Who among us has not wished that they could do better for themselves, those they care for, or the world at large? As a child, I grew up with a close family member who struggled for most of their life with immense depression and anxiety. The helplessness of watching a loved one endure prolonged suffering in silence shaped my decision to pursue a career in psychiatry and specifically, to seek a path that would result in wellness, rather than a patch to cover up the pain. It has always been my mission to find methods that encourage, uplift, re-connect to community and dreams, and that offer real solutions to those heavy internalized struggles that may not even be visible to one’s friends and family.
As an osteopathic physician, I operate from a holistic philosophy and an understanding that the body is inherently capable of self-healing. Although this may sound “new-age” on first blush, it is exactly how we as nature’s creatures heal. The body has fantastic and complex methods of healing itself, but it often needs some sort of prompt or initiating process to do so (i.e. foods, medicine, movement, rest, fasting). The physician acts as the mediator of one’s own journey to self-healing, to optimal wellness.
Although osteopathy is founded on principles of touch, I believe that these same principles apply to the power of human connection, whether that connection is mediated through touch, sight, or sound. Connection is powerful and our world continues to expand as we realize our capacity to connect in new ways, including virtual video and live streaming.
I have trained in and adapted esoteric methods into my psychiatry practice with the goal of helping people to truly heal themselves: To feel vibrant, to enjoy a life of significance and to not just hope for better things, but to actually attain them.
When I’m not seeing patients or researching new treatment approaches, I like to try to keep up with my impossible garden, search for elusive morel mushrooms and hidden hot springs, eat the spiciest Pad Kee Mao that a Thai restaurant is willing to offer (if it’s a “four star” system, tell them you want six), find a small music show or music festival, spend time with my family, and take my dog everywhere possible.
Wishing you wellness,
Heidi Geil, D.O.
Dr. Heidi Geil is a holistic psychiatrist who completed her residency in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She concurrently served as an American Psychiatric Association & Substance Abuse Mental Health Administration fellow and grantee for two years and subsequently trained as a Functional Medicine physician.
Dr. Geil designed and elaborated the Optimize Psychiatry Triadic System (OPTS) as an improvement upon the classic concept of the “Bio-Psycho-Social” model of psychiatry in order to express an effective, holistic, functional, integrative, and personalized approach to psychiatry.