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Meet Ashley Schnackenberg: Neura Health’s Expert in Neurology and Headache Medicine

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Ashley Schnackenberg, NP, is a dedicated nurse practitioner at Neura Health who brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to her care for patients with migraine and cluster headache.

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Inspired by Family, Driven by Compassion

‍Ashley's path to nursing was inspired early in life by her father, a respiratory therapist. Seeing him care for patients, from newborns to older adults, planted a seed that grew into a deep calling. "Always since high school, I just wanted to go into the nursing field," she shares. That initial spark has blossomed into a career focused on helping those with complex, often misunderstood conditions like cluster headache and migraine.

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A Deep Connection to Cluster Headache Care

Ashley has a special interest in cluster headache. “For whatever reason, I just find it to be a very interesting condition,” she says. Despite its rarity, cluster headache holds a significant place in her heart. She expresses immense empathy for those suffering from it and finds purpose in helping them, —whether through medications, new treatment strategies, or simply listening to their stories.

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“It’s a good feeling to see someone struggle for so many years and then finally find something that helps. Even if it’s the tiniest bit—it’s worth it.”

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The Healing Power of Listening‍

One of the most powerful messages in the video is Ashley’s emphasis on listening—a seemingly simple but often overlooked aspect of patient care. “I think they need someone to listen the most, honestly,” she says, reflecting on the unique journeys every patient brings. While conditions like migraine may be common, every individual’s experience is different. The key, she explains, lies in understanding the details, because the right detail could be the one that leads to relief.

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“If you don’t listen to the details,” Ashley says, “you could miss everything.”

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Living with Migraine: A Shared Experience‍

What sets Ashley apart is her firsthand experience with migraine. Having lived with migraine since middle school, she understands how the condition can impact not just the individual but their entire family and social circle. Her lived experience enables her to offer empathetic, individualized treatment plans that truly resonate with her patients.

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“I myself have to use medications to manage them. I’ve seen it firsthand—how it affects the household, the family, everything.”

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This personal connection helps Ashley foster a sense of shared understanding with her patients, creating an environment where they feel seen, heard, and cared for.

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Get Started with Ashley at Neura Health

Ready to take control of your brain health? Ashley, NP is available for virtual consultations through Neura Health, making expert neurology care more accessible than ever.

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Book a visit with her today and discover how she can help you improve your neurological health, manage symptoms, and thrive in daily life.

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Video Transcript:

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 Hello, I am Ashley Schnackenberg, and I'm a nurse practitioner here with Neura Health.

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What first brought you to medicine?

My dad actually was a respiratory therapist growing up, so I always saw him taking care of little babies and just some older patients, and so I always had that influence at home, and I just took it from there. Always since high school, I just wanted to go into the nursing field. It just exploded from that point.

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What's your special interest within your specific field?

I have a real special interest in cluster headache. For whatever reason, I just find it to be a very interesting condition. Pretty uncommon, but also just really interesting the way it presents, and my heart just goes out to those individuals. I know it's just super painful and I get a lot of satisfaction even just trying to find a tiny little bit of way of helping them, whether it's the tiniest thing or the biggest thing with a treatment, a medication, or even just to hear their experience. I love cluster headache patients.

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What's the most rewarding part of helping patients with cluster headaches?

To see someone struggle with it for so many years and then find something that they're like, oh my gosh, like I didn't know that this was out there and that this could help so much. It's just really, it's awesome. It's a good feeling.

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What's your approach to treating patients?

I think they need someone to listen the most, honestly. I think having ears to just hear their experience, 'cause everyone's experience is so different. Even if they come in with migraine. So many people have migraine, but their story is different. They have a different journey, different past, and they're gonna respond to different treatments

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and so I think listening is hands down. I know it's hard in healthcare sometimes. I think we get wrapped up in moving from one task to the other. But I think when you stop and listen, it makes a huge difference.

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What is your POV on patient-first care?

Well, I think it is an extension of what I just was saying as far as listening to patients goes, I feel like the details matter, and so putting them first, listening to just the details it makes a world of difference. If you just sit there and say, all right, you've got this. Let's slap this on and slap that on it, but you don't listen to the details, you could miss everything. You could miss the one thing that could just help them the most. Listening and just trying to get the details out is first on the list.

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Do you have a chronic condition or does someone close to you have a chronic condition?

I actually struggle with migraine, and I've had migraine since I, oh gosh, since I was pretty young. I would probably say middle school is when I first remember having them, but I struggle with migraine. I myself have to use medications to manage them. I've seen it firsthand how it affects the family, the household, people around you.

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I think a huge reason why I had such a big interest in the headache field to begin with is one, it's just very captivating and interesting, but I struggle with it myself, and so I felt like I could be  more empathetic maybe to those situations and even have my own shared experience, too.  I learn from patients every day and I hope that they learn from me as well because we have that shared experience.

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That's probably the biggest thing that I do struggle with is migraine.

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