WHOLE PSYCHIATRY

Robert J. Hedaya, MD is a diversely trained and experienced psychiatrist who has been board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry, and certified as proficient in psychopharmacology by The American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. He trained under the auspices of some of the most renowned students of Goodwin, Beck, and Bowen, who are recognized leaders in today's psychiatric community. Dr. Hedaya obtained both a B.A. in Psychology (1974) Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and his Medical Degree (1979) at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Following his degree studies, Dr. Hedaya acquired specialized training in psychiatry at Georgetown University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, with additional training in biological psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health. After his entrance into private practice in 1983, he engaged in five years of supervision in Family Systems Theory, as well as training in Integrative Hypnotherapy. He then went on to advanced training in endocrinology, functional medicine, and orthomolecular psychiatry.

Since 1983, Dr. Hedaya has combined an active clinical practice with teaching as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Georgetown University Hospital. He has been a consultant to the National Institute of Mental Health. He was recently selected to teach the first psychoendocrinology course at Georgetown University Hospital Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Hedaya routinely teaches Basic and Advanced Cognitive Therapy classes and conducts an annual Affective Disorders program for Psychiatrists-In Training at Georgetown.

Dr. Hedaya's Whole Psychiatry approach to the evaluation and treatment of the major psychiatric disorders, focuses on the evaluation and bi-directional interactions between thinking/perception, environment, hormones, nutrition, immune, and the gastrointestinal systems and the treatments that are a logical result. It encompasses the findings from diverse fields including, but not limited to, psychology, sociology, endocrinology, orthomolecular psychiatry, environmental medicine, gastroenterology, functional medicine and immunology as they relate to psychiatric disorders. Dr. Hedaya has found that Whole Psychiatry offers very significant improvements in outcome, as well as the possibility in some cases of avoiding or reducing medication.

Dr. Hedaya is the author of Understanding Biological Psychiatry (Norton, 1996). He makes frequent presentations across the country, and has frequently been an expert consultant on Fox TV as well as appearing on the Today Show, CBS Evening News, 20/20, MSNBC, and CNN. His new book, The Antidepressant Survival Program: How to Beat the Side Effects and Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication (Crown-Harmony, 2000).

Dr. Hedaya had received the Physician's Recognition Award from the American Medical Association each year from 1983 through 1996. In June of 1993, 1997 and 1999, he was voted Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Georgetown University Hospital Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Hedaya was accepted as an active member of the Endocrine Society in 2002. Dr. Hedaya is a dynamic and entertaining speaker and he has received rave evaluations in other presentations as well. He is available, with sufficient advanced notice, for speaking and teaching engagements.