Beyond Medication: An Integrative Psychiatrist’s Guide to Whole-Person Healing
Welcome to catalyst for healing. I am here today with Dr. Melissa Mandala and she is going to talk with us about integrative psychiatry which basically blends traditional psychiatry with mind, body and spirit practices to look at the whole person with um how you treat them with mental health. Dr. Melissa, why don’t you share just a little bit more about yourself and introduce yourself to the audience? Sure. Thank you so much. I’m so glad to be here with you, Marina. Thank you for inviting me because integrative psychiatry is fairly new and unheard of and integrative medicine has been around for decades and you know there’s a board for that. Integrative psychiatry is really a stem awful fact and it’s because psychiatry in itself is really limited. It’s limited on medications and it’s important for diagnosis. Um however there’s so much more beyond that and other tools that are holistic with supplements and mindbogging medicine. So to me it’s really important. I went into psychology um in college but then also went into medicine because it just allowed me to in really integrate all the systems if it was hormones, women’s health, lifestyle and I went into lifestyle medicine. I’m medical doctor in family medicine, lifestyle medicine and integrative psychiatry. It’s really to me a joy because this really gets to the root cause of why people get to where they are in life and they can live a thriving life if we really understand what causes the pain and the grief or the mental distress. Yes. So she is a unicorn. It’s very hard to find integrative psychiatrists and it’s really a gift and so I love you know referring clients to you just so that they have that experience of being able to address every part of their lives in order to heal. Why don’t you share a little bit first with our audience about what brought you into this space and what made you so passionate about this? Yes. So I think going through the typical medicine and going through the ER in different rotations, you see a lot of sick people and you see people who get better in life-saving or life-threatening situations. But often you see a lot of the chronic the repetitive patterns of people are either in pain or they have diabetes, hypertension or they’re in a stroke or heart attack. And I always ask myself why where did it all start and how can we do better? And is it only just these medicines that really can save them? And do we have to wait till they’re on their deathbed? Um, and I really wanted to just go back in time and understand how can we really heal the body, the mind, the spirit because there’s so much story behind my patients and I love narrative medicine. I love getting to know people and connecting with them. And so to me it was really incomplete to just only do the medicine part. I really wanted to understand how to get see all ages. That’s why I did family medicine. But also I went into lifestyle medicine which is nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management and how to avoid toxins. Really those are 80% of why people get chronic diseases even depression, anxiety and really these are the things heard that before. Exact. Exactly 80%. And so that’s you know so surprising people don’t even realize that and the 20% is genetics and of course 40% in there is to their environment. So you don’t really understand the impact of all those things and how you can actually patients can feel empowered if they make that shift yes um themselves and you don’t always have to jump to the pill. You don’t always have to go the, you know, you can see the doctor forever and ever and see a therapist, but you may not even get to the thing that you need the most. Right. Right. Tell us before we go into each of those areas because I think it’s really important for people to understand like why those five things you mentioned are important. What brought you into the space personally? Yeah. And you know, it’s it’s interesting because most times when people, especially practitioners, you always wonder why how did I even find integrative? And it’s because most are patients themselves. And I was someone with irritable bowel syndrome at a young age. I didn’t really notice why I was having these cramps and the reflux and could barely literally walk sometimes. I just wanted to just lay down like a baby because I was in just so much pain because I had so much stress in my environment. had really I would say strict parents who had their own anxiety, their own PTSD from their culture, their immigrant parents and they were people who had a lot of even racism from the system and so it just they didn’t know how to cope and so I didn’t know how to cope and so I internalized it. So my body was just suffering and that’s what led to the gird and then eventually going through the process I I did change my lifestyle. I ate the standard American diet. I was eating like tons of like pizza and burgers and I thought that would like get my stomach better, but I just get more and more inflamed with unwanted acne. And so I said, you know what? Let’s find a different way of eating. And that was like plants. So fruits, vegetables, beans, and seeds to heal my gut, heal my brain. Because I didn’t realize I was anxious and had like these depressive thoughts. Um especially during med school and training. And it’s so easy to think when you fail that you’re like like