Integrative Psychiatrist

The process starts with a 75-minute consultation where we go over your past treatments, and current concerns, and together try and understand the root of the problem. This may take more time upfront but often ends up being more efficient. I may recommend medication, therapy, lab testing, supplements, and behavioral treatments to try and get you feeling better as quickly as possible. Follow-ups are a minimum of 25-30 minutes, and up to 50 minutes for more comprehensive review, or psychotherapy in addition to medical treatment.

Medications can be effective tools and they deserve thoughtful consideration in the context of a larger, more comprehensive approach. If I think medications could be helpful, I’ll explain why and what options are available. We’ll go through the pros and cons together and you’ll be supported in making a decision that feels right for you.

I have a holistic approach to psychiatry that blends the best of medicine, psychotherapy, and a whole-person framework to your care.

So - if you are looking for both therapy and medication, are unsure of what you need, or are just looking for someone to treat you the way you want to be treated, you’re in the right place. My extensive training means that I know how to balance the biological, psychological, and behavioral treatments so you get back to feeling like your normal self sooner.

Supplements, plant-based medicine, and nutraceutical treatments are excellent complements or alternatives to medications that can allow us to use fewer medications for a shorter time, or be able to use lower doses.

Patients with chronic illnesses - especially “invisible” ones like chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia are often dismissed in the medical system. I specialize in working with individuals struggling with ME/CFS as well as fibromyalgia. I’m passionate about helping folks with these debilitating illnesses find a pathway to increased energy, vitality, and functioning in their lives.

One of the most frustrating things about getting care is not being able to get in touch with your doctor when you need them. You will contact me and not a frustrating and inefficient automated message system when you have questions, concerns, or a request.

I also use a well-designed system that makes it easy for you to schedule and change appointments.

I look for the information that’s most likely to be relevant and impactful for you from appropriately selected lab tests. I can look for hormone imbalances, metabolic imbalances, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I also offer cortisol testing, functional nutritional testing, and genetic testing when appropriate.

There’s an art and a science to this, and it really helps to have expert support to lower or eliminate medications from your regimen. Streamlining medications can reduce the side effect burden and help you feel more like yourself. We can work together to ensure the best chances of a smooth and successful experience, and handle any challenges that may come up.

We use rating scales at regular intervals to track how your symptoms change over time so that you can measure your progress and see how far you’ve come and set new goals to work toward.

Health is not the absence of suffering but the ability to experience joy and meaning as well. The goal is not just to reduce the symptoms that brought you into treatment but to help you feel connected and engaged with the people, places and activities that are important to you.

I will see and treat you like a whole person, honoring your experiences, beliefs and wisdom, not just a constellation of symptoms. The lens of integrative psychiatry sees the body, mind, spirit and environment as an interconnected system that needs to be evaluated as a whole.

Medication can be an important part of the treatment plan, but is not likely to lead to optimal health on it's own. It is hard, and sometimes impossible, to recover without medications. However, medications only allow us to do the work required to make lasting change towards better health they don't do the work for us.

I want to work with you on building habits and skills that promote long-term health. Our goal initially will be to get to the root cause of your current struggles, and offer you treatments to alleviate symptoms while working towards prevention of future episodes.

We cannot always change our circumstances but we can change how we relate to our circumstances. Our ability to heal and feel at peace depends more on internal than external factors. When we are able to adapt to life’s challenges, we learn how to grow and heal from them. Circumstances, people, or facts of life may not change but we can change our relationship to these things, and that can change everything.

The best of Western medical and psychiatric diagnostic techniques and treatments can be combined with strategies such as mindfulness, herbal supplements, movement, massage, and other complementary approaches.

Joy, meaning and fulfillment are not things that a psychiatrist or therapist can give you. You must decide that these are goals worth striving for and let go of negative influences so you can achieve them.

People have different bodies, minds, environments and experiences and we all have different treatments and techniques that resonate with us. A person’s preferences should be a crucial factor in determining what strategies are used to help them as much as possible.