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Integrative psychiatry is the art or practice of combining the best of conventional psychiatry (diagnosis, medication, and psychotherapy/talk therapies) with the best of evidence-based holistic and alternative modalities to produce healing and wellness. This offers better mental health care and overall wellness because the whole person is evaluated on the basis of the Body-Mind-Spirit.

Integrative medicine is geared to try to find the root causes of symptoms. The emphasis is on safety and science. Conventional approaches to psychiatry focus on suppressing symptoms with medication rather than targeting the underlying reasons for a person’s mental health issues.

I incorporate safer, effective and newer treatments. Most of these newer treatments are not known to the majority of psychiatrists, other physicians, or many practices because they are cutting edge approaches to psychiatry and wellness. These treatments include nutrition/food as medicine, herbs, vitamins and minerals, mind-body approaches, meditation, spirituality/purpose in life, and more.

In the most current approaches to psychiatry and wellness, it is widely acknowledged that physical illness in the body can affect the brain and mind, and mind affects the body. Spiritual or soul issues affect both mind and body.

MY PRACTICE APPROACH

My role is to listen to your story, understand the whole picture, synthesize your information, then educate, empower, build skills, advocate for and accompany you to re-establish your health and wellness. I offer tailored and individualized treatment using my formal education and knowledge, experience, and intuition in traditional (conventional) medicine and alternative/holistic areas.

I then match the multiple rich tools to your symptoms or circumstances, allowing you to choose how you want to proceed with my guidance or consultation. Treatment may be conventional, alternative, or more commonly a combination of them.

I emphasize quality by having a smaller practice to offer more time during visits and by being more responsive outside of visits.  My model does not fit into the insurance model, so I do not accept any insurances as payment for services.

I am also very collaborative in my approach to your care. I refer to expert colleagues for acupuncture, naturopathy, more specific nutrition, and other integrative specialists when indicated. Some core issues I look to identify and test for are inflammation; nutritional imbalance; metabolic and genetic issues; routine and specialized lab testing; immune, toxic or chronic infection issues; food allergies; gut issues; sleep patterns; lifestyle, behavior/coping patterns; and life, purpose, passion. I continue to prescribe medication but in a more conservative way, trying to maximize benefit and safety.