Whole-picture assessment
Evaluation considers emotional symptoms, physical health, medical experiences, sleep, development, family context, functioning, prior treatment, and the young person’s own understanding.
Mind-body psychiatry
Psychiatric care where emotional and physical symptoms meet.
Integrated, developmentally informed care for children, adolescents, and young adults experiencing anxiety or other emotional symptoms alongside disorders of gut-brain interaction and related mind-body presentations.
Board-certifiedDevelopmentally informedFamily-centered
Careful listening.
Clear thinking.
Collaborative next steps.
Understanding the concern
Physical symptoms are real. Their connections can be complex.
The brain, nervous system, gastrointestinal system, sleep, stress response, development, and lived experience can influence one another. Disorders of gut-brain interaction are genuine medical conditions involving altered communication between the gut and brain; describing this connection does not mean that symptoms are imagined or ‘all psychological.’
A young person may experience anxiety alongside nausea or other gastrointestinal symptoms, develop fear and avoidance around physical sensations, or have difficulty returning to school, eating routines, activities, or independence after symptoms become persistent. Psychiatric care can address the emotional and behavioral parts of this experience while respecting ongoing medical evaluation and treatment.
Who may benefit
When integrated psychiatric input may help.
Consultation may be useful when emotional symptoms and physical symptoms are reinforcing one another or making recovery and daily functioning harder.
- Anxiety rises around nausea, gastrointestinal symptoms, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, or other recurring physical sensations.
- Fear or avoidance related to symptoms is limiting school, meals, travel, sleep, relationships, or age-appropriate activities.
- A disorder of gut-brain interaction has been identified and emotional symptoms remain an important part of the clinical picture.
- Medical experiences, uncertainty, or prolonged symptoms have contributed to worry, low mood, irritability, or loss of confidence.
- The family and treating clinicians would benefit from a coordinated psychiatric perspective alongside medical and therapeutic care.
Approach to care
Integrated care without false divisions.
The goal is not to choose between a physical or emotional explanation. It is to understand how the parts interact and identify useful next steps.
Psychiatric treatment
When appropriate, treatment may address anxiety, mood, avoidance, sleep, or related psychiatric symptoms, including a careful discussion of medication when clinically indicated.
Support for functioning
The plan can focus on reducing fear-driven restriction and supporting gradual return to valued routines while remaining responsive to medical needs and limitations.
Coordinated planning
With authorization, psychiatric care may be aligned with therapists, pediatricians, gastroenterologists, and other specialists so recommendations are consistent and complementary.
Connected care
Medical and psychiatric care can work side by side.
Mind-body psychiatry does not replace medical assessment, and it does not assume every physical symptom has a psychiatric cause. New, changing, or concerning symptoms should be evaluated by the appropriate medical clinician.
Psychiatric consultation can add a developmentally informed understanding of anxiety, mood, avoidance, family responses, and functioning. When clinicians communicate with appropriate authorization, care can better reflect the complexity of the young person’s experience.
Begin a conversation
Request a consultation.
If you would like to explore whether this approach may be a fit, submit a request securely through the SimplePractice portal.
Please do not include emergency information in a consultation request.
EmailDrRaj@drrajmd.com
Phone617-334-5660
Service areaCurrently serving patients located in Massachusetts.