MWI Health is an organization built on connection, with a talented team of providers who join with us to help people live their lives to the fullest. Conveniently located in Sioux Falls near 49th & Louise, our office is a welcoming clinic focused entirely on mental health treatment. Stop in or give us a call if you want to experience our refreshing approach to your individual psychiatric care or medication management.
Clay Pavlis, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Lead Psychiatrist, established Midwest Wellness Institute, PLLC (MWI Health) in 2012, which is now a flourishing mental health clinic and organization in Sioux Falls, SD. Our providers bring a variety of experiences and a wealth of knowledge, with a passion for excellence displayed throughout the team. At MWI Health, we strive for a company culture of growth and encouragement, focused on building a cohesive team that embraces individual strengths whether our providers work remotely or in the office.
Thanks to a strong support staff and the dedicated leadership of Dr Pavlis, we have expanded services and care. Drug-resistant depression is a specialty area of ours, and we are proud to be the premier clinic for TMS, bringing NeuroStar Advanced TMS Therapy to the city of Sioux Falls, SD, in 2021, as well as becoming a Spravato® treatment clinic in 2022. Both TMS and Spravato treatment options give new hope for patients struggling with chronic depression.
We offer expert mental health care to all ages and accept many major insurance plans for psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and psychotherapy. As a specialty clinic, our focus is on walking alongside every patient in their path to mental wellness and a more rewarding life.
Our providers and staff appreciate our team approach to mental health at MWI Health. We offer full-time and part-time employment and contracted positions to providers and staff, with on-site and telehealth options and the flexibility to customize schedules and work with a variety of patients.
Meet our MWI Health Team:
Our Founder and Business Owner
Clay Pavlis, M.D., earned his BS in Biology after graduation Summa Com Laude from South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. He attended Medical School at the University of Minnesota – Duluth and the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. He is board-certified in Adult Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Pavlis’s vision for offering personalized care for residents of South Dakota and Minnesota with a team of providers focused on individualized care was the catalyst for him establishing Midwest Wellness Institute, PLLC in 2012, now known as MWI Health. As the chief psychiatrist and medical officer, Dr. Pavlis now leads a growing team of mental health providers, nurses, and staff with organizational core focuses of establishing contracted mental health services through trust-based partnerships, excelling at efficient and thorough independent psychiatric evaluations, and providing patients advanced and comprehensive psychiatric clinic services.
Consistently trying to find innovative ways to improve lives, Dr Pavlis specializes in psychiatric forensic evaluations, independent psychiatric evaluations, Veteran services and evals, opioid addiction treatment with Suboxone, medication management, neuromodulation with TMS, and psychopharmacologenomics. Dr Pavlis also believes strongly in mentorship and education, regularly working with local preceptorship students each semester.
In addition to managing MWI Health’s diverse portfolio of services, Dr. Pavlis also serves as Medical Director at MWI Health, seeing patients of all ages and as young as 5 years old at Community Counseling Services in Madison & Huron, SD, CCM Health in Montevideo, MN, and geriatric patients at Bethel Nursing Home in Madison, SD. Dr Pavlis also oversees the mental health treatment at Windom Area Health in Windom, MN, treats inmates and consults for SD Department of Corrections, Sioux Falls Prison, Women’s Prison in Pierre, SD, Minnehaha County Jail, and provides guidance to mental health providers at Human Services Agency in Watertown, SD.
Our Mental Health Provider Team
Dr. Giebink studied and gained clinical experience at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine in Vermillion and Sioux Falls, graduating with his medical degree in 1992. He continued his medical training in the General Psychiatry Residency training program at the USD School of Medicine in Sioux Falls, finishing in 1996. He began his full-fledged medical career as a staff psychiatrist working at the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls. He would have two stints working there. Between those, he worked at the Human Service Agency in Watertown, one of South Dakota’s Community Mental Health Centers that provides outpatient services. He was the adult psychiatrist and medical director at HSA. Most recently, Dr. Giebink worked at Keystone Treatment Center in Canton, SD, an inpatient/residential facility. In addition to treatment of substance use disorders and gambling addiction, KTC provides psychiatric care for patients who have co-occurring psychiatric disorders. He regularly sees patients in our Sioux Falls clinic and at Capital Area Counseling Services in Pierre, SD.
