Meet the Doctor - Nexus Letter Expert

Dr. Allen, a psychiatrist, is the daughter of a U.S. Army Veteran. As such, she understands first hand the personal sacrifices that veterans have made for the benefit of our country. Military service can entail participation in combat, separation from loved ones, and personal and occupational stresses that can all lead to the development of psychiatric conditions. 

Due to military culture, and the stigma associated with mental illness, many service members are unable to seek psychiatric treatment while in-service. Because service members' psychological needs are often overlooked on active duty, Dr. Allen's is dedicated to providing psychiatric care to veterans in the post-military stage of their lives. She evaluates psychiatric disabilities due to operational and military environmental exposures.  

Compassion for Veterans

Dr. Allen witnessed a shocking injustice after she became acquainted with a Vietnam War veteran who served honorably in the US Marine Corps earning a Purple Heart for his combat service but was denied his claim for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It turned out that the denial was the result of a poor assessment completed by an inexperienced examiner.  Understanding the need for compassionate and competent claims assessments, Dr. Allen decided to include independent medical examinations and nexus letters for veterans in her medical practice. 

Approach to Addressing Military Sexual Trauma (MST) 

Sadly, Military Sexual Trauma (MST) is an all too common occurrence.  These cases are uniquely tragic and can be very painful to discuss.  Dr. Allen has a gentle and compassionate approach to addressing these claims.  While it may hardly be considered justice, a well written nexus letter can help to bring some measure of closure to a traumatic event. 

Experience

Throughout her medical training, Dr. Allen has worked at VA Medical Centers in Hampton, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. She understands the overwhelming bureaucracy that veterans face when navigating the VAMC compensation and pension benefits system. Additionally, she has a great deal of experience having been employed as an independent medical examiner.  She has completed many examinations all over the country and is well-equipped to perform thorough independent medical examinations and write detailed nexus letters.  She is intimately familiar with the level of detail and documentation that should be included in your nexus letter and submitted with your case file (also called C-file or claims file) to make for a very strong VA disability claim.

Dr. Allen's mission is to provide high quality, thorough examinations.  She maintains a vibrant outpatient psychiatry private practice where she provides care.