Behavioral Health
Bonner General Behavioral Health
Bonner General Behavioral Health offers outpatient mental health services for adult and pediatric patients. Learn more about our providers below.
Dr. Joe Wassif
Dr. Wassif grew up near Annapolis, Maryland. He received his bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a Master’s of Education from the University of Georgia. He later attended West Virginia University and earned a second Master’s in Counseling and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology. He has worked in several traditional mental health agencies, including an inpatient hospital, a PTSD unit at VA medical Center, college counseling, and a psychological assessment facility. He has experience working with a multitude of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and loss. He also completed his dissertation on the concept of post-traumatic growth in combat veterans.
To help meet a need in our local community Dr. Wassif is working towards the completion of a post-doctorate master’s in psychopharmacology, a necessary step in gaining prescriptive authority as a psychologist.
The expansion of our clinic has allowed for testing and assessment capabilities, offering disability determinations, learning disability assessments, neurocognitive evaluations, and personality assessments. Dr. Wassif works with patients from the age of 8 and above, including testing and counseling.
In his college years, Dr. Wassif raced on the Penn State Cycling Team. Though his racing days are behind him, he still rides as often as possible, passing the joy of the sport on to his kids.
Dr. Perry Harper
Dr. Perry Grey Harper completed a doctoral training program in clinical psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California in 2006. Her pre-doctoral training was completed at WestCoast Children’s Clinic in Oakland, California and her post-doctoral training was completed at Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center. Dr. Harper moved to the inland northwest in 2009 and has worked in Spokane and Coeur D’ Alene providing court evaluation, therapy and psychological assessment services to older adolescents and adults.
She and her family recently moved to Sandpoint and she was thrilled to join the Bonner General Behavioral Health group. Currently,
Dr. Harper provides both outpatient therapy and psychological assessment services. She treats a broad range of mental health issues such as: depression, anxiety, trauma, codependency, ADHD, bipolar and schizophrenia. Dr. Harper is both psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral in
her theoretical orientation.
In her spare time, she enjoys being with her family and animals in the
beautiful outdoors of the Inland Northwest.
Sunshine Bartlett
Heather Bartlett, PMHNP, known to her friends, coworkers, and community as “Sunshine,” was raised in Sandpoint. She grew up skiing at Schweitzer, picking huckleberries, and swimming in Lake Pend Oreille. “My family and I love this area and feel so privileged to call it our home.”
She has been a registered nurse for over 28 years, working in many settings, including the ICU and emergency room. She received a master’s degree in nursing from Frontier Nursing University, based in Versailles, Kentucky, and is board certified in Psychiatric Mental Health across the age spectrum (child, adolescent, and adult). Her clinical areas of interest are ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, substance use, and trauma.
“Over my years of nursing, I have witnessed incredible resilience. I have found that true health goes far beyond the presence or absence of illness. I chose my mental health specialty because I am passionate about finding ways to help people thrive, achieve their full potential, and live their best lives, even when faced with tough odds.”
Natasha Splaine-Talbott
Natasha Splaine-Talbott APRN, PMHNP-BC, is a Family Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner practicing in Sandpoint, Idaho. Born and raised in the Atlanta, Georgia area, she has been in North Idaho since 2013 providing comprehensive psychiatric services.
She is currently practicing in the outpatient setting at Bonner General Behavioral Health and sees children, adolescents, and adults for psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and supportive psychotherapy.
Natasha received her advanced practice training at the University of Southern Maine, in Portland, Maine, and has been employed in a variety of settings, including outpatient and inpatient behavioral health programs. Natasha’s professional interests include improving access to mental health services, perinatal mental health, and child and adolescent psychiatry.
During her time off, Natasha enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, biking, and listening to live music.
Arlene A. Spinosa, LCSW
Arlene was born and raised in San Marcos Texas and moved to North Idaho in 2002. She received her Master’s in Social Work in 2015, from Boise State University. She has been in Sandpoint for almost 19 years and feels strongly connected to this community.
Arlene’s initial interests involved working with adolescents for over 15 years in inpatient and outpatient settings, including Wilderness Therapy and as a CBRS (community-based rehabilitation services) provider.
Today as a counselor, she is grateful for being in the position of helping people of all ages. She works with individuals and families through life challenges, depression, anxiety, social struggles, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, trauma, severe, persistent mental disorders, and grief. She utilizes various therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), Solution-Focused approach, plays therapy models, and encourages the use of a customized self-care plan. Her specialty is her compassion for helping people while using a combination of client-centered, strength-based, and holistic approaches with clients.
Arlene enjoys most activities while outdoors but especially tennis, biking, pickleball, skiing, and being on the lake with family and friends.