Dr. Giebink has a wealth of experience working with adults in many psychiatric settings. He has treated the full range of common psychiatric conditions, including mood disorders such as bipolar and major depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Relationship problems and abuse of alcohol and other substances often play an important role in the mental health difficulties people have. Dr. Giebink has particular interest in helping people with co-occurring disorders, such as substance abuse in patients who have mood and/or anxiety disorders. He provides medication management but understands the importance and effectiveness of other treatment modalities, including individual counseling, group therapy and 12-Step programs, and procedures such as TMS and others. He will recommend these to his patients as he deems appropriate.
Kristen joined us in October 2021 and lives in Yankton, SD. She is licensed in South Dakota, Nebraska & Minnesota, earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, SD, and a Master’s of Science Degree as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner from Walden University in Minneapolis, MN, in 2020.
Kristen has extensive experience in psychiatric-mental health nursing since 2006, with training at the S.D. State Penitentiary, Woodfield Center – Lutheran Social Services, Minnehaha County Mobile Crisis Team, Southeastern Behavioral Healthcare, Lewis and Clark Behavioral Health, and S.D. Human Services Center. Self-directed and goal-oriented, Kristen has quickly stepped into two of our fast-paced contracts and impresses us with her direct lines of communication and decision-making abilities.
Kristen sees patients on-site and via telehealth at Minnehaha County Jail, Sioux Falls, SD, is our primary S.D. Department of Corrections mental health provider, and Juvenile Detention Center.
Diane Teadtke was a member of Phi Theta Kappa earning both her Diploma of Practical Nursing and Associate Degree in Nursing from Northeast Community College in Norfolk, NE, with experience as an LPN at an assisted living facility and nursing home. She started her career as a Registered Nurse in Correctional Nursing before continuing on for a Masters Degree in Nursing with focus on Psychiatric Mental Health. Diane graduated in 2019 as a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and Golden Key International Honor Society and is Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
Diane lives in northern Nebraska and joined our team in February 2020, running a streamlined and efficient clinic for inmates at SD Women’s Prison in Pierre, SD, as well as providing Monday-Thursday care for patients at Community Counseling Services in Huron, SD, offering a mix of on-site and telehealth care. Diane also makes regular rounds at Avantara Nursing Home in Huron, SD, and Good Samaritan Society Howard in Howard, SD, where her confident and kind demeanor is enjoyed by the residents.
Darla was born and raised in Southwest Minnesota, with family members still residing in southwestern and central Minnesota. Joining our MWI Health team in March 2020, Darla has lived in Ohio for the last 25 years with the exception of 2 years practicing in Willmar and Morris, MN. She graduated from Mercy College in Toledo with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and then went on to Wayne State University in Detroit to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
Darla has been a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner since 2015 and has worked in a mental health urgent care facility with both inpatient and outpatient clientele with a wide range of diagnoses, from depression and anxiety to severe mental illnesses. She believes that mental health treatment is more effective when the patient is given tools and empowerment to heal their body, mind, spirit, and emotions, and she focuses on treating each patient as a person and not as their disorder. Darla is seeing patients via telehealth and on-site at Windom Area Health in Windom, MN, assists Dr Pavlis with Veteran Psychiatric Reviews, and sees numerous patients for LinqCare at inpatient clinics in Minnesota and Ohio. Darla joined our team part-time in March 2020 and then became full-time in September 2021.
Lacee Feltman stood out to our providers as one of our top preceptorship students as she was completing the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program through Herzing University, where she graduated from in 2022. As her licensure was being processed, she assisted Dr Pavlis with our Forensic and Veteran programs, and now she is also our lead provider in caring for the mental health of nursing home patients in both South Dakota and Minnesota.
