Healing the Healer: Integrative Psychiatry and Whole-Person Care with Dr. Arwen Podesta, MD

In this inaugural episode, Dr. Siri Chand Khalsa welcomes Dr. Arwen Podesta, a psychiatrist and addiction-medicine specialist whose career bridges biochemistry, forensic psychiatry, and integrative care. They explore how mind–body connection, lifestyle medicine insights, breathwork, community, and compassion help clinicians and patients heal. Expect grounded science, spiritual healing practices, and refreshingly practical steps for physician wellness and holistic health.

Keywords: Podcast, Stories of Healing, Ayurvedic Lifestyle, Physician Wellness, Holistic Health, Mind-Body Connection, Plant-Based Healing, Women in Medicine, Spiritual Healing Practices, Lifestyle Medicine Insights

• 00:00 Welcome & show framing — Routes of Healing vision (Podcast, Stories of Healing)
• 00:27 Disclaimer & season theme: Healing the Healer
• 02:15 Arwen’s origin story: commune roots → massage therapy → biochemistry → medicine (Holistic Health)
• 09:05 Parallel journeys: Siri’s early integrative path & the “wake-up” moment
• 10:37 Mentors, capacity building, and choosing MD over PhD
• 12:59 Bridging upbringing & medical training; agency and modifiable risk factors
• 14:18 Where med school fell short; early CAM research and mindfulness science
• 16:46 Biomarkers, meditation, breathwork; when science catches up (Mind-Body Connection)
• 19:41 Siri on Ayurvedic lifestyle principles and interconnected systems
• 21:31 Inflammation, insulin resistance, and mental health (Lifestyle Medicine Insights)
• 25:24 GLP-1s, cravings, cognition; nuance & limits (Physician Wellness)
• 29:09 Long-COVID, gastric emptying, and individualized care
• 30:08 Agency, community, and why group care matters
• 31:10 Counter-/transference as diagnostic skill; finding fit in care teams (Women in Medicine)
• 36:26 Breathwork, yoga, polyvagal tone; practical protocols (Spiritual Healing Practices)
• 42:45 Courage in integrative practice; rising existential distress
• 45:03 Treating existential dread: groups, life-skills, and support networks
• 47:04 Care extenders: therapists, coaches, async tools; collaborative care
• 49:38 “Like-for-like” paradigm; mechanisms before meds
• 52:11 Whole-team referrals, labs, supplements; trauma-informed specialists
• 55:28 Measurement-based care, WHO-5, HERO scale; neurofeedback mindset
• 1:00:15 Professional buoyancy: conferences, peer groups, oxytocin of IRL connection
• 1:02:02 Where to find Dr. Podesta & her courses; patient availability
• 1:03:40 Close & gratitude

1. Integrative Approaches: Pair conventional psychiatry with breath-work, community, nutrition, sleep, and movement for better outcomes.
2. Inflammation matters: Glucose spikes and systemic inflammation can worsen mood and anxiety; stabilizing them supports mental health.
3. Measure what you...