Cerebral Focus

Welcome to

Freed Mind Body and Soul

Using Evidence Based Neuroscience to achieve

Optimal Wellness and Happiness

Dr. Charles Freed

I am a diplomate in Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. I am also a diplomate in Integrative and Holistic Medicine.  I have completed teacher training in Meditation, Yoga (RYT200) and Ayurvedic Health.   I also havecertification in Nutritional Psychiatry, for which there is a growing body of research demonstrating the relationship between diet and mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, neurodegenerative disorders (e.g.- Alzheimer’s disease), bipolar disorder, ADHD and others.  

Although well versed in the practice of traditional psychiatry, my current interest lies in the practice of Functional Medicine.  Functional medicine attempts to identify what are called Root Causes of disorders.  If we take depression, for example, what would be a potential Root Cause(s)?  If you think it is genetics, this would be incorrect.  We are finding that depression is very often the result of chronic systemic inflammation in the body.  In fact, we now know that inflammation underlies most chronic disease states. But what is the Root Cause of inflammation?  Root Causes of inflammation are varied but tend to fall within several categories, like Infectious diseases (e.g.- Lyme Disease), GI problems (dysbiosis or ‘leaky gut’), toxic exposure (phthalates, BPA, heavy metals, mold toxins) metabolic and/or hormonal abnormalities (SNPs, methylation disturbances, cortisol imbalances), endocrine and nutritional disorders (insufficient intake or absorptionof micro and/or macro nutrients, food intolerance or allergy).  Keep in mind, too, that one Root Cause can result in several different disorders and one disorder may have several different Root Causes.

My interest in Functional Medicine grew after encountering significant limitations in traditional psychiatry.  One of these limitations is that traditional psychiatry is becoming increasingly ‘biologic’ and pharmacologically (medication) oriented in nature.  Remember hearing people state that a chemical imbalance is the cause of depression? Surprisingly, there is no scientific evidence to support this chemical imbalance theory of depression.  In addition, pharmacologic treatments are often ineffective or only partially effective, they can cause significant side effects (sexual dysfunction, weight gain, feeling ‘numb’) and they can even give rise to withdrawal on discontinuation. Patients who seek my services suffer from problems with their GI system (bloating constipation, diarrhea, etc.), brain fog, fatigue/exhaustion, irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, pain and more.  I am not particularly interested in titrating or maintaining traditional psychotropic medication regimens.  My goal is to restore you to an optimal state of wellness by identifying and removing Root Causes of your illness.

Thorough personalized assessments of your dietary habits, lifestyle behaviors, physicaland mental health history and trauma history combined with both routine and specialized lab tests (e.g.- Organic Acid Test) are used to identify these Root Causes of illness.  Interventions are specific to the Root Cause identified but often consist of the neuroscience-based Mind Body therapies (meditation, yoga, Heart Rate Variabilitytraining), nutritional recommendations (“Food is Medicine and Medicine is Food’– use of anti-inflammatory diets that support physical and mental health requirements) and supplements when appropriate.  Traditional psychopharmacologic therapy may be used in some circumstances. However, the use of traditional pharmacologic agents is usually reserved for urgent needs and on a temporarily until they can be weaned.  

I am in the process of developing resources to administer Ketamine Assisted Therapiesfor treatment resistant depression, trauma therapy and treatment of addictions.  I am also planning on teaching meditation classes soon. Please let me know if you have interest in either KAP or Meditation Training.

DR. FREED’S HEALTH SERVICES

Complimentary and Alternative Medicine and Nutritional Approaches For:

Depression, Anxiety and other Mental Health conditions
Substance Use Disorders, including FDA-Approved buprenorphine (aka Suboxone, Sublocade) for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

Lifestyle Medicine Approaches:

MindBody Practices (these can be accessed separately but are more commonly provided together in a lifestyle coaching program).

• Breathwork (Pranayama)
• Yoga (in collaboration with Amy Freed) for pain, anxiety, depression, and general wellness
• Meditation Classes (Individual or Group)
  * Mindfulness Meditation, aka Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction(from Bhuddism)
  * Primordial Sound Meditation (from Hinduism)

Nutritional Psychiatry and Better Nutrition Program modules (with coaching components)

Coming soon, Ketamine Treatment for Addictions, Pain, PTSD, Refractory Depression.