CONDITIONS WE TREAT
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Panic Attacks
- ADHD
- Bipolar Disorder
- Chronic Stress
- Burn Out
- Trauma/PTSD
- Dissociation
- Irritability
- OCD
- Fibromyalgia
- Brain Fog
- PMS
- Insomnia
Brain-Related Symptoms Associated with Co-Occurring Medical Illness:
- Autoimmune Disorders
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- SIBO
- Allergies
- Atopic Dermatitis
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sleep Apnea
- PCOS
- Migraines
- Asthma
- Heart Disease
- Chronic Pain
- Hypothyroidism
- Food Sensitivities
- MCS/TILT
- MCAS
- POTS
- CIRS
- Tick-Borne Infections
- Long-COVID
“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.”
-Hippocrates
SERVICES
Root Cause Lab Testing
Functional medicine lab testing can help us identify root causes of brain related symptoms, that are either reversible or highly responsive to treatment, eg. micronutrient deficiencies, mineral imbalances, protein maldigestion, overgrowth of specific strains of pathogenic gut bacteria, heavy metals, food sensitivities, and specific genetic variants.
Co-Occurring Medical Illness
Inflammation in the body can affect the brain and lead to symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, brain fog, episodic rage, OCD, failure to thrive, and sickness behavior that resembles major depressive disorder. I can help you identify sources of inflammation and coach you on ways to mitigate it. For some inflammatory conditions, low dose naltrexone (LDN) can offer relief from symptoms.
Medical Team Collaboration
When you’re dealing with medical illness, it is easy to feel lost and frustrated with the healthcare system. In my role as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist, I am familiar with a wide variety of medical specialties. I can review your medical records and collaborate with your medical team at no additional cost. I can be a source of ongoing support and provide guidance as you navigate the healthcare system.
Medication Management
We try to minimize the use of medications when possible, but also recognize that medications have an important place in our mental health toolbox. For many of my patients, medications have allowed them to recover quickly and get their life back. Every one is different though. Some of my patients do well with non-medication strategies alone. Some only take medications temporarily while others need to take them long term. I can help you decide what is right for your situation.
Medication Tapering
Uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms are common when people try to stop psychiatric medications without proper preparation. We can set the stage for tapering medications by addressing the root causes of your psychiatric symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms can be prevented by providing necessary co-factors for the synthesis of relevant neurotransmitters. Thoughtful timing and gradual reductions increase the likelihood for long term success off medications.
One-Time Second Opinion
Primary Care Doctors prescribe the majority of psychiatric medications in the United States, but insurance based clinics often don’t give them enough time to adequately evaluate complex psychiatric problems. With a thorough one-time evaluation, I can give my expert opinion to your primary care doctor, who can use this information to care for you long term.
Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy
With Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, the therapist forms an alliance with the patient, working together through honest communication to uncover feelings or thoughts that interfere with the patient’s relationships and functioning. There is a limited time frame for therapy. Awareness of this limited time frame pushes therapist and patient to proactively engage with each other and make progress more quickly. I am particularly interested in helping people pay attention to what they truly want so that they can live assertively as their authentic self.
Food As Medicine
Nutrition has an enormous impact on mental health. A 3-day food diary can give us a glimpse at the state of your current diet. We can optimize brain function with ancestrally appropriate foods, based on the most up to date high quality nutrition research. I can help you cut through the dizzying array of conflicting dietary advice out there and help you focus your energy on what truly matters. For select cases, methodical elimination diets can help us identify food sensitivities that trigger brain-related symptoms.
Health Optimization
For individuals who are doing relatively well, but who are not thriving or simply feel like they are not meeting their potential, we can work on optimizing your health with foundational nutrients to meet the brain’s extremely high energy demands. I can coach you on how to live a “low tox” lifestyle and how to adjust behaviors that stand in the way of good health. We will lay the foundation for long term brain health with proven strategies that reduce your risk for memory loss and mood episodes later in life.
“Wisdom is knowing how to listen to the body, which speaks with
a silent yet powerful voice.”
–Hippocrates
We see patients between the ages of 18 to 60 years old
Brain Body Psychiatry 