Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Demetry, M.D.
Hi Nicholas, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am a native of Atlanta and have spent a good part of my life here. My mother and father were creative artists and entrepreneurs who taught me the value of creative enterprise. As a teenager, I was impacted by the death of loved ones and grew angry and isolated. In addition to school, I took up singing and played locally in a rock band in the sixties. A great realization came to me at that time in my life that the anger and victim attitude I carried were too heavy a burden causing me depression and anxiety. Following a physical illness 0f a year duration, I had a spontaneous spiritual awakening that taught me there is an inner power within each of us that can support our healing and move us into renewed purpose and positive direction in life. I call it the Soul my true Self. I sought to discover the true meaning of my life and what are the real causative factors in illness and health. I have always had a great passion for travel and fondly remember the stories of my Greek family members coming to the States in search of a better life. In time, travel over the world became a way to discover myself and meet people from various cultures and backgrounds. The spirit of embracing the human family regardless of culture, race or religion became the gift of this experience,
I chose the study of medicine as a profession because I wanted to assist individuals and families with their health needs and to alleviate mental suffering.
I graduated from Emory University School of Medicine and decided thereafter to pursue training as a psychiatrist.
During my psychiatric training at the University of Hawaii, I was exposed to various alternative and preventive methods to support ones healing. I began practicing meditation, prayer, yoga and stress reduction techniques for myself and later applied them to the education of my patients who benefited greatly.
Over the years, I developed my own approach to mental health care which now includes spiritual counseling, biofield psychotherapy, meditation and guided imagery, sound healing and self-actualization and medication management when necessary.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Integrated mental health care was hard to come by when I began my practice in 1980. Most of my work was based only on diagnosis and medication management and talk therapy. The value of stress reduction techniques, prayer, meditation, healthy nutrition, yoga and physical exercise as additions to mental health treatment were yet to be studied and accepted as valuable additions to mental health care. My biggest personal challenge was staying true to what I intuitively believed, remain confident and accept my experience as valid for myself,
I can sum it up in the words of a well-known Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh; “To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself”.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Integrated Mental Health Care and Psychiatry Individual and Couple Counseling
Sound Healing for stress reduction
Spiritual Health Retreats Worldwide and Alternative Health Education Programs for Mental Health.
Contact Info:
- Email: ndemetry@thesouldoctor.com
- Website: thesouldoctor.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thesouldr
Image Credits:
https://www.fabiolaub.com/
