Choose a Better Path with Cory L. Pelnick MD
I entered medical school with a curiosity about the connection between emotional well being and physical health. I was seeking an understanding of how systems "went awry" and a desire to understand how this might be prevented.
I've always seen much of medical treatment as a "band-aid" approach. This can be incredibly helpful once a system is out of balance. However, I found myself more interested in understanding the simplest ways to maintain that balance and prevent disease. This eventually led me towards psychiatry. Although all medical specialties require a deep understanding of their respective bodily systems, I feel that mental health has the capacity to affect the entire individual, family and social relationships and the larger culture beyond.
By the end of medical school, I had developed an interest in mind-body medicine as a concept, and practