Psychedelic-assisted therapies using MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine are reshaping the landscape of mental health care. From groundbreaking studies on PTSD and depression to emerging explorations of end-of-life anxiety and addiction, these treatments promise more than just symptom relief—they invite a deeper engagement with meaning, memory, and human connection. While not without risks or unanswered questions, this new frontier blends neuroscience with the profound terrain of inner experience, offering hope for those whom traditional approaches have left behind.

The gut-brain axis is a powerful connection between gut health and mental well-being. An imbalanced gut microbiome, due to conditions like dysbiosis or SIBO, can contribute to psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Functional tests like GI MAP and GI Effects help identify underlying gut issues, and addressing these imbalances through diet, probiotics, and targeted treatments can significantly improve mental health. Supporting the gut not only enhances digestion but also promotes mood stability, cognitive function, and overall wellness.

Emerging research reveals that chronic low-grade inflammation may quietly fuel conditions like depression and psychosis. Elevated markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) have been linked to a reduced response to common antidepressants, suggesting that inflammation could undercut traditional treatments. Fortunately, integrative strategies—including nutritional interventions, targeted supplements, regular exercise, and mind-body practices—offer promising ways to lower inflammation and support mental health. By working with an integrative psychiatry specialist, individuals can explore how these factors uniquely interact in their lives and develop a personalized plan that addresses both mind and body.

General lab testing offers valuable insights into the physical factors influencing mental health. By assessing biomarkers related to thyroid function, nutrition, inflammation, and metabolism, lab tests can uncover underlying imbalances that contribute to psychological symptoms like fatigue, mood disorders, and cognitive issues. This approach helps bridge the gap between the body and mind, offering a more holistic and personalized treatment plan for mental wellness.

Neurotransmitter testing provides valuable insights into the biochemical basis of mental health by measuring the levels of key neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, GABA, and norepinephrine. Imbalances in these chemicals can contribute to a variety of psychiatric symptoms, including anxiety, depression, and cognitive dysfunction. By identifying these imbalances, clinicians can create personalized treatment plans that address the root causes of mental health issues, offering a more targeted and effective approach to well-being.

Beneath the surface, the body’s stress response system is constantly shaping our psychological landscape. The HPA axis, a communication loop between the brain and adrenal glands, plays a central role in how we adapt to stress. Through tools like the DUTCH test, we can observe patterns in cortisol production that mirror anxiety, depression, fatigue, and trauma—offering a window into the body’s story and guiding more personalized paths to healing."

Organic Acid Testing (OAT) is a powerful tool in functional medicine that analyzes urine metabolites to uncover metabolic imbalances linked to psychiatric symptoms. By measuring organic acids, OAT can reveal insights into neurotransmitter imbalances, mitochondrial dysfunction, detoxification issues, and nutrient deficiencies—factors that can contribute to conditions like depression, anxiety, and brain fog. Identifying these underlying biochemical issues enables personalized treatments, offering a more targeted approach to mental health and wellness.

Leading nursing theorists agree that there are two views of wholeness that can be generally described as simultaneity and totality. In this blog, we’ll explore these two views of wholeness and implications for health and wellbeing.

Explore how human beings move from a state of fragmentation to wholeness through coherogenesis, a dynamic process by which a human system reorganizes itself toward wholeness, bringing alignment across all levels of being.

There are several important benefits in the incorporation of psychotherapy. In this blog, I’ll disuss how psychotherapy can help you achieve mental health and wellness.

Learn about what catharsis means in the context of psychiatric treatment based on its ancient and more modern usage.

Trauma is not defined by what happens to you, but by what happens inside you as a result. It is the enduring emotional, somatic, and psychological response to an overwhelming experience that exceeds your capacity to cope, process, or make meaning of it — leaving behind a sense of fragmentation, disconnection, or threat that persists even after the event has passed.

Integrative Psychiatry blends conventional and functional medicine approaches to target the underlying root causes of symptoms and psychiatric illness.

Anxiety is the mind and body’s anticipatory response to uncertainty, perceived threat, or lack of control — marked by a persistent sense of unease, tension, and hypervigilance that becomes disconnected from immediate danger. It is the suffering of what might happen, not what is happening — a looping internal narrative that magnifies doubt, catastrophizes possibility, and hijacks presence.

Fluctuating and often fragmented relationship with attention, motivation, and regulation - not due to a lack of capacity, but inconsistency in its access. It is a condition of context-sensitive performance, where the brain struggles to filter, prioritize, and sustain engagement with tasks or experiences that lack immediate relevance, novelty, or emotional salience.

A rapid EMDR derivative that works to restructure distressing experiences so they no longer trigger intense physical and psychological reactions, opening up access to one’s potential.

A persistent, whole-person state of physical, psychological, and spiritual dysfunction marked by loss (interest, energy, meaning, motivation, sleep, appetite, focus, and emotional variability) that impairs one’s capacity to engage with life processes.

In previous blogs, I expanded on some of the key tools used in Integrative Psychiatry. Medications, nutraceuticals, body system optimization, and psychotherapy are all effective strategies to improve psychological health and wellbeing.

Psychiatric genetic testing provides a wealth of information that can be used to inform treatment options. This reduces the “trial and error" approach to mental health treatment and may reveal some of the root causes of psychiatric illness.

Explore how Integrative Psychiatry brings more objectivity into considering treatment options through advanced laboratory and diagnostic testing.