your life is over and you think those extreme thoughts when I think it was such a a moment of growth and getting to the root cause once again and seeing you know let’s what does that mean? Why do I why does my mind go there? So I did a lot of inner work and a lot of healing work through this is during med school. this is med school and then and then some parts of residency and it was just an ongoing process you know and I love seeing therapists because it’s like something I did at a young age like I think you know as soon as I was in college every part of my training I was getting therapy and to me that’s so important because then you could hear your inner thoughts you can learn bof feedback processes and deep breathing and vag nerve how to relax and not go into fight or flight mode so to me All those methods were so important. I even tried hypnosis. It was like such so great cuz it’s, you know, 80% of your thoughts are subconscious sub and your reality is only 10%. And we don’t realize we have so much that we need to get through and understand. And so when I was dealing with my own trauma, I realized, wow, I have a lot of healing work to do. And and the medications that I was offered was not it doing much really. with IBS medications. In the midst of it, I was been diagnosed with ADHD in my adult years. Um, how much is that misdiagnosed as a trauma response versus actual, you know, like a real diagnosis? Great question. Often times, especially in women, it’s underdiagnosed. ADHD is underdiagnosed first of all, especially high functioning women and people who seem okay in on paper, right? um and they’re like getting through but they for me I was just in that inattentive phase. So that’s the type inattentive and forgetful but also that people just think it’s pure anxiety. Um and then sometimes there is a little bit of trauma because there’s dissociation under stress. So, it’s it’s a mixture. And I would say a lot of my doctors did not understand what was going on. And they they thought, “Yo, you’re smart. You’re fine. You’ll get over it. Here’s a here’s anti-depressant.” Um, but it wasn’t really, I would say, empowering me to understand myself. But the more I did my own research and get the help that I needed and do the actual test, I understood and I understood, oh, my dad has ADHD, too. Yeah. And I I understand the patterns. And then I saw my mom have her own anxiety, her own panic disorder. So being able to really embrace the mental health realm, you know, and be honest and vulnerable and get the help was just life-changing for me. Uh and I think that was really the part of my growth that said, you know what, I I need to do this mental health. This is my calling. This is something I need to address. in every visit and especially the mixture of that lifestyle and integrative psychiatry. So to me it was just a journey where I knew everything happened for a reason and I actually got another breast cancer scare during residency you know you know I was love lifestyle medicine I and I loved exercise but then I also knew that it was one of those things you like I had this bump and it was so you know at my age so young and uncommon and you get that phone call and it was one of those things I’m I’m thankful I didn’t have to do vacation but just lump back to me but it was just those moments mentor. It gave me the grace and the time to say it’s okay to slow down, take a break, and and I think to everyone out there, I just want to encourage you if you’re listening to this, this is the time where you can really self-reflect whatever, you know, if your body, your mind is telling you something or you’re in a state of alarm, that means you need to slow down and really get the work done and and then you’ll see that your breakdown will be your buildup to something better. And we were just talking about how, you know, the post-traumatic growth that comes out of those breakdowns is phenomenal if you lean into it. And for you, it’s like, what can I learn from this? And then, how can I use that to help others is so beautiful because you’re using everything you learned personally to give to others. And this piece about, you know, your immigrant story, I know you’re from the Philippines. I mean, it’s so traumat I noticed this with clients. It is so traumatic to be first generation with immigrant parents because there’s so much. I mean, you think of what they’ve been through in terms of just having to learn the language and find a job and support themselves. I mean, the stress of that is it’s huge. And we’re all immigrants to this country. So, everyone, it goes back somewhere. But it’s like I think that’s an important element just to reflect on because I think a lot of people that move here in childhood don’t realize the impact of that stress, right? And that uncontrolled stress, unnamed stress becomes micro traumas and then of course gets into anxiety. And so I think it’s so important to just recognize that and heal through that and acknowledge it and accept it because you can’t just keep suppressing it, putting it in a corner and it has its place. Um, and the more we work through it, I think it’s helped a lot of my patients cuz a lot of them are immigrants of some kind. And to be able to know, wow, that’s why I eat the way I do. like I’m stress eating or or I’m so conscious of my self-image because of my culture and I’m overwork because that’s all I know. I you know I don’t make time to move