About Me

In my work with patients, I focus on creating a safe, supportive space where individuals can better understand their emotions, navigate challenges, and reclaim their sense of balance and well-being. Throughout my career, I’ve also been deeply committed to understanding how our rapidly changing world—especially our climate—affects both emotional and physical health, and I integrate this broader perspective into the care I provide.

My professional background has included serving as a consultant to the Central Intelligence Agency conducting psychological assessments of world leaders, working in community mental health settings across the Washington metropolitan area, and teaching as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University. I have also volunteered extensively, including evaluating and testifying on behalf of torture survivors seeking asylum in the United States with Physicians for Human Rights, providing care in homeless shelters, and supporting survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti earthquake.

I co-founded the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and Climate Psychology Alliance – North America to help expand awareness and action at the intersection of climate change and mental health. I have organized national conferences focused on the psychological impacts of climate change and have worked with organizations such as Our Children’s Trust in legal efforts to protect the rights of young people and future generations. I’ve also had the privilege of serving on boards such as Earth Day Network, Physicians for Social Responsibility, ecoAmerica, the National Wildlife Federation, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. I have also served on the Climate Energy and Environmental Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and co-founded Interfaith Moral Action on Climate, a multi-faith coalition mobilizing faith communities to address the climate crisis.

My research includes co-authoring global and U.S.-based surveys of climate distress in more than 26,000 young people. I have written and contributed to professional journal articles on topics including the Insanity Defense, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, psychiatric abandonment, and the health impacts of climate change. I co-authored The Psychological Effects of Global Warming on the U.S. and the peer-reviewed article Assessing “Dangerous Climate Change”: Required Reduction of Carbon Emissions to Protect Young People, Future Generations and Nature. I’ve served as an expert witness on the psychological impacts of climate inaction in landmark cases including Juliana v. U.S. Government, Held v. Montana, and Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation. I’ve also co-created resources such as EcoPsy.org and ClimateAndYourMind.org to make climate-related mental health knowledge more accessible.

Alongside my academic and advocacy work, I frequently speak on television, radio, and in print media. I previously hosted a weekly radio segment, “The Doctor Is In,” and have published widely to help translate complex psychological and climate-related issues for broader audiences. I am also the author of Emotional Inflammation: Discover Your Triggers and Reclaim Your Equilibrium During Anxious Times.

In addition, I founded Lucky Planet Foods, a company dedicated to providing low-carbon, plant-based, healthy foods that support sustainable living.

Most importantly, I care deeply about helping people feel grounded, understood, and supported—especially in challenging and uncertain times.