By EMMA DELK

WHEELING — After working with countless children as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, Jill Bradshaw has taken away an important lesson: There are always things in life that are out of your hands.

To help patients and herself grapple with this idea, the Wheeling native uses the maxim, “Take life one day at a time.”

“If the only thing you can control is how you treat others, how you treat yourself and your choices each day, you should control those things and make the best of them,” described Bradshaw. “I am proud of so many children who have come through extreme hardship by choosing to make the best choices in what they can control each day.”

Bradshaw provides access to psychiatric care to numerous local organizations, including residential facilities, shelters, hospitals and schools, through her company, Alliance Behavioral Care.

The psychiatric care she provides covers the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of neurodevelopment, behavior, mood, anxiety and thought in children. As a child psychiatrist, she also evaluates and helps treat biological, psychological and social factors contributing to symptoms and diagnoses in children.

“It is truly a privilege to be a part of the lives of many people in our community and try to find ways to help them navigate life amid their struggles with their mental health,” Bradshaw said. “I love to hear when children are doing well and thriving at home and school. Watching children overcome significant hurdles and then succeed in the community is very heartwarming.”

With a physician for a father and a nurse for a mother, Bradshaw’s career aspirations always lay in medicine. Her interest in the profession was sparked as a child when she saw the work her parents did to help others.

“I was interested in becoming a physician at a young age, but I was unaware of the option of becoming a child psychiatrist,” explained Bradshaw. “I loved science, and beginning in late elementary school, I never imagined a career outside medicine.”

The idea of working with children did not come to her until her third year at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. During this time, she became aware of the need for child psychiatrists throughout the country and decided the field was perfect for her medical career.

After working in the state psychiatric hospital, Bradshaw found the field intriguing. She realized she could combine her love for working with children through psychiatry and enjoy the “variety of settings” she could work in as a child psychiatrist.

Not only does Bradshaw find the career to be the right fit for her, but believes child psychiatry is a wonderful career for women as a whole. She finds the career “adaptable to one’s interests and goals” by providing a healthy work-life balance.

“Working and having a family can be very busy, and I love that I can enjoy what I do daily,” explained Bradshaw. “I think the need for psychiatry and child psychiatry in the Ohio Valley will continue to grow, and I believe it is a great career for women as well.”

Bradshaw encourages any young girl interested in psychiatry or adolescent psychiatry to pursue a career in either discipline. She would love to see the field expand to include more women in the Ohio Valley.

“A career in medicine is a long path and many years of work, but absolutely worth the time,” described Bradshaw. “I am grateful to work directly with so many remarkable families, children, nurses, therapists and staff.”

As a working mother with three teenage children, Bradshaw tries to “stop and smell the roses” whenever possible.

“Being a full-time doctor and being a full-time working mother is busy, and some days there are stories from families and children that are heartbreaking,” she said. “I try to remember during the busyness, to stop and enjoy the beauty of life and appreciate all the wonderful things in each day.”