We Are Expedition
Kristin Dawson, MD
Dr. Kristin Dawson grew up in Lexington, KY and attended the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine. Prior to medical school, she spent a year working in northern New Mexico. The time spent exploring the high desert, surrounding mountains and canyons nurtured her spiritual health and mindfulness practice. Dr. Dawson is a double-board certified physician specializing in general psychiatry and child & adolescent psychiatry. She is trained in Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Processing Therapy and mindfulness practices. Dr. Dawson is a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists & Practitioners and has conducted research on ketamine and epigenetic aging. Dr. Dawson is also certified with the Multidisciplinary Association on Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Dr. Dawson developed the Wild Minds program to provide nature-based, mindfulness classes to youth on a farm during the pandemic. She also started a farm-to-clinic initiative delivering local, organic produce to the pediatric feeding clinic at EasterSeals. Dr. Dawson is excited to embrace emerging psychiatric treatments and an integrative medicine approach to mental health care at Expedition Mental Health.
Samantha Megilligan, RN
Clinic Director
Sam has always been interested in healthcare and fascinated by the human body. This combined with her desire to help and support others is what drew her into becoming a Registered Nurse. She graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2014 and began her career working at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center. During her years there she routinely functioned as Charge Nurse, was a Clinical Educator, and the recipient of the Daisy Award 4 times. While working in the hospital Sam witnessed inadequacies in our current healthcare system, specifically in regards to mental health care. Working with patients at Expedition Mental Health has renewed her passion for nursing and has led to advocacy work with local non-profits. Sam is a member of the Kentucky Nurses Association because they share her high moral standards and advocate on issues that affect nurses as well as the general public. She is a lifelong learner and is particularly interested in ongoing education about nursing and mental health. Sam values compassion and empathy. She connects with her purpose of empathic service while working with our patients, the nursing community and mental health non-profits.
A Better Tomorrow
We recognize that most people seeking mental health treatment are in need of relief from painful symptoms. As your guides, we hope to accompany you from symptom-relief to mental healing. Healing work may involve ketamine infusion treatments for treatment resistant depression or chronic trauma, a course of psychotherapy, a mindfulness intervention and other specific, psychiatric treatments.