Getting to know Dr. Galindo

Why did you become a psychiatrist?

It was from a life-altering sports injury that I was introduced to the world of therapy as a patient, and later on through the eyes of a medical student. As a patient, I began to learn about the deep roots my physical injury had dug into my mental wellbeing.  Something I had been ignoring and wishing would go away once my physical pain was cured. On the other end, as a medical student, I noticed a feeling of dissatisfaction after most patient encounters. I had learned about patients’ physical ailments and the chronic problems they had relayed to me; but I left each patient encounter wanting more: wanting to know what their lives were like and how they grew up in an effort to find a deeper source of their pain and suffering. I realized the problem with these consultations was that there was a gap between the doctor and the patient in the process of becoming well. Not until I worked in the field of psychiatry did I realize that this gap in communication comes from the failure to integrate a patient’s internal and external health. All health professionals are invested in finding the sources of ailment, but psychiatry helped me understand that sources can often come from two places at once. That more complex understanding of wellness and the human experience opened up a new world of medicine to me, one which told the patient’s whole story and which offered more varied perspectives on how to relieve suffering.

How did you come to found, Innerbloom?

My goal as a psychiatrist has always been to implement the strategies and psychopharmacological tools I have been taught in order to help those suffering from mental illness. However, over my years of practice, I have realized the limitations of the standard tools and medicines within psychiatry. At times the best our standard treatments can do was help people “get by” and as one veteran patient once told me, “survive by numbness.” This way of helping is not enough. It is through the extensive studying of psychedelics and their potential for profound healing that has given me renewed hope in this field. We can do more. My goal was to open a practice where I not only use my skills learned in residency but also provide an environment for growth to those who have reached the end of the standard algorithm. It is then I decided to dedicate my time in obtaining a certificate in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy through the California Institute of Integral Studies. With this clinic, I am honored to be a part of something so extraordinary in pursuit of alleviating our suffering.

Hobbies

• Making music

• Art

• Spending time in nature