Denis Grigorov has reinvented himself more times than most people change jobs. Born in Ukraine, raised in Seattle, he enlisted in the Air Force out of high school, got picked for the Air Force Academy, and became a captain and special agent investigating crimes inside the military. Ten years of service. An MBA. A management job at Amazon. Then he did the thing nobody saw coming — he walked into healthcare.

He became an ER nurse at one of the busiest trauma centers in the country, did a full year of psychiatric residency at the VA in Los Angeles, and in January 2026 opened his own practice, D&Y Integrated Psychiatry, named after himself and his wife Yesenia. Four months later, he had 60 clients.

This is the private-practice startup conversation I wish every new psych NP could hear. Denis holds nothing back: the VA residency and the $89,000 pay cut he took on purpose, the $4,000 he spent on a "Google expert" who got him zero patients, the EHR he regrets, the legal retainer that was worth it, the collaborating physician he found for $500 a month, and the DEA rule that makes him rent an office one day a month even though he's fully virtual. He also says the quiet part out loud — private practice is not the patients-rain-from-the-sky story some influencers are selling.

His Psychology Today bio reads, "You're not broken. You are exhausted from surviving." He's a disabled veteran who now spends his days caring for other veterans, and you can hear why this work found him.

If you've ever wondered what it looks like to reinvent yourself five times and land exactly where you belong, this one's for you.

CONNECT WITH DENIS D&Y Integrated Psychiatry — Monrovia, CA (TRICARE & VA Community Care)

🌐 https://dyintegratedpsychiatry.com/

🌐 https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisgrigorov/

🌐 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/psychiatrists/denis-grigorov-encino-ca/1681386

LISTEN TO NO PRIOR AUTH 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2xQMQAfCsq3OrVz3RTndA80gfFEFOsez

🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1893233469

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5tNbJqeMERnglfTHedOhym

🌐 Website: https://psychnpfellowship.com/podcast/

👥 Community: https://www.skool.com/psych

#PsychNP #PMHNP #PrivatePractice #NursePractitioner #VeteranOwned #MentalHealth #PMHNPlife