or exercise because I feel guilty. I have to keep working. So there’s so many misconstrued thoughts that happen because of that culture. Yeah. And I always dig deep. I feel like it’s under we’re always so focused on the family of origin, but the culture has a massive impact and so it’s like understanding people’s cultures and what is embred in them and they can decide what parts of that they you know want to keep. There’s, you know, goods and bads with every culture. And then what parts they might want to let go of is an important part of getting healthy, too, just like a family system, right? Which are the good parts, but there’s also the blessings that each family brings and the strengths, right? It’s like building that resilience in the middle of it. Sometimes you need to detox and flush the things that are not true. Yes. and and then really hold on to things that um give you that gratitude and find the values that they to pass on that is healthy and helpful. So I love how you’ve like have that balance and you’re just as well. So I mean one of the things that I was so excited about with meeting you is I’ve had a very difficult time consulting with psychiatrists that are more traditional as I’m working with ketamine because ketamine is now legal. I do ketamine assisted psychotherapy and then a lot of psychiatrists I meet don’t they’re not trained yet in it. They don’t understand it and their kind of approach is more of like medication first rather than let’s take the time to one look at the whole person and treat it in an integrative way but also getting to the root cause being really important. So how would you define your approach with medication to be different than that? Yeah, exactly. I know most traditional psychiatrists, they get to a diagnosis and they have that one or medication they give or they deal with they have like five to 10 and they just kind of use the patterns over and over. My approach is very different. I really like to like start from the very beginning of their life, get to know someone, get to really know their their patterns and figure out, you know, is it that unhealthy lifestyle that’s really getting you sort of that anxious depressed state? Do you have some adverse child events? It’s a frequent source of and I, you know, I stay there. It’s nothing to rush and like move to the next, you know, medication. Some people are ready to jump for that. And it’s really important to investigate um and really have them also because even just saying it, as you know, that’s almost therapeutic. That makes a nice like, oh my goodness, I can unload all the all the hurt. And I love when you say you take the time because every client that I have working with psychiatrist is like they don’t talk to me. they just hand me the script and you know we evaluate how it’s working and they change it or not and I’m like oh my gosh right it’s like 5 minutes and uh they don’t and it’s a very trial and error process and so it can take a long time and I guess like wouldn’t that be nice if there was more time to investigate right what’s bringing them to that point because nobody falls in one category completely I mean everyone is like a mixture of five different diagnosis I I mean, as a therapist, I’m like, “Okay, which one should I put down for this person, right? No one falls into this box.” And so anyway, so you so once you kind of are taking this investigative approach, how do you go from there? I mean, it Let’s go into the five ways that you evaluate that you talked about and why they’re so important, right? Yes. It’s, you know, really not one-sizefits-all. I really do a deep dive of their nutrition. You know, this is an hour to n minutes, you know, 90 minutes sometimes. and getting to know what’s your breakfast, lunch and dinner, what’s your, you know, what are you having for snacks, what are you drinking? Um why do you eat in those patterns? Uh and are there times where you’re maybe fasting or starving yourself? So I asked screen for eating eating disorders and things or eating too much too much right and their coping mechanisms there and eating and then movements. I always like to make see, you know, are they someone who is too busy for exercise or maybe fearful just to go into the gym or or just trying to figure out what do they enjoy to do in terms of movement. It can be simple like some people just like a walk around the park and that’s enough and using you know stress meditation stress I would say management techniques through meditation can help. So we talk about a lot of stress um and what their energy behind that is. I think energy medicine is a really important aspect to understand you know how they how they’re drained. A lot of people are drained and that’s why they’re stressed. That’s why they’re not exercising and they’re maybe overeing. And so I ask questions like that. And then I look at um their environment. Um it’s so important to know what their relationships are. You know so many people are isolated. I think this that’s a big problem. It’s huge. That’s like more social isolation more powerful than quitting smoking and quitting alcohol. It’s like that the statistics if you want to think of longevity, we got to be connected to people that we just love to be around. And so I always try to plug in to see who they lean on and who fills their cup. And then of course And so many people have no one. Exactly. Like that’s really sad. I know because we look at