Hope For Adults Living with Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious and complex mental illness that left untreated can disrupt a person’s relationships, physical health, and plans for the future – and it may even lead to repeated cycles of crisis with recurrent episodes. There is hope for people who have schizophrenia to lead a normal life with the right support and treatment. Here to discuss schizophrenia and the importance of managing it is Jonathan Llamas, a certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice.  

Jonathan V. Llamas, DNP, RN-BC, PMHNP-BC, PHN is a highly acclaimed Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Distinguished Nurse Leader, and a Preeminent Mental Health Expert and Champion based in Los Angeles, CA.

Dr. Llamas received his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Coast University in 2013 and possesses a robust nursing background caring for the adult population in both acute care and inpatient psychiatric settings at various teaching hospitals around the nation including AdventHealth Orlando, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, and Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Center.

He received his Doctor of Nursing Practice from Loma Linda University in 2019 after successfully completing his Doctoral Project which utilized the LOWLINE model that significantly increased both patient and staff safety by reducing the usage of physical restraints on emotionally dysregulated patients in the mental health setting.

Dr. Llamas has collaborated with many well-renowned brands and companies including Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals to help promote mental health awareness across the nation and has been featured on many news media outlets such as Nurse.Org, DailyNurse.com, My American Nurse, The Mighty, ABC 7, Voyage LA Magazine, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and ShoutOut LA Magazine for his impactful work in the mental health space.

Dr. Llamas is passionate about empowering the future generation of nurses and healthcare providers and currently serves as the Chapter President for the West Coast University Alumni Network and also functions as a contributing writer and mental health consultant for Minority Nurse Magazine (Springer Publishing Company), NP Student Magazine, and MedPage Today.

For his outstanding work and clinical contributions, Dr. Llamas has received numerous awards and recognitions which include the Kaiser Permanente Everyday Hero Award, the Helena Emory King Professional Leadership Award, and the ABC 7 Healthcare Hero Award for helping to increase mental health access in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In addition to this, Dr. Llamas was also the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from West Coast University and was recently named 2023’s Nurse Leader of the Year and Nurse Icon of the Year by Nurse.Org.

Dr. Llamas strongly believes in the importance of leaving the world a better place than how we found it and makes it his lifelong mission to not only use his platform as a force of good but also inspire others to be authors of their own stories of greatness.