Dr. Marie L. Moerkbak occupies a unique and powerful space in the world of mental health: she is both the clinician in the chair and the patient in the hospital bed.

Served as a staff psychologist for 7 years, then assistant director, and now associate director.

Born and raised in Denmark, Marie moved to the United States in 1991, eventually earning her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. For the last 18 years, she has served as a Staff Psychologist at a large university counseling center in West Texas, helping students navigate their own crises with empathy and expertise.

However, behind her professional façade, Marie spent two decades waging a silent war against treatment-resistant Bipolar II disorder. After enduring multiple hospitalizations, the physical toll of Lithium toxicity, and the failure of twenty-six different psychiatric medications, she found herself at the edge of survival. It was then that she discovered the transformative power of Ketamine Infusion Therapy, not as a magic cure, but as a lifeline that finally quieted the noise.

Dr. Moerkbak writes to shatter the stigma that surrounds mental illness, specifically challenging the discrimination that exists even within the medical field. Her work is an invitation to understand that suffering is not a moral failing, but a biological reality that deserves compassion, not judgment. She advocates for a shift in how we view recovery: moving away from the pressure to be “happy” and toward the profound, sustainable goal of finding peace.

Marie lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband, Luis, and their beloved cats Meeko, Sooner, and Puff, who have faithfully stood by her (and snuggled her) through the darkness and into the light.