blue zones. I know there’s a Netflix show about that, right? Where it’s like the people living the longest in these cultures. It’s the diet, but it’s it’s primarily the relationships. They have these rich like communities. Exactly. And how important that is for mental health, right? And you know, when I was at Lolinda, it’s just so surprising like that you see. It’s great to see communities and people like 70-year-olds that are cancer survivors leading the spin class, right? It’s like amazing. like people get that power and that resilience and so social connection is so important but also substances you know there’s 100 types of addictions out there and imagine a hundred it can be anything right from not just like sugar but you know it can be anything TV or media so thinking about what are they leaning into because of their mental health or habits or some type of distress so I I spend a lot of time um screening for addictions um and and then really getting to know what their environmental toxins may be especially if it’s things simple things like plastic and pollution and figuring out do we need to use not just you know food as medicine and food specials being set and seized but sometimes we need things like Sammy or even ashagans to reduce the cortisol cuz unfortunately cortisol is just highly impacting our patients and especially if there’s hormone imbalance when people go through their, you know, PMDD periods and permenopausal, post-menopausal. So, these are really hard times for women and where their trauma just comes out even more. Well, and I think there’s such a spotlight on that right now because Mary CL Hoover has written this book about menopause and again like women have been showing up to doctor’s offices with all these problems that are related to estrogen and there wasn’t the research there. Exactly. Because primarily men were doing the research. It wasn’t a priority. Right. And so addressing that I found is huge when it comes to food. It really is. Yeah. That that that’s a lifechanging for chronic insomnia like just getting some progesterone. That’s why I strongly believe in it. It’s important because it’s just like a supplement like vitamin D. We need our estrogen and progesterone. And it’s healthy. It helps our bones, our immune system, our mental health. It’s a game changer. Yeah. And when we talk about environmental toxins, I think, you know, people are like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But it’s we’re all we all are exposed to it. So why bother? Like can you explain because I know I became really aware of this when my son was exposed to mold in college and had a severe breakdown physically, emotionally due to this mold exposure and I finally realized how important it is to have a clean environment. And so what do you notice about that? I think mold is so huge. It’s everywhere. realize in our homes, in our bathrooms, at school and that accumulation of mold exposure can really impact system. It can make people anxious press that have diagnosis of and my husband is a rheatologist. He does integrative and functional medicine. They work together and doctor lifestyle. Exactly. I love it. And we keep catching that, right? people with lupus ra with mold um any type of autoimmune disease. Most of the time there’s some type of mold exposure or chronic infection like lime they are getting diagnosed because they think it’s just autoimmune disease or they’re simply psychotic. Literally, some people get in that um psychosis realm or they’re extremely in panic, but when you get to the root cause and do all the testing, you don’t realize that high mold burden or if there’s lime or um some type of EPV mono or something that really disrupted the the literally it’s the gut brain immune connection. Um and Lyme disease is huge. I mean, I think that’s very underdiagnosed as well. Exactly. And we don’t realize, oh, that’s why people have that joint pain and that mental distress and the fatigue and there and the people like I feel so sorry because it’s the young ones too. It doesn’t matter how old you are. They have little kids being exposed to mold and it’s really disrupting their health and they don’t realize if there’s not many medications out there that treat this. You have to go through like a specialized way and supplements as you know. It’s a What are the best treatments for mold in particular? Yeah. How can they find out if there’s mold in their environment? Right. Definitely. Um, it’s good to do some there’s a lot of DYI companies if you want to just get a online you get a plate and see if mold grows. That’s like a I would say low cost version. And then there’s like um a higher cost version but at least it’s more credible from the IGSA I would say organization. You can look there at infectious disease society of America and you can look at the resources and figure out the best and local place. And the best place ways to treat um mold is first you want to get a good urine test because some of the tests will be inconclusive or negative. You want to make sure you get a good practitioner who knows how to treat that. Yeah. And then of course there’s things like charcoal and clay and other types of probiotics and things but you have to do things very slowly. Yeah, but it’s so possible and so worth it and for option, right? That helped my son a lot and I started using it just because the help I mean the detoxing benefits are are massive, right? It’s good for your skin for for fatigue and joint. Yeah. Yeah. So tell us about Okay. Exercise and nutrition. I kind of had felt like I’m doing good enough like I don’t need to work on that area of my life for a very long time. And I just started realizing that there were little changes. I mean, tell us about someone who eats the standard American diet and what kind of change would that make percentage wise with mood? I mean, what are you seeing with nutrition alone? Exactly. So the research in the studies are very strong that where you can compare standard American diet to more plant predominant diet or even a Mediterranean diet. You can see that there’s less depression, anxiety and and more happiness. And because it works on when you have more plant-based nutrition, it it really increases the antioxidants because most of the time there’s neuroinflammation. So that inflammation can come from the oily saturated fat, excess red meat, processed food, things like you look at those packages online, there’s like 20 ingredients, you can’t even recognize that that’s excess salt and sugar and oil and those things repetitively just disrupt the microbiome and go into their brain and make it flame. actually eat um whole foods like homemade meals. It goes a long way that with all just having ice cream for like five different foods a day and five different vegetables a day. That may seem like a lot, but you can start with three and three or just double your current serving and find out what your favorites are and reduce some of the oils and salts and you’ll see that it just makes a life of difference. People’s brain fog just snap away when they do that and their energy is uplifted, right? They’re able to just eat that high quality food that’s nutrient-dense because you’re literally feeding your brain and healthy protein like tryptophan, tyrrosine that helps build the serotonin and dopamine building blocks for your mood and your energy. So, I think it’s really important to get healthy protein in the form of plants as well. And they it’s all complete. Of course, if you want fish and other meats, it’s possible, but I just want to make, you know, you want to make sure your sources are clean. And you want to be consistent and and that’s the hard thing. Like, first you can start with meatless Monday, but you just want to be consistent. You’re not going to have a perfect day, but you just keep going and add more to your plate. And then you’ll realize you can break those habits and not turn to those types of foods. But it it goes a long way. And I think for people just to take a tiny step, like I don’t like drastic change, so I did something very slowly, but even like cleaner ingredients, I remember I just started reading labels and being like, okay, if there’s 15 ingredients, it’s probably not something I should be eating, right? Right. And you know, what can I replace that with? And the more healthy you eat, the more you crave the healthier things and the less you crave like the sugary things. And it’s like vegetables start to taste amazing. It’s kind of an interesting thing how your body starts to heal and crave more of the good when you start shifting your diet, but in little tiny ways. And I just think what happens is you feel so much better that you don’t want those things anymore. It’s natural and and you just your cravings change, your your pallet change, and then you’re you’re like, “Wow, I may be less bloated. I feel good when I maybe not eat that.” and you start to listen to the signals and and those you and you’ll realize, wow, I don’t get the meat sweats. That’s the first thing I mention. Sometimes when you overeat certain types of food, your body just turns hot and you feel gross and your metabolism is changing. But when you start eating fresh foods, it’s just just calmer for the body. Yeah. And nervous systems. And what what would you say like physical exercise? cuz a lot of people too are I don’t like to exercise you know and you’re saying like just getting some movement what is the research and statistics on how much that improves mood yeah it that’s probably one of the strongest predictor of treating depression anxiety things like bipolar and OCD and even schizo so exercise is throughout the research I just went to American Psychiatry Association did a culinary medicine and lifestyle medicine workshop and it’s nice because finally they’re introducing lifestyle medicine but not necessarily like ketamine pain in the integrated ways. But I would say that even 30 minutes a day goes a long way. It’s just equivalent to an anti-anxiety medication depression medication. I know we were talking earlier because most of the time these medications their I would say efficacy or their I would say potency only lasts probably about a year. And it’s so interesting and that’s why people have to keep going up on the dose or should switch meds. Exactly. And imagine just constantly increasing it or trying to find a new medication. And it’s really it has its limits. And so when you get to exercise, it has no limits. It makes it’s like and it’s dose dependent. Meaning the more you exercise, the better your um your mental health feels. And it’s like you can never replace that. And it augments your your medications too and or your supplements. So, it’s it’s a beautiful thing to be able to pick. If it’s walking, if it’s resistance training, pick yoga, and it’s and it’s it doesn’t have to be every day