Lacee has psychiatric nursing experience and was also a nursing home administrator, and we are delighted that she has joined our team as she started her career as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner.
Adrian has been a Registered Nurse for 10 years and has his master’s as a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). He graduated with an ADN from the University of New Mexico-Gallup in 2011. He began his nursing career on a surgical floor at San Juan Regional in Farmington, NM, and transferred to PACU after one year. After a move to Omaha, Adrian continued his nursing career at Nebraska Medicine in a Pre-Op/PACU department. During his time in Omaha he completed a BSN through Western Governors University. After completion of his BSN, Adrian moved to South Dakota, where he currently resides in Baltic, SD with his wife, Lauren. Lauren is an employee of the National Park Service and is the current superintendent at Pipestone National Monument. Prior to becoming a nurse, Adrian worked for the National Park Service at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Adrian and Lauren have one daughter. Adrian enjoys movies, music, photography, and gardening.
Shjade Smith joined us as a preceptorship student as she was completing the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program through Mount Marty College, where she graduated from in 2022. As her licensure was being processed, she became a key provider in assisting Dr Pavlis with our Forensic and Veteran programs.
Shjade brings a variety of nursing experience and has also been in the United States Army Reserve since 2009. She is currently a Squad Leader and Combat Life Saver instructor, with extensive experience in field operations and leadership.
Brittany is a native of Mississippi who originally worked with us in January 2021, and has now rejoined our MWI Health team in May 2023. She currently resides in Texas, and obtained her undergraduate degree from Alcorn State University in 2007 and her Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner degree from University of Southern Mississippi in 2017.
Brittany has served the Veteran population for several years as a Registered Nurse, and continues using her experience as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner by assisting Dr. Pavlis with Veteran evaluations. She enjoys working with Veterans and adults to meet their mental health needs.
Karron Cohoon, PMHNP-BC, joined MWI Health in Sioux Falls in May 2023, becoming a valuable addition to the mental health provider team offering telehealth sessions at Behavior Management Systems in Rapid City along with conducting Veteran Psychiatric Evaluations at MWI Health. Karron most recently worked with the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls in the medication-assisted treatment clinic, providing short-term psychotherapy along with treating veterans with substance use disorders.
Moving from Connecticut in 2022, Karron specialized in detoxification addictions stabilization, was a co-chair on the overdose committee, assisted with the setup of the sublocade clinic, and was an active member of the Harm Reduction Advocacy group where they addressed drug laws at the state level. She has an impressive depth of experiences in detox/in-patient treatment, psychotherapy, psychotropic management, in addition to many years of nursing-level experience across a variety of patient care opportunities.
Our Psychotherapy Staff
Kristin is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Qualified Mental Health Professional in South Dakota and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Minnesota, earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Northern State University in 2008 and 2011. Developing client/therapist relationships built on trust and understanding, Kristin has a warm, compassionate, and straightforward clinical approach to the psychology of behaviors. In our Sioux Falls office, Kristin is an amazingly versatile team player, never shaken or deterred by any situation, and she is always eager to jump in to help and complete tasks that others find too challenging.
Her specialty areas for therapy include depression, anxiety, trauma/PTSD, grief counseling, and reintegration after incarceration. She has extensive experience in working with individuals with serious mental illnesses in correctional care facilities, accruing nine years of experience working in the prison’s acute mental health unit. Kristin has also worked with court-ordered mental health for adolescents and a wide range of disorders.
With experience in diagnostics, crisis management, forensic analysis, psychological testing, and behavior modification, Kristin has been a valued MWI Health behavioral health team member since October 2020. She leads our Jail-Based Competency Restoration Program and is the POC for our Forensic Psychiatric Evaluations, in addition to working with Dr Pavlis to conduct forensic interviews and information gathering.
Brittany is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Qualified Mental Health Professional and Certified Addiction Counselor in South Dakota, earning her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Bachelor’s Certificate in Addiction Studies, and Masters in Social Work from University of South Dakota.
