An interview with Lana Benedek, MD, integrative psychiatrist, on how psychiatry can be practiced differently (not just prescribing medication). Curt and Katie talk with Lana about the importance of focusing on the whole person and incorporating lifestyle changes and commonsense health practices like diet, exercise, sleep and mindfulness in the quest for sustained wellness.
It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. We are human beings who can now present ourselves as whole people, with authenticity, purpose, and connection. Especially now, when therapists must develop a personal brand to market their practices.
To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.
Interview with Lana Benedek, MD
Lana Benedek, MD, is an integrative psychiatrist, consultant and teacher who has worked for more than 15 years with adolescents and adults, helping them to resolve issues of anxiety, depression and addiction. Throughout her career, Lana has been keenly interested in empowering individuals to create long-term healing beyond prescription medication and give them the tools to create lasting well-being. To that end, she has practiced mindfulness meditation and yoga for more than a decade, using it as a foundation for her own life and her approach to treatment. She currently facilitates mindfulness-based therapy groups for individuals with anxiety, depression and addiction throughout Los Angeles, including at the Mind Body Tree House and Resolutions Treatment Center. Additionally, she is on the clinical faculty of the University of Southern California (USC) where she teaches psychiatry trainees about mindfulness and self-care to reduce burnout and stress. Early in her medical career, Lana became interested in the marriage of medicine and other modalities of healing. During medical school while working on the pediatric ward of Howard Hospital in remote Zimbabwe, Lana became attuned to our society’s dependence on external medical treatments, which led her to begin practicing yoga and meditation. Later working with clients in the faculty practice, at USC and within the student health center at University of California at Los Angeles, she saw the benefits of incorporating mindfulness-based practices within her therapy.
You can learn more about Lana Benedek, MD at https://drbenedek.com.
In this episode we talk about:
What Integrative Psychiatry is and what it is not
The importance of mind, body, and community
Why to focus on root causes and not symptoms
How psychiatry can actually focus on least invasive methods, rather than going straight to medication
Strengths, individuals’ ability to heal themselves
Integrating traditional and alternative methods for healing
Walking your talk as a practitioner
The goal of sustained wellness, rather than symptom remission
Mindfulness and mindfulness-based therapies
How the system has evolved to having psychiatrists being the prescribers
Risks and benefits of medication
How medicine cannot address the underlying causes of symptoms
The risk of dependence and withdrawal
The importance of the scientific rigor in choosing interventions
When clinical experience and values-based medicine are needed
The importance of an anti-inflammatory diet: vegetables, good fats, legumes, lean proteins, nuts and seeds, whole grains
How your diet can make you depressed
Exercise is just as good as an antidepressant for your mood
The importance of sleep
The commonsense ways to help yourself feel better
How to collaborate with an integrative psychiatrist
Promoting Mental Wellness
Looking at strengths and the whole person, rather than symptoms within a rigid treatment framework
Psychoeducation on the causes of your mental health concerns
