Hey, I’m Dr. Tonya Butler.
Mental health care is deeply personal, and I know firsthand how difficult it can be to take that first step toward asking for help.
During my time in the Marine Corps, I experienced a trauma that led to more than a decade of debilitating anxiety and severe episodes of depression. Honestly, even reaching out felt like too much at the time. Eventually, I realized the impact my mental health was having not only on me, but on the people I loved most, and I sought treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs. What helped me heal wasn’t just treatment, it was care that actually felt human. I had the privilege of working with a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner whose warmth and steadiness helped me reconnect with myself, and that experience changed the course of my life in ways I still carry with me today.
The care I received changed the direction of my life and eventually led me into this work myself.
DNP, PMHNP-BC
I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Valparaiso University in 2015 before relocating with my family to Salt Lake City, where I worked in inpatient psychiatry and within the VA healthcare system. The more time I spent working with patients, the more I felt called to provide the kind of thoughtful, human care that had once made such a difference in my own life. It was this work — and the people I cared for — that ultimately led me back to school, where I earned my Doctor of Nursing Practice degree with a Psychiatric-Mental Health specialization from the University of Utah in 2019.
Over the past 11 years, I’ve sat with adolescents and adults in some of the hardest moments of their lives across inpatient units, outpatient clinics, emergency departments, community mental health centers, adolescent correctional facilities, free clinics, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Those experiences shaped my belief that good psychiatric care is never one-size-fits-all. Every person carries a different story, different pain, and different strengths into the room.
My approach blends clinical expertise with deep listening, thoughtful prescribing, and genuine therapeutic connection. I believe people deserve care that feels collaborative, attentive, and deeply respectful of the complexity of their lives. I also believe healing happens more easily in spaces where people feel emotionally safe enough to be honest.
If you’ve read this far, chances are something here resonated with you. Reaching out for support can feel incredibly vulnerable, especially when you’ve been carrying things alone for a long time. My hope is that Butler Behavioral feels like a place where you can exhale a little and feel genuinely understood.
If this feels like the kind of care you’ve been looking for, I’d be honored to work with you.
—Dr. Butler, DNP, PMHNP-BC
Outside the office…
My husband Terence and I are both proud Marine Corps veterans. I’ve been enamored with him since we met while deployed in Iraq in 2005. Over the past twenty years, we’ve built a life we’re incredibly proud of while raising our three charismatic children. In my free time, I enjoy photography, alternative music, going to the beach, and watching Wabash College football.
