A Uniquely Colorful Psychiatric Medical Career That’s Beyond “Paint by Number”

“We need to remember to leave room for the magic,” shares Dr. Holly MacKenna, board certified psychiatrist. Dr. MacKenna has 20 years of experience working as an integrative trauma-informed psychiatrist in New Orleans helping patients through a mixture of traditional Western practices and Eastern influences like reiki and acupuncture. She formed her approach through learning about integrative medicine and gaining access to other female healers that she did not have exposure to during her time in medical school. 

 

Western medicine tends to place too much emphasis on data, the subsequent results of that data, insurance companies, and the exchange of money which leads to a disconnect between providers and patients. By giving herself permission to be human and take a more integrative approach to the body and mind connection, Dr. MacKenna is able to form a deeper relationship with her patients. She brings together practices like mindfulness, prayer or spirituality, reiki, acupuncture, and traditional Western medicine to form a more comprehensive package of psychiatric care. By opening up to that connectivity with the universe and one another, Dr. MacKenna helps her patients explore both the masculine and feminine energies within themselves to reach a more robust state of healing. 

 

Tune into this week’s episode of The Catalyst to hear more about integrative psychiatry and how it differs from traditional Western practices. 

 

Quotes

• “We need to remember to leave room for the magic.” (14:48-14:50 | Holly)

• “What often happens in western medicine, especially in that organizational kind of insurance driven model, is that masculine side, that data, that collecting money, that needing to justify to the insurance company, that takes over in a way that doesn't allow for the magic. And it gets away from the relationship between the provider, physician, therapists, whomever and the patient who this is all supposed to be about.” (17:14-17:49 | Holly)

• “There's some power in allowing myself to be a human in the room and to really be a partner with the patient.” (25:28-25:33 | Holly)

• “The beauty of my  journey with integrative medicine is that it's really allowed me to find what I didn't realize I was missing, which is female mentors and a lot of female healers. I just didn't have that in medical school and in my traditional training so much. It just shows how important representation is.” (36:58-37:18 | Holly)

• “When we allow ourselves to heal as healers, and we allow ourselves to really explore our own source, our own connectivity to the planet and universe, that is going to naturally allow us to evolve in a way that's going to be beneficial to those that we are trying to help.” (40:25-40:43 | Holly)

 

Links 

Dara Wellness website: http://www.darawellnessnola.com/

 

Connect with Lara: 

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