My Work
I currently maintain a virtual private practice where I apply integrative approach to taking care of women suffering from maternal mental health conditions like postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as non-moms who are dealing with depression, anxiety, burnout and identity loss. As a board-certified psychiatrist, I take care of my patients with psychotherapy and medication, when needed. I have been on the clinical faculty in the Psychiatry Department at George Washington University School of Medicine since 2016.
My first book, Real Self-Care: A Transformative Program for Redefining Wellness (Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble Baths Not Included), was a national bestseller and a 2023 NPR Best Book pick. It’s being translated into 10 languages, and was featured on a Billboard in Times Square (!).
I also write regularly for the The New York Times and am an advisor to Peloton. I’m frequently invited by companies and organizations to give keynotes and workshops on mental health and well-being to their leadership or employees.
I live in Austin Texas with my partner Justin, our son K, and our two cats, Kitty and Fifi.
My Credentials
I’ve spent 14 years in total becoming a board-certified psychiatrist and have been in independent practice since 2016. I went to college at the University of Pennsylvania where I graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude in Women's Studies and the Biological Basis of Behavior. I went to medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated with my MD in 2010.
I did my internship and PGY2 year of psychiatry residency training at Stanford University, and then, after the 2 year gap which you can read about below, I finished my psychiatry residency training at George Washington University, where I was part of the Global Mental Health track. I have been on the faculty at George Washington University since 2016, and for two years served as the Associate Program Director of the residency program, and for seven years served as a clinical supervisor in the Five Trimesters Perinatal Psychiatry Clinic.
I have a diverse research background in women's mental health including post-doctoral research training at Rutgers University where I worked on projects studying the neural basis of sexual response in women. Other research projects of mine have included using qualitative methods to study women's perception of living with depression in India, and testimonial therapy for intimate partner violence survivors.
I’ve served on the Board of Directors of the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, and am a foundering mother and board member with the Chamber of Mothers.
My Journey
My journey, chaotic as it was, deeply informs the work I do now.
After spending much of my life in school to become a physician, in my late 20's I found myself disillusioned with psychiatry and medicine. Desperate to find answers and motivated by an urgent need to break out of the suffocating box that I felt trapped in as a female physician of color, I made a drastic choice. I blew up my marriage, moved in with a San Francisco group dedicated to women's sexual wellness and a practice called orgasmic meditation, and dropped out of Stanford.
On the surface, the group was built like a matriarchy, which was of course appealing to me. During my time there, I joined a research lab at Rutgers that studies the neuroscience of female orgasm using fMRI.
Alas, the group was not the wellness magic bullet that I had hoped for. After nearly two years, I made the terrifying decision to leave and rebuild my life (and, myself) largely from scratch. In leaving, I learned to find my own voice and my own value -- separate from my family, separate from prestigious schools and academic medicine, and separate from the group. Years later, through media reports, I found out that the story inside the group was dark. Through my own psychotherapy, I grappled with what it meant to be a physician who provided legitimacy to this group.
Since then, I've built a personal life and a career focused on women's mental health. I have a private clinical practice where I take care of women suffering from conditions like depression and anxiety. I write frequently for The New York Times about gender justice and women's mental health. I wrote my first book, Real Self-Care, while going through fertility treatments to become pregnant with my son, who was born in 2022.
