Getting to Know Dr. Mosby Hardin

What is your role at Integrated Care Clinic? 

Hi I’m Dr. Hardin, a postdoctoral fellow. I love working with children, adolescents and their families as they navigate behavioral problems, learning difficulties, and relationships. I also enjoy being able to come alongside adults as they learn to cope with anxiety, depression, personality disorders, relationship difficulties, and life transitions. 

Let’s break the ice: if you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

Oh man is this a tough one! I have a huge sweet tooth and would love to have ice cream all day every day. But also pizza has my heart and I do not think I could live without it!

Where did you go to school for undergrad? What did you study?  

I went to a small private school in northeast Tennessee, Milligan College. I absolutely loved it there and had the best time in college. I originally went to study Elementary Education with the intent to complete their 5 year bachelor and master’s degree in Elementary Education. This plan at the time allowed me to add on a second major, which I chose to be psychology because it made sense for me to understand child behavior in the classroom. Within a semester of adding psychology as my second major, I knew this was what I really wanted to do with my life and knew I would not be getting my masters in education.

Where did you go to graduate school?  

My first foray into graduate school was at Southeastern University in Lakeland. I graduated with a Masters of Professional Counseling in 2015 and knew I had found my calling in life as a therapist. After graduating, I spent the next 3 years working part time as a therapist and part time as a teacher (that bachelors degree finally came in handy and no I did not have much of a life lol). After 3 years of splitting my time, I decided it was time to pursue my career as a therapist fully and this meant either getting a job full time in the field or going back to school for my doctorate (a dream I’d had for years!). I applied on a whim and very last minute to 3 schools, interviewed with 1, and then packed my bags to move across the country! I attended Wheaton College in Illinois where I received my second Masters degree in Clinical Psychology as well as my doctorate in Clinical Psychology. 

Why did you decide to become a psychologist? 

This has always been such a tough question for me to answer. There is not one clear cut answer but a conglomeration of experiences that led me to being a psychologist. For one, I loved learning about human behavior and why people do what they do. I fell in love with psychology my junior year of college and knew I wanted to do something in the field. Around this same time, a very close friend of mine went through some major Trauma in which I was her primary support person. Throughout my time supporting her, I found myself wishing I had more experience and/or skills to help her. As I grew from this experience, I determined that I wanted to be able to support others like I had my friend, but with more skills and training. This is when I knew being a psychologist would be the best route for me.

What are you most passionate about? 

Kiddos. I love children and I love being able to work with them and their families. I have the most fun in my job when I get to be around kiddos and help them discover their voices and help their parents be able to support them best. I have worked with kids in one way or another since I was 10 years old and cannot imagine a life without working with kids. 

Do you have any pets? 

Yes! Brutus, my cat! He is 11 years old and my most favorite ever. He has quite the reputation though as “the spawn of satan”. To that I say, he loves me and that’s all that matters! Despite his hatred of others, Brutus has traveled all over the country with me on planes, trains, and automobiles. I tell him regularly that he better have at least 11 more years in him and even then I’m not sure I could let him go!

Tell us your favorite joke!  

So I am horrible with jokes…I am usually just your average super sarcastic girly. That being said, here is the last joke I saw on Tiktok that gave me a good laugh!

What is the scariest plant in the jungle?

BamBOO!

What are the client ages you work with? 

I work with anyone aged 5-65. Throughout my training, I have purposely trained as a generalist working with all ages in multiple settings. If you were to ask me my favorite age, I would probably say I cannot pick just one! I love having the opportunity to work with all ages everyday and would never pick just one.

What clinical rotations/internships/residency have you done, and how have these shaped you as a clinician?  

Over the last 10 years, I have had so many amazing opportunities to learn and grow as a clinician. During my doctorate degree, I completed 2 practicums as a school counselor at a private school in Illinois until I was hired on as staff my 3rd year. I spent my time working with students K-8 individually as well as in groups. I taught social skills, behavioral skills, and helped students struggling with school anxiety. I loved the diversity of my work there and getting first hand knowledge of how different diagnoses present in schools.

I then spent a year at the Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center in Chicago, Illinois. There I was part of the Pathligh Mood and Anxiety intensive outpatient (IOP) team where I co-facilitated group therapy on topics such as DBT skills, Exposure and Response Prevention, social and emotional learning, grief, boundaries, self compassion, self confidence, etc. My time here developed my love for group therapy and exposed me to working within a higher level of care with severe diagnoses. 

The following year I spent at a private practice in Chicago where I worked with people ages 5-65 with a variety of diagnoses including anxiety, depression, ADHD, substance abuse, personality disorders, and oppositional defiant disorder. I loved being able to work in a private practice again and reestablished my desire to do private practice long term.

After completing my time in Chicago, I moved back to Florida for a year before I started my internship. During that year, I was at the University of South Florida College Counseling Center. This opportunity allowed me to work with college age students and expand my generalist training to really include the emerging adulthood population. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the students at USF and getting to foster confidence in the students as they joined the “adulting” world.

My last placement before ICC was my internship at Intermountain Healthcare Psychiatry and Counseling in St. George, Utah. I joined a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors in treating a rural part of the country. I had patients coming to see me from upwards of 2 hours away due to the lack of resources in southern and central Utah. I was able to have a large variety of patients from as young as 2.5 years old up until 90 years old. My time in Utah really strengthened my abilities in diagnostics as I spent a portion of my time there completing psychological assessments for anxiety, depression, personality disorders, Autism, ADHD, and OCD. I also was able to work closely with our practice psychiatrists and developed a better working knowledge of medications for a variety of mental health diagnoses. I loved my time in Utah and hope to bring what I have learned from all of my sites to my work at ICC.

What hobbies do you have? What do you like to do in your free time? 

Free time? What is that?! Being fresh out of graduate school I am now rediscovering what I enjoy doing in my new found free time. Usually, you can find me in Lakeland with my family. I have 6 nieces and nephews (and 1 more on the way!) who are my whole world! After living across the country from them most of their lives, any chance I get to be with them I take. If I am not in Lakeland, you can find me reading, binge watching reality tv shows (Below Deck and the Housewives are the best!) or attempting to learn to crochet.

Do you have any certifications?  

I am a DBT specialist and use those skills for working with both teens and adults. I work extensively with patients to help them to understand the connections between distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal relationships and mindfulness in all aspects of life. I believe that developing the skills within each of these modules can provide the bases needed for coping with many mental health problems.

What do you plan to learn next in your career? Any areas you’d like to learn more about?  

I have always been someone who loves to learn (hence the many degrees). As I move forward in my career, I hope to expand my DBT training further and learn more about treating eating disorders.