Kent mum becomes mental health nurse in the team that once cared for her

A Kent mum who once feared she would never recover from severe mental illness during pregnancy is now a mental health nurse in the same team that helped her through it.

Tynisa Nixon is a staff nurse with the Perinatal Mental Health Service at Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust, more than a decade after receiving care from the service herself.

In 2012, while pregnant with her fourth child, Oscar, Tynisa experienced a severe episode of bipolar disorder and a psychotic episode towards the end of her pregnancy. As her health deteriorated, her husband contacted the perinatal team, who supported her at home throughout the final weeks of pregnancy and during Oscar’s first year.

“I was very poorly and frightened,” she said. “But the care I received was amazing. It was kind, compassionate and completely non-judgemental. They listened to me and let me lead my own care.”

At the time, she did not believe she would recover: “I remember thinking they helped other people get better, but not me. I didn’t think I would come through it.”

One moment changed her perspective. “I felt like I was failing as a mum, but my nurse told me about another woman who was worried she couldn’t have a baby because of her mental illness and said, ‘There’s a lady in here doing it for the fourth time.’ That stayed with me.”

As her health improved, Tynisa decided she wanted to give something back. She began volunteering and later worked as a peer support worker within the service. Although she had previously worked in banking and had never planned to become a nurse, she realised she wanted to support other mothers in a bigger way.

“Nursing was never my plan,” she said. “But I wanted to tell at least one other mum that she would be okay, that her mental health wouldn’t define her.”

After completing an access course, Tynisa began nurse training through the apprenticeship route. During her final management placement, she returned to the perinatal team and completed her final clinical assessment alongside the professionals who had once cared for her. She received her Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) PIN last year and now works as a registered mental health nurse at the Rosewood Mother and Baby Unit in Dartford.

Elizabeth Best, Consultant Psychiatrist in Perinatal Mental Health Team at Kent and Medway Mental Health Trust, said: “We are really inspired by Tynisa and her commitment and dedication in her journey, which began with needing our support and later turned into wanting to give back and help other mums, which she did initially via peer support and now as a qualified mental health nurse.

“She brings compassion, professionalism and lived understanding that make such a difference to the families we support.”

Tynisa says her experience shapes her practice every day. “I understand how lonely and frightening it can feel. I can hold hope for women until they’re ready to hold it themselves.”

Her message is simple: “You’re not broken. You’re not failing. You’re unwell and you deserve care. Recovery is possible.”

Now supporting mothers across Kent and Medway, Tynisa says helping women through some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives is both a privilege and a reminder of how far she has come.