either. Just be easy on yourself. Small habits three times a week, once a week at least you’re trying and then you’ll find your dreams. Yes. I love James Clear’s book called Habit. And so, I it’s no habits. atomic habits, but he like really helps you think about how you can build tiny new habits and build upon them in a way that’s not so because everyone does things in extremes. Exactly. And then they quit. And so it’s very sustainable the way that he describes it and the method he uses. I highly recommend and I’m all about relapse prevention. Not just you hear that in the alcohol or substance use realm, but it’s even with food and lifestyle. Relapse prevention can happen when you just do things in small increments and you can find the support um to support your journey, right? If that support can be a podcast or it can be reading a book or getting help so that you can identify what are the things that kind of get you off track as well. Okay. Well, one of the things we have talked about is you know when it’s mild to moderate the symptoms coming in for both of us there’s a lot you can do. So mild to moderate depression or anxiety means you’re still functioning. You’re probably very high functioning, right? But you just feel those that like level of sluggishness or down feelings or you’re feeling a little anxious throughout the day and so it’s uncomfortable and people start to come into our offices at that point, but some people don’t. And when you don’t get that treated, then it can go into more severe symptoms, which is why it’s so important to go and find help right when you start to feel these things because everything gets worse when it’s untreated. So the mild to moderate, I think, can respond really well to supplements, to diet, to all of these. Oh, sleep we didn’t talk about, but I mean people should know at this point like how crucial sleep is. Yeah. People can go right into psychosis and panic disorder. Like the number one thing is to get and that can be a whole different episode is to get good solid sleep. So if you’re not getting that, that’s something to be worked on. But okay, if they come in in the more severe, this is where medication has its place and can be a life raft. But we now have ketamine, right, as an option. And unfortunately, the way it’s been legalized in terms of getting it through insurance, you have to try and fill two anti-depressants. But there’s other ways to receive ketamine where why wouldn’t that be a first-line treatment? Because it works so quickly, it’s 80% effective. What’s the percentages of effectiveness for a medication at this point? Sadly, effectiveness of medications is only 50%. And people are blown away, right? They don’t look at the research and the psychiatrists don’t tell them and and they don’t realize that. And of course things may get scary if it’s severe or if people are thinking of harming themselves or harming other people with suicide ideation, but they but they don’t realize that that’s like a really great opportunity for ketamine um to come in because to me ketamine is such a great tool cuz with the anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, it only works on serotonin and dopamine, but with the ketamine it works on the MDA receptors. It also works on the immune receptors and that’s really where the neuroinflammation happens. This is where the the unconscious subconscious can really work and I really love because there’s an opportunity where it doesn’t have to be scary for your you know you can actually you know dep anti-depressants make you feel worse sometimes before they make you get better but with ketamine it makes you feel better sometimes. It has that euphoria where it’s like wow a pleasant experience and then you can really face the things that are like the root cause the root causes or the trauma or the things that are scary and that you know day to day or week by week is really powerful and I really think it it is something that can be used as firstline treatment too because it’s something that is really safe. It’s something that doesn’t have like many side effects or you know compared to like anti-depressants they lead to weight gain. They lead to sometimes worsening anxiety, depression, even suicide or sometimes they lead to metabolic dysfunction. And so with ketamine, it’s it’s so I would say focused in what it treats that it’s one of those things that why not? And I you can use compoundies, you can do that intraasial or IV and I think at least it’s available um and the FDA FDA has approved it and since 2019 so I think we can you know have confidence that this is something that like you know that works well and and IV is the most direct route and so I would say again like I it’s been phenomenal because if I have a suicidal patient and they’re taking medication it takes two weeks to even see if that medication is going to work for them. I mean, we’re talking about like crisis, right? Or they might have to go in an inatient facility, which, you know, is great when it’s needed, but can be a trauma in and of itself. So, here we have this option that I feel like people still don’t realize the effectiveness. And I have sent patients who are suicidal, and after one, two, or even like three at the most, ketamine, IVs, the suicidality is gone. Amazing. And it’s and it’s not just that’s gone, but they’re able to like do like you said, it’s working on so many levels. It’s working on the brain and