Joining our provider team in March 2023, Brittany brought diverse skills from previous experiences as a Chemical Dependency Counselor with outpatient and inpatient services for both individuals and groups. She also taught a breadth of life skills as a Community Employment Coach and as a Social Services Resource Coordinator. In addition, she provided mental health services to incarcerated individuals at all levels of custody.
Brittany currently sees patients at Falls Community Health in Sioux Falls and assists Dr Pavlis with Psychiatric Evaluations of Veterans.
Our Nursing Staff
Abby joined MWI Health in 2022 as a licensed Registered Nurse and South Dakota’s designated Youth Grievance Monitor, supporting our in-house nursing needs as well as launching a new statewide program. Due to her problem solving skills and tenacity, Abby very quickly stepped into the role of managing our Spravato program and is our lead treater. She enjoys on-site patient care once a week and works remotely the other days to support our providers and patients.
For more than 20 years of her career, she served as a Director of Nursing. Her areas of experience and expertise include skilled nursing settings where she wrote programming in association with various state agencies to launch new, successful programs focused on traumatic brain injury rehabilitation and challenging behavioral care as well as at a community support provider agency supporting adults with developmental disabilities.
Rhonda Schleich, LPN, joined the MWI Health team in February 2023, bringing valuable administrative skills and a wide variety of experiences to our team. Rhonda is a compassionate and dedicated member of our Office Support Staff and trained as a TMS Treater and Spravato Treatment Technician.
Our Office Support Staff
Kathy Howard, LPN, joined the MWI Health team in April 2022 as our Office Manager. With previous experience as the Assistant Director of Nursing at a long-term care facility, Kathy’s leadership abilities and confidence were an asset to building a cohesive team. Kathy manages the many moving parts within the walls of MWI Health as well as all the areas that impact patients and our staff on a daily basis.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Walhalla, North Dakota, Kathy now lives in Madison, SD, with her husband, Bryon. They have three children – Matt, Mack and Maci. Outside of work she loves to spend time with her grandchildren – Cohen, Claire, Greyson, Lexi and Brynlee. Kathy enjoys being outside, riding bike and spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys playing darts in her leisure time.
Amber joined the MWI Health team in July 2020 to support the increasing administrative tasks of our growing organization, stepping up as the TMS Coordinator in 2021 and continuing as a TMS Treater in 2022. As one of our TMS Treaters, Amber greets every client with friendly customer service, making their visits as pleasant as possible.
With over twenty years as an Administrative Assistant, Amber has previous experience working in correctional facilities and stands out as having a high level of attention to detail in all areas of administrative support in our Sioux Falls office.
Rhiannon Weber joined the MWI Health team in May 2023. Working for nearly twenty years with the State of South Dakota as a probation officer and initial family case worker, she has supervised an adult and juvenile caseload and completed pre-sentence reports. With a B.S. in Criminal Justice, Rhiannon (pronounced Ree-Ann-en) worked for Child Protective Services, conducting initial assessments and investigations regarding child abuse and neglect.
Our Special Services Staff
Julie Johnson Dresbach is a former Resource Coordinator/Program Specialist with the Division of Developmental Disabilities. Julie has numerous years of experience working in the field of developmental disabilities, including working with families and providers to find and maintain appropriate services, Julie has been a strong advocate through her career in state government, for people seeking and/or receiving services and the providers.
Julie has worked on multiple initiatives for the betterment of community services and is excited to continue working with the youth, their families and the provider agencies as a Youth Grievance Monitor.
Nick joined MWI in January 2023 in the role of Competency Educator. He will be working with various Competency to Restoration programs across South Dakota.
Nick retired from his career as a Captain with Sioux Falls Fire Rescue in 2022. After retirement he was looking for a new career opportunity that would allow him to continue to serve and contribute to his community. He found that he could put his personnel training/education skills to use by substitute teaching in various local school districts. The role of Competency Educator is the perfect fit for Nick to expand on his interest in teaching while also impacting the community. Nick’s extensive background in public outreach, crisis and emergency management, administration, personnel training and leadership are beneficial components to the MWI team.
