When I was a third year resident at NYU Langone, I was assigned to care for a financial executive who was seeking help for his anxiety, as well as for alcohol and cocaine abuse. When he successfully ended treatment—sober and functioning better at work and in his relationships—he told me he was grateful for all my help and that I had given him his life back.
What he didn’t know was how much I had learned from him and how incredibly rewarding it was to see him recover. He and my mentors at NYU Langone had, by way of piquing my interest in addiction treatment, given me a life purpose.
Now, almost two decades later, I am a general psychiatrist specializing in addiction. I am grateful to be able to continue learning from my patients and to feel an incredible sense of fulfillment in helping them manage and recover from anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and substance use disorders.
Alcoholism and other substance use disorders are often highly stigmatized and poorly understood. High functioning people often avoid getting help for these disorders because of the stigma and privacy concerns. To address these issues, I have recently launched a special outpatient program within my practice, specifically designed to treat executives with substance use disorders.