giving you all the brain benefits, but then it allows that deeper, you know, dive into the subconscious to understand what the root causes are. Because all the things we talked about are really important, but at the core, a lot of the mental illness is related to trauma. it’s related to uh toxic relationships, bad situations people are in, but they don’t realize it. And so if they don’t do that work to uncover that, any medication or even academy treatment is not going to work long term until you’ve healed the trauma or until you’ve changed your living environment. People can be in talk therapy or CBT for decades literally and not really move the needle or sometimes they’ll do EMDR and some you know a little bit psychosmatic is great but if you need a little bit more like that really helps especially for PTSD and addiction and really that gut you know gut brain immune connection I think it’s so empower so powerful. Yeah. So I mean what I love is that you incorporate that a lot of psychiatrists still aren’t trained in that. So, if you are interested, I mean, you can look up ketamine clinics. There’s doctors that work there that can explain to you the treatment protocols, but it’s just something I’m passionate about because of what I’ve seen with clients. I mean, even clients I was stuck with for years have gotten unstuck and are living their lives and functioning at a healthy level because of the treatments. It unlocked something that they were able to work through that wasn’t in a conscious, you know, conscious mind, right? It’s so powerful, right? To hear the testimonials and be able to see that there is hope and I think that’s why we do what we do because I know we know that there is a well and it’s why I’m doing this podcast because I feel like if anything just giving someone a sense of hope and being willing to try something new is huge. When you’re depressed or when you’re anxious, you’re just stuck in that space and you can’t get out of it. So just hearing one new thing that okay let me try that and see how that might not work for you but at least you keep trying right and that’s the thing it’s like sometimes a lifelong journey right you may be having it for for decades and you may not understand and why does it come back and I would say it’s okay you don’t have to be you know have the self-lame or the guilt and just have that compassion and open mind and and find people like Maria who just like it’s amazing what the potential is and I think the potential is really worth it and it gives you that sense of grace and more self-love and I think that’s really the opportunity of healing from the inside out and holistically. So if people don’t have access to an integrative psychiatrist we’ll put your information of you and your husband because you have a really amazing practice in Newport Beach. I mean what how what are ways they can learn about these things? I mean a lot of podcasts are addressing holistic ways of approaching mental health. Like what are some other tips you would have? Yeah. Uh I would say there are some books, some podcasts I don’t have them on the top of my head. I know anxiety is one of my one favorite ones to like recommend for those who’ve been in therapy forever but feel stuck. But I would say you know you can learn a lot by shifting your lifestyle around supplements. you may need to get some help either a naturopath or integrated functional medicine doctor sometimes you know there’s some coaches or there’s so many health care amazing healthcare providers out there if you believe in this holistic way of healing mental health so I think the resources are there and I really just say start with you start with just reflecting in that quiet space journaling listening to your mind your body it will show you because our our bodies want your attention I always say that like just lean into that with that intuition and it will show you and it will be your best guide and I think when you can connect with that you’ll feel more alignment with your mind, body, spirit if it’s God or the universe and it will just come together because there’s a reason why you’re listening to this podcast. There’s a reason why you’re going to meet the next provider or find another door to walk through and really you just got to keep going. Just keep walking through those doors and recognize the things that are not serving you or not helping you. just turn the other way and you pivot and you learn and you keep trying. Don’t give up. I love that. Yeah. Don’t give up. Bottom line. Well, and I always instead of like cuz it’s so easy to go into like why is this happening to me and why is this going on so I mean I’ve been there and it’s like what can I learn from this and then how do I keep learning more so I can you know figure out the next step. So it’s like just never give up. I mean that’s I guess the key because I think that’s why I want all these approaches to be understood. So people can keep trying, see what works for them. Right. Exactly. Something different works for everyone. It’s not one sizefits-all, not one pill, one approach. It’s usually multiple things and Yeah. in different attempts and everything’s a a test. Not to say you failed, but it’s just like a little bit you learn and you and you grow and you and you get to use these tools at different times. And I always say, prepare your toolbox and and it’s like your first aid kit. there’s something ready for different situations