Why I built Sunbreak
I once had a fantasy about living a thousand lives. I wanted to be a fisherman and a historian and a pilot and a poet, and for a while I was genuinely troubled that choosing one would mean missing something essential. Psychiatry turned out to be what I was searching for. Sitting with one person after another, each carrying a world of their own, and really coming to know them is the most meaningful thing I could ever have done.
But somewhere along the way, the relationships I loved got smaller. Fifteen-minute visits. Prior authorizations. A schedule so full that knowing the person in front of me, actually knowing them, became nearly impossible. I don't think knowing someone is a luxury. I think it's the most important piece of the whole thing.
At the same time, psychiatry advanced quickly: neuromodulation like TMS and VNS, the healing value of non-ordinary states of consciousness entering the mainstream, and the emerging use of neuroimaging and biomarkers to guide care. Not for everyone, and never on a guarantee, but often enough that it would be wrong not to offer them, carefully and honestly, to people seeking to alleviate their suffering and find meaning in their lives.
I built Sunbreak for deep healing, honest exploration, and the unfolding of real connection, which can only happen without hurry.
The care here can take many shapes, and it's judged two ways: by outcomes we can track, and by whether you feel more like yourself, and more like who you want to become.
My relational approach draws on many traditions, eclectic in practice and heavily influenced by the psychodynamic and Jungian, rooted in the belief that vulnerability and exploration are how real transformation begins.
Beyond any particular treatment or technique, my highest aspiration is to bring warmth and compassion to every person who trusts me with their care.
Sunbreak is my attempt to hold all of it: the newest tools at the frontier of psychiatry and the oldest one, in the same room, on a little island in the Salish Sea. I can't honestly promise you a life without weather. In fact, I hope you can feel it all, and move toward a life of meaning, aligned with the values you hold closest. So my promise is this: I'll be here, watching the sky with you, for the moment it breaks.
I'm a board-certified psychiatrist. I earned my MD at the University of Texas at Austin, completed residency at the University of Colorado, and trained in psychedelic medicine through Naropa/Memoru. Along the way I picked up two Master of Science degrees: one in human physiology from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and one in Healthcare Transformation from the McCombs School of Business.
My clinical focus is advanced neuromodulation, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and most forms of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Alongside clinical work, I've served as a study therapist, co-investigator, and author on research supported by the NIH, NCI, and NSF.
And I stay curious on purpose. This field keeps learning, so I do too. This keeps Sunbreak Psychiatry on the cutting edge of evidence informed care. When I don't know an answer, I'll tell you plainly, and then I'll go find it for you.