Meet Alicia Chang, NP

At Haven, we’re excited to welcome our new Family Nurse Practitioner, Alicia Chang, FNP. With her personal experience with migraine and her deep medical expertise, she’s committed to helping patients take control of their headache health. We sat down with Alicia to learn more about her journey, her approach to patient care, and what she loves outside of work.

Q: What inspired you to specialize in headache treatment?

Alicia Chang, NP: I suffer from migraine, so I know firsthand how migraine attacks can impact daily life. I believe that migraine is something people deal with but shouldn’t have to live with. I want to help patients understand that migraine doesn’t have to control them. If we can prevent or eliminate migraine attacks, people can go back to living their normal lives.

Q: Can you share your personal journey with migraine?

Before finding the right treatment, I suffered from migraine attacks almost every other day. They were so debilitating that I had to lie in a dark, quiet room because light, sound, and even certain smells would make me nauseous.

Dr. Hutchinson, Haven’s Director of Headache Medicine, helped me when I was her patient to develop a detailed treatment plan, and now I only experience migraine attacks once or twice a month. They’re no longer debilitating, and I can take care of myself, my children, and live a normal life.

Q: What is your approach when working with patients?

I take time to get to know each patient. What are their triggers? What does their daily life look like with migraine and how do attacks interfere with their lives? My goal is to create a personalized treatment plan so they don’t have to suffer anymore. I want my patients to feel like they are in control, not their headaches.

Q: What’s one common migraine myth you’d like to dispel?

Many patients believe they just have to endure their migraine attacks. They get stuck in a cycle—one day, their headaches are slightly better, then it worsens again. The problem is they don’t have enough tools to actually stop the migraine attacks. If we provide them with the right treatment to not only abort but also prevent migraine attacks, they can break free from this cycle.

Q: What is your life like outside of work?

I have two kids—an 8-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Before having children, I loved playing softball, and now I get to coach my daughter’s little league team. It brings me so much joy to watch the next generation learn and grow.

My son has special needs, and helping him navigate life is a big part of my world. Watching him learn and become more independent is incredibly rewarding.

Q: Tell us about your career path from nursing student to nurse practitioner.

I started in home health and hospice, then moved to skilled nursing, where I helped educate families about patient care. From there, I transitioned into emergency and trauma nursing, which I loved because I thrive under pressure and enjoy seeing patients recover.

When my son was 5, he told me I was “too old” to go back to school. That only motivated me more—I wanted to show my kids that you’re never too old to learn. After having my daughter, I went back to school full-time while working full-time and became a nurse practitioner.

I gained experience in pain management and eventually introduced migraine treatment into my practice. That’s what led me to Haven. I believe the more providers we have focused on migraine and headache disorders, the fewer people will have to suffer.

Q: What’s your message to migraine sufferers?

Migraine can be treated—you don’t have to live with them. You just need the right provider to help you find a plan that works for you.

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Alicia brings passion, experience, and a deep understanding of migraine treatment to Haven Headache. If you’re struggling with headaches, book a consultation with her today!

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