and then you’ll just feel more prepared and empowering wherever season you’re in. Then I I think it’s it’s an open I would say open pathway that allows you to know that you’re you’re not alone, right? There’s a lot of people who’ve also been through that journey. So lean into people who may have received that type of care. Yeah. And I mean that’s the second biggest thing is people suffering in silence, right? And I think we’re at a point at what one out of four are struggling with mental health issues right now. And I mean autoimmune diseases are worse than they’ve ever been. So just start talking to people too and open up and share with people. I think the stigma has really dissolved in a major way. Thank thankfully. Finally. Yeah. Finally. Um and it it’s like even just opening up and sharing with people, they’ll open up with you and then you learn something from them. Right. Exactly. But that the not feeling alone is really key too, right? And it just it allows that open, you know, open heart, open mind and and then you kind of just help one another like, “Oh, I totally understand. I get it. Maybe try this or maybe try that.” And then and then being able to take off, you know, take the weight off your shoulders and really know that, wow, it’s not just sometimes we think it’s all about us and we’re like the worst person or we have the worst situation, but when we don’t realize, oh my goodness, there’s other things out there, other people who had similar past. So, you know, the diseases, you know, a lot of people with mental health distress also have lots of other chronic diseases. And so when you work on your chronic disease or your mental health, it’s just going to benefit, you know, the other pathway, it’s just a positive ripple effect. Yeah. Because it all goes down to stress, right? Unfortunately, and the cortisol being high all the time. Um, but thank you so much. You just have a wealth of wisdom and I really just like you as a person and I enjoy referring to you. So I I’m really glad that we were able to have you for you to share with the audience just all that you know and you’re a resource. I know you’re going to have a video series coming up that you’re going to release on your Can you sign up for that on your website? So, just stay tuned. I’m on social media, Dr. Melissa’s Kitchen on Instagram and YouTube. I share a lot of my on lifestyle and integrative medicine. And then I’ll be hosting an integrated mental health summit. So, I’m super excited about that because I have all these like-minded people sharing their wisdom, their knowledge, their tips. and it’s going to be a whole week and there’s a lot of freebies in there and resources. So, that’s coming up in November. So, stay tuned. And I have also have a plant-based mind course that allows you to really get your lifestyle uh aligned with lots of tools. It’s about 50. You can see that online. And I’m at Dr. Lifestyle. And I have state licenses in different states. So, I think my husband has about 15 and I have about five. So, we’re really open. And we we just know that people need help and we want to be there for them. Good. Good. All right. Well, thank you so much and we will see you next week at Cowas for Healing. See you.
In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Melissa Mondala shares her journey into integrative psychiatry—a field that blends traditional psychiatric methods with holistic healing practices. She emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health through lifestyle medicine, including nutrition, exercise, and environmental awareness, while also honoring cultural influences and personal history.
Dr. Mondala discusses how social isolation, trauma, and environmental toxins can shape mental health outcomes, and she introduces ketamine treatment as a promising option for depression. This episode invites listeners to consider a more personalized and comprehensive approach to healing—one that listens to the body, nurtures the mind, and embraces the full spectrum of human experience.
🌿 Key Takeaways
Integrative psychiatry combines conventional treatment with holistic practices.
Lifestyle factors—like diet, movement, and sleep—impact up to 80% of chronic disease outcomes.
Cultural background and lived experience deeply influence mental health.
Social isolation is a major contributor to emotional distress.
Ketamine treatment offers rapid relief for treatment-resistant depression.
Nutrition and exercise are powerful tools for managing anxiety and mood.
Early intervention for mild to moderate symptoms can prevent escalation.
Healing is rooted in hope, self-awareness, and accessible resources.
Listening to your body is essential for understanding emotional and psychological needs.
Environmental toxins and stressors should be considered in mental health care.
🔑 Keywords
Integrative psychiatry, mental health, holistic healing, lifestyle medicine, nutrition, exercise, ketamine treatment, environmental toxins, cultural influences, trauma
You can reach Melissa here
Her social info:
https://www.instagram.com/drmelissaskitchen/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxUp6EwvcIntKm6o4jn6sIA
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/drmelissaskitchen
https://www.facebook.com/drmelissaskitchen/about/?_rdr
Professional Websites
Clinic: https://drlifestyle.org/
Course: https://plantpoweredmind.systeme.io/d9f6bf60
Resources:: https://drmelissamondala.com/resources/