About Us

Jo A. Hughes, DSMc, PA-C, CAQ-PSYCH

Clinical Director, Managing Partner/Founder of Piedmont Partners for Mental Health, PLLC.

Jo Hughes is a psychiatric certified physician associate (PA) with early career experience in Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry for over 10 years. She provides medication management and assessments for psychiatric disorders including but not limited too; depression, anxiety and panic disorders, bipolar and schizophrenia, PTSD, ADHD, personality disorders, OCD, eating disorders among other conditions of the mind. She also specializes in neurodevelopmental disorders in children, adolescents, and adults and with extensive training and experience in substance use disorders.

Dr. Hughes completed her PA training and Master of Medical Science at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and additionally holds a Doctor of Medical Science in psychiatry from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals. She is a certified PA with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Psychiatry.

Jo and her husband are frequently seen visiting and promoting a non-profit coffee house, A Special Blend, they co-founded employing adults with neurodiversity in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Jane L. Steiner, MD

Dr. Steiner has been practicing psychiatry in different settings (both inpatient and outpatient) with both adults and children for over 40 years. She graduated from the State University of New York at Stony Brook Medical School,  then trained in Pediatrics and General Psychiatry at Montefiore Hospital in The Bronx, NY (part of the Albert Einstein School of Medicine teaching system), and then completed a Child Psychiatry Fellowship at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan (part of the Columbia University teaching system.) Following her training, she worked in New York, then moved to Boston with her husband, and then finally landed in Greensboro, NC, where she has been in outpatient private practice for over 30 years.

She provides medication treatment and psychiatric assessments for psychiatric disorders, especially enjoying treating patients with depression and bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and PTSD, as well as ADHD in both children and adults.

Dr. Steiner has always considered treatment as a partnership between doctor and patient. She is thrilled to join Piedmont Partners for Mental Health as her philosophy has always been to “tailor treatment together”.

Marian Friedman, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Dawn Paretta-Leahey, RN, MSN, FNP-BC

Joan Fraifeld, LCSW

Joan Fraifeld is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has worked as a psychotherapist since 1980. She received her B.S in Psychology from Boston University. She returned to Tennessee, where she grew up, to get her Master’s of Science in Social Work degree from the University of Tennessee.

Joan’s practice interests and her approach to therapy have been influenced by the fact that she is a first generation American. She employs a family systems approach looking at how the dynamics that play out in our every day lives influence our sense of well being. She believes each of us reenacts our family of origin issues in every sphere of our lives – relationships with friends, significant others, as well as co-workers, supervisors, etc. Joan has a special interest in emotional and physical trauma. She supports patients as they navigate complex medical needs. She strives to help individuals meet the challenges they face. Joan enjoys working with individuals, couples, and families.

Joan has been married for 35 years to her loving husband and is the proud mother of two very funny adult sons. In her free time Joan enjoys baking, feeding hummingbirds and spending time with her family.