About Dr. Kalen Flynn, M.D.
I am a holistic psychiatrist and psychotherapist with a special interest in psychedelic medicine who has studied with master healers around the world.
I have trained with the leading physicians in integrative and functional psychiatry, and I have studied with traditional medicine practitioners in China and Peru. My practice has been shaped by my work over the past decade with the psychedelic medicine ayahuasca, specifically with Shipibo healers in the Amazon.
My passion for medicine and healing stems from my own experiences as a patient with autoimmune illness in our broken medical system. I know how frustrating and scary it is to have symptoms that defy diagnosis and do not respond to conventional treatment. I have been on a long journey to understand what other tools for healing are available, and I have learned that there is so much more to healing than medication management and symptom suppression.
My Treatment Philosophy
I am here as your guide to help you navigate appropriate treatments, formulate a holistic plan to address the root causes of your symptoms, and empower you to connect with your innate capacity for healing.
In our work together, we will take a holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to investigating the root causes of your mental health symptoms. I synthesize conventional and holistic approaches, which can include lifestyle interventions, nutrition, psychotherapy, specialized lab testing, supplements, and mind-body medicine. While I do prescribe medications, they are not typically the first tool I reach for.
I offer holistic treatment for anxiety, depression, OCD, insomnia, trauma/PTSD, burnout, and relationship issues. I specialize in supporting people with medication tapers and medication withdrawal syndromes. I offer psychedelic integration therapy to process past psychedelic experiences. If you are considering using psychedelics, I offer personalized consultation about how your psychiatric history and medications might affect the associated risk.
My Credentials:
Board-certified in Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Psychiatry training at Harbor-UCLA and the University of New Mexico (Integrative Psychiatry Track)
M.D. from State University of New York Downstate Medical Center - Member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society
B.A. with honors from Wesleyan University in the College of Letters (philosophy, literature, history)
Additional Certifications & Experience:
Sub-Investigator, CalNeuro Research Group. Clinical researcher with independent group specializing in disorders of the nervous system. Lead therapist on psychedelic clinical trial.
Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research, California Institute for Integral Studies
Certified Integrative Psychiatry Provider, Integrative Psychiatry Institute Fellowship
Certificate in Integrative Medicine in Residency - Psychiatry, Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona
AFMCP, Institute for Functional Medicine
Psychedelic Harm Reduction Training, Center for Optimal Living, NYC
Psychedelic Harm Reduction Training & Volunteer, Zendo Project
Additional training in ketamine therapy with the Polaris Insight Center, MDMA therapy with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the New Center for Psychoanalysis
International Summer Program, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Yoga Teacher Training, Abhyasa Yoga Center/J. Brown
Publications:
Brogan K, Jarvi A, Anderson S, Flynn SK. Clinical Remission of Treatment-Resistant Depression, Polysubstance Abuse, and Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome Through Engagement of Lifestyle Interventions. Adv Mind Body Med. 2020 Fall;34(4):24-32. PMID: 33186128.
Coplan JD, Gupta NK, Flynn SK, Reiner WJ, Gaita D, Fulton SL, Rozenboym AV, Tang JE, Cooper TB, Mann JJ. Maternal Cerebrospinal Fluid Glutamate in Response to Variable Foraging Demand: Relationship to Cerebrospinal Fluid Serotonin Metabolites in Grown Offspring. Chronic Stress. 2018 Jan-Dec. PMID: 30246167