Blog

This blog is where I share professional insights, personal reflections, and practical ideas gathered from my clinical experience. I offer these thoughts in the hope they might help you on your own path to healing and growth.

Important Notes & Disclaimer

This is NOT Medical Advice: The content shared here is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for personalized medical consultation. Always discuss your specific situation and treatment with your individual healthcare provider.
Any external links are provided purely for informational value; I am not affiliated with them and do not generate revenue from them.
Transparency: I occasionally use AI tools to assist in drafting and refining posts.

Navigating Supplements for Anxiety

Feeling anxious is a common human experience—and from an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense. Our ancestors who were alert to danger and quick to respond were more likely to survive. In modern life, however, this once-protective response can become persistent, overwhelming, and disruptive. Conventional treatments such as therapy and medication remain the foundation of care for anxiety disorders. At the same time, many individuals explore complementary approaches, includi

Mar 17

The Gift of the Snowstorm: Lesson in Pruning

We were hit with another big snowstorm today. The kind that rearranges everything. The kind that demands attention before your feet even hit the floor. I found myself rushing from the moment I woke up — making sure my husband could hold down the fort until school started, packing everything for the day, getting into my snow gear, shoveling the driveway, clearing off the car, navigating icy roads, getting to work, answering administrative emails and calls, seeing patients. The

Feb 23

How AA Can Help — And What to Try If It Doesn’t

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been a cornerstone of recovery since its founding in 1935. It was started by Bill Wilson, a stockbroker, and Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon. At a time when alcoholism was widely viewed as a moral failing, they proposed something revolutionary: that alcohol use disorder (as we now call it) affects the mind, body, emotions, and spirit — and that recovery is possible through mutual support and personal transformation. They discovered that people strugglin

Feb 11

Wellness Resources Near Delmar, NY: Supporting Mental Health Beyond the Therapy Room

My office is located in Delmar, New York, just outside of Albany in the Capital District of Upstate NY. As an integrative psychiatrist, I often emphasize that mental health depends on much more than therapy or medication alone. While those can be essential pieces, long-term well-being is also supported by regular movement, time outdoors, creative expression, and meaningful social connection. Below is a collection of local resources that I frequently share with clients—spaces

Feb 7

Vitamins and Minerals for Mental Health

When we think about mental health, we often focus on therapy, medications, and lifestyle changes. But there’s another foundational piece that’s sometimes overlooked: nutrition . Vitamins and minerals are essential for countless bodily functions, and without them, disease can develop—including conditions that directly affect mood, memory, and cognition. Deficiencies and Mental Health Conditions Several vitamin and mineral deficiencies are well known to impact mental health. Vi

Jan 29

Healing Trauma: Weaving a Tapestry of Resilience and Growth

Healing trauma is not a simple, one-step process. It unfolds over time, shaped by many layers of experience and care. Instead of trying to erase or hide the pain, healing means learning to live with it in a way that feels natural, and gives you strength. This process is like weaving threads of your traumatic experiences into the fabric of your everyday life. The result is not perfect or neat, but it is real and beautiful in it's complexity and strength. Weaving threads of tra

Jan 20

From Busy to Balanced: A Simple Tool for Intentional Living

This time of year—or any season when you’re craving change—is a natural moment to pause. Perhaps you’re entering a major transition, feeling stuck in a rut, or simply wondering where your days go. While we often set big goals for our careers or health, a truly meaningful life requires more than just progress in one or two areas. It requires space . Space for the simple needs of life including chores, hobbies, connection, and rest. The challenge is that change can feel overwhe

Jan 16

Gene Testing for Mental Health: Comparing GeneSight and Genomind

Personalized medicine is rapidly changing how we approach mental health treatment. One of the most exciting tools in psychiatry is pharmacogenomic testing—tests that look at your DNA to help guide medication choices. Two of the most widely used companies in the U.S. are GeneSight and Genomind . Both examine genes related to psychiatric medication response, and both provide reports to guide prescribing. But they differ in price, breadth of testing, and the number of genes ana

Jan 9

FDA-Approved & Evidence-Based Non-Medication Treatments for Anxiety, Depression & PTSD

Modern mental health care extends far beyond medication. While medications remain valuable—and sometimes essential—many people are seeking options that support healing from different angles. Today, patients have access to a growing number of FDA-approved digital tools , brain-based treatments , and a wide range of research-backed psychotherapies provided by licensed clinicians. Below is a guide to these approaches and how they support long-term mental health. FDA-Approved Di

Jan 7

The Window of Tolerance: Understanding Body–Mind Regulation

The human mind is extraordinary. When it’s working well, we create beautiful music, build groundbreaking technologies, and make remarkable scientific discoveries. We’re capable of complex thought and creativity because a part of our brain—the prefrontal cortex (PFC) —has grown larger and more sophisticated than that of other mammals. The PFC is the seat of what neuropsychologists call executive function . It’s responsible for planning, problem-solving, moral reasoning, emotio

Dec 11, 2025

Gratitude for Brain Health

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded of the profound importance of gratitude. While it may appear effortless to express gratitude, cultivating this habit can be challenging at times. It can be easier to focus on what we don't have or what we haven't accomplished. This tendency is natural—evolutionarily, our ancestors who noticed and focused on the negative survived, giving us a hardwired negativity bias. Why Our Brains Are Wired for the Negative Survival Precedes Happine

Nov 19, 2025

Beyond Avoidance: Why Feeling Your Emotions and Bodily Sensations Is Essential for Mental Health

As a psychiatrist, I often see individuals having difficulty with feeling their emotions. We often get the cultural message that having emotions is weak or that it gets in the way of doing our jobs. Mental health challenges like depression and anxiety also push us toward avoidance of our feeling. We learn to tune out our emotions and the physical sensations in our bodies —a reaction driven by fear and overwhelm in the case of anxiety, or by a sense of being numbed out in d

Nov 4, 2025

Sexual Health

As a psychiatrist, I have the privilege of hearing a lot about people's lives—including their sex lives. When the topic of sex comes up, the question I hear most often is: "What is normal?" My answer is always the same: "Normal" is a spectrum. Whatever makes you and your partner(s) happy, whatever feels good, and whatever helps you connect is what is most important. While everyone has their own unique idea of how often or what kind of sex is "right," the common thread I see

Oct 23, 2025

Mindful Walking

Walking is a healthy way to get our bodies moving. I try to walk every day. Sometimes when I walk, I check out of my body and mainly...

Sep 30, 2025

A Journey into Self-Compassion

This spring, I attended a Mindful Self-Compassion retreat led by Christopher Germer, PhD, and Susan Fairchild. It was an eye-opening...

Sep 15, 2025

Buddhism & Psychotherapy Retreat with Mark Epstein, MD and Robert Thurman, PhD

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend a retreat in the Catskill Mountains at Menla . The gathering brought together Dr. Mark Epstein , a renowned psychotherapist, psychiatrist, and author, and Dr. Robert Thurman , a world-class Buddhist scholar and retired professor. Their conversation wasn’t just a talk; it was an exploration of how ancient Buddhist wisdom and modern psychological thought can illuminate each other and guide us toward a deeper understanding of ourselve

Aug 24, 2025

Nutritional Lithium and Mental Health

Recent reports have emphasized the possible advantages of lithium in treating cognitive disorders, and I would like to discuss it. When I...

Aug 18, 2025

Navigating Political Stress to Improve Mental Health

Political news and discussions can be a huge source of stress and can lead to worsening depression and anxiety. Whether you’re a die-hard...

Aug 16, 2025

Is Therapy Right for You? A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Getting Started

I often hear from people who are curious about psychotherapy but hesitant to dive in. They wonder: What actually happens in there? Is it going to work? My own first exposure to "talk therapy" was the HBO series In Treatment . Based on that, I assumed therapy would be incredibly intense, hyper-focused on the distant past, and—somehow—cinematically dramatic. After years of clinical training and my own personal experience in the chair, I’ve learned the reality is much more nuanc

Apr 21, 2025

Surviving Seasonal Depression in Upstate New York

One of the best parts of living in Upstate New York is experiencing all four seasons. But let’s be honest: our winters are long. There is a biological reason why the "winter blues" hit us so hard here. Living at latitudes above 38°N is scientifically associated with increased rates of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) . For context, Albany sits at roughly 42°N. Here is a good summary of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). After the Fall equinox, our daylight begins to dwindle

Nov 13, 2024