Dr. Barbero - coordinator of the Psychiatric Mental-Health Nurse Practitioner Program that includes both an in-class and distance learning formats - is passionate about teaching and has broad experience in diverse settings. She enjoys working with all levels of students and a wide variety of clients, and places particular focus on modalities that promote resilience including mindfulness, relaxation and imagery, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Barbero teaches a class on resilience that is open to all students at the University, and her current clinical practice is a collaborative effort with the Public Health Department, the School of Nursing and the UVA Medical Center.

Combining experience in mindfulness, psychotherapy and therapeutic storytelling, Barbero's research asssesses whether digital storytelling is a viable therapy to treat depression among low-income, rural women. She's also working on an interprofessional quality project to evaluate the Behavioral Emergency Response Team at UVA Medical Center.

Barbero earned an undergraduate degree from the University of North Florida, and both a master’s degree and PhD from the University of Florida. A psychiatric nurse practitioner, she's practiced at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, and privately. Barbero interprofessional work at the Mayo Clinic, where she conducted psychotherapy and taught behavioral sciences to family medicine residents, has been recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Barbero has used storytelling as a modality in her practice, published on its use in nursing and taken writing workshops with faculty from UVA’s Center for Biomedical Ethics and the Humanities. She's read her work on NPR, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing has recognized her for the quality of her research.