Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP)
Professional Expertise
SOF Mental Health:
– Operator Syndrome
– Existential fear and anxiety
– Blast TBI-related mental health management
– Transition out of service
– Grief and loss
– Rumination and worry
– Cognitive and emotional changes
– Anger, panic, anxiety, fear, and stress reactivity
– Sleep disturbance and nightmares
– Suicidal ideation and self harm
About Rebecca
Rebecca Ivory is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She owns and runs this site and private practice. She has worked in bedside psychiatric nursing care for 15 years and specifically with SOF for 6 years. She graduated with her doctorate and became a board certified psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner in 2022.
Rebecca provides culturally congruent care to the SOF community thanks to years of experience working with 100s of Operators. You can safely assume that she has encountered problems, stories, and symptoms similar to yours before, and she can draw on years of experience when working with you. She understands what is typical and normal among Operators, and she will help you feel less alone in your present struggle. She also understands that just because something is typical and normal does not make it okay, and she knows what treatment actually work for Operators.
Rebecca is passionate about working with Operators: understanding their concerns, collaborating on reaching achievable goals, and developing meaningful, supportive relationships. She has collaborative relationships with other professionals who provide care to the SOF community, including psychologists, sleep medicine physicians, oncology providers, endocrinologists, and more.
Rebecca is a member of the SEAL Future Foundation’s Health Advisory Board and a psychiatry consultant for the Special Operations Genesis Foundation. She is active with other SOF community organizations.
In addition to her work as a clinician, she is a post-doctoral research fellow in the area of SOF blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI) mental health outcomes and care management. Just as she partners with her clients here, she partners with SOF community members to solve complex bTBI care management problems through culturally congruent research practices. She also translates research to clinical practice by authoring papers with SOF community partners on how civilian and military clinicians can incorporate research findings into their clinical practice in ways that are appropriate for the SOF community.
During her off hours, Rebecca enjoys powerlifting, exploring local trails, gardening, and any activity that gets her outside. She loves coffee, her 2 corgis, crochet, and counted cross stitch – especially creating funny artwork for her office.
Some of Rebecca’s Publications and Presentations
Ivory, R.A. & Hoagie. (2023). Stellate ganglion block as treatment for risk taking behaviors among Naval Special Warfare operators & veterans. DNA Reporter, 48(3).
Crabtree, A., McEvoy, C., Muench, P., Ivory, R.A., Rodriguez, J., Omer, M., Charles, T., Meabon, J.S. (2024). Modeling highly repetitive low-level blast exposure in mice. Submitted to Journal of Visualized Experiments in December 2023. Accepted February 2024. Awaiting publication.
McEvoy, C., Crabtree, A., Case, J., Means, G.E., Muench, P., Thomas, R.G., Ivory, R.A., Mihalik, J., & Meabon, J.S. (2024). Utility of cumulative blast impulse and baseline measures of neurobehavioral symptoms in predicting changes in traumatic brain injury symptoms after low-level blast exposure during military training. Submitted to Military Medicine in October 2023. Accepted February 2024. Awaiting publication.
Ivory, R.A., Graber, J., Frueh, B.C., & Cady, H. (2024). Operator Syndrome education for the bedside nurse: A continuing education article. Submitted to Nursing 2023 in October 2023. Accepted February 2024. Awaiting publication.
Ivory, R.A. (2022). Attenuating chronic pain & trauma among Naval Special Warfare veterans using psychoeducation. ProQuest.
Frueh, B.C. … Ivory, R.A. … (2024). Operator Health Index: Medical assessment & treatment best practices for Special Operations Forces. SEAL Future Foundation website.
Ivory, R.A. (2022, August). Managing Allostatic Load & Operator Syndrome. Performance First: Special Operations Class 003, Virginia Beach, VA.
Ivory, R.A. (2022, December). Interdisciplinary Treatment of Operator Syndrome, Chronic Pain, & Trauma Symptoms for Active-Duty Navy SEALs. Naval Special Warfare Command, Coronado, CA.
Ivory, R.A. (2023, May). Brain & Mental Health for Tactical Professionals. Tactical Seminar 001, Virginia Beach, VA.
Ivory, R.A. (2023, October). Changing the Script on Intrusive & Automatic Thoughts. SEAL Future Foundation: Education Pillar Campfire Chat, San Diego, CA.
Get in touch
If you are interested in working with Rebecca, you may email her at Rebecca@TacticalPsychiatry.com.