provider means placing an incredible amount of trust in someone you've never met. You're trusting them with your experiences, your struggles, your health, and often some of the most personal parts of your life. We don't take that responsibility lightly.
Before we tell you about our education, our clinical experience, or our approach to treatment, we thought it might be more meaningful to tell you why Astra Psychiatry exists in the first place.
Like many good stories, ours didn't begin with a business plan. It began with friendship.
How It Began
We first met while working together at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Kris was working as a psychiatric nurse, and Nick was a Mental Health Worker. We connected quickly over psychiatry, a similar sense of humor, and our shared belief that making it through a difficult shift was a perfectly reasonable excuse to treat ourselves to dinner from somewhere nearby.
Ordering takeout quickly became a tradition.
Somewhere between caring for patients, trying far too many local restaurants, and talking through whatever had happened during the day's shift, we became close friends. That friendship continued long after we stopped working side by side. We supported each other through school, career changes, and life's milestones. Years later, Kris stood beside Nick as a groomsman at his wedding.
The Conversation We Kept Coming Back To
Looking back, neither of us realized it at the time, but many of the conversations that eventually became Astra Psychiatry had already begun around those takeout dinners.
We talked about the patients we cared for, the providers who had inspired us, the moments that reminded us why we chose psychiatry, and the frustrations we occasionally experienced with a healthcare system that often seemed to leave too little time for the people who needed it most.
We found ourselves asking the same question over and over again:
"If we ever had the opportunity to build a psychiatric practice ourselves, what would we do differently?"
Long before either of us became licensed Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, Astra was beginning to take shape as a concept — an ongoing conversation between two friends who cared deeply about psychiatry and believed there had to be a better way to deliver it.
What We Believe Psychiatric Care Should Look Like
We shared a vision of the kind of care we hoped to one day provide our patients:
A practice where patients felt heard instead of hurried
Appointments that allowed enough time to ask thoughtful questions rather than simply checking boxes
Patients who understand why we're recommending a treatment, instead of leaving with a prescription and very little explanation
People who feel comfortable asking questions, expressing concerns, or telling us when something isn't working, without worrying about the provider's response
Most importantly, the kind of practice where we would feel comfortable recommending our own family members
As our careers branched out, we each gathered experience across clinical, educational, leadership, and quality improvement roles. That work shaped us as clinicians, challenged our assumptions, and gave us a broader perspective on what patients need — not just during an appointment, but throughout their healthcare journey.
Although our paths were different, our experience kept reinforcing the same lessons:
Good psychiatric care is rarely about finding the quickest answer. It is about taking the time to understand the person, wherever they are.
A diagnosis tells part of a story, but never the whole story.
Medication has potential benefits, but also limitations.
Every patient brings a unique combination of biology, life experience, relationships, physical health, stressors, and personal goals that deserve to be considered before a treatment plan is made.
When the opportunity to build Astra Psychiatry arrived, we didn't hesitate. This was our chance to create the kind of psychiatric care we'd always believed patients deserved — and we finally had the experience and the conviction to build it.
Why We're Called Astra
From the beginning, we knew we wanted a name that reflected our philosophy, not ourselves. It wasn't about naming the practice after either of us, or choosing something that simply sounded medical. We wanted a name that captured the role we hoped to play in our patients' lives.
Astra comes from the Latin word for "stars."
For thousands of years, explorers and navigators looked to the stars when they found themselves in unfamiliar territory. The stars didn't choose the destination or make the journey for them, but they offered direction when the path forward wasn't clear. They provided perspective, reassurance, and a reliable point of reference when people needed it most.
To us, that has always felt like an appropriate metaphor for psychiatric care. Our role is not to tell people how they should live their lives or decide what their future should look like. Every person's journey is different, and every destination is their own. Our role is to help people better understand where they are today, recognize the paths available to them, and provide the knowledge, support, and clinical guidance they need to move forward with greater confidence.
Whatever that path looks like — medication, new ways of coping, or simply having someone who listens without judgment — we believe every person deserves care that is thoughtful, evidence-based, compassionate, and deeply human.
Meet the Founders
Nick Stanzione, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Nick brings a background in neuroscience, emergency medicine, and over a decade of direct psychiatric care to Astra. He's board-certified and licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Delaware.
Kris Generales, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Kris holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice, the highest level of clinical training available to a nurse practitioner, and has over a decade of experience across inpatient and outpatient mental health care. He's board-certified and licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Delaware.
Ready for Personalized Mental Health Support?
Astra Psychiatry offers compassionate, evidence-based mental health care. Contact us today to start your journey towards well-being and personalized support in DE, CT, or NY.