About MOUSHUMI MUKERJI
I am the child of immigrant parents from India who carried the trauma of British colonialism with them to the United States. This prevented them from acculturating into American society, which led to a lot of cross-cultural stress for me as I was growing up. My parents, who due to stigma and religiosity never sought mental health treatment, also suffered from chronic stress-related illnesses. For these reasons, I was interested in psychiatry from an early age, but studied a hard science in college and then became a nurse-midwife due to my affinity for feminism. The centrality of trauma to health, however, was never far off, and after suffering a series of traumas which led to chronic fatigue syndrome, I knew I had to pivot my career to mental health.
DIRECTOR OF PSYCHEDELIC THERAPIES
Integrative Psychiatry, Contemplative Psychotherapy, Perinatal Mental Health, Women’s Mental Health, Psychedelic medicine, Buddhist applications to mental health
EXPERTISE
CREDENTIALS
PMHNP-BC, CNM, MSN
TRAINING INSTITUTIONS
University of California Davis, BS in Genetics Yale University, Master’s in Nursing with Midwifery speciality University of California San Francisco, Nurse Practitioner in Psychiatry program Certificate in Compassion-Based Psychotherapy and Embodied Transformation, Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science Integrative Psychiatry Institute, Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy Certificate Program, in progress Previous positions: Many: Nurse-Midwife at NYU/Bellevue Hospital, Nurse-Midwife at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York, Mindpath Health in California, Acacia Counseling and Wellness
WHY DID I CHOOSE THE FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH?
All health starts in the mind. We are born with a generally uncorrupted life force (I have spent a lot of time with very new newborns!), which over time gets distorted through caregiver and other interpersonal misattunement, neglect, and abuse, as well as single-event traumas. It is my life’s purpose to help people recover their original wholeness.
SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT ME
I was once in a Northern California Honda commercial.
WHAT MADE ME WANT TO JOIN THE HOPE TEAM AND PRACTICE IN THIS MODEL?
The conventional mental health system is broken. People stay dependent on medications and therapy indefinitely because the assumptions of that system preclude recovery. The HOPE model provides a wisdom-based alternative. Dr Naim’s model absolutely resonated with my own values: holism, centrality of the patient who is understood to possess the innate capacity to heal, and honoring interconnectedness. I have worked in other settings that call themselves “integrative” but ultimately reveal that they don’t know the meaning of the term. Hope is different. I feel honored to be part of this vibrant and values-driven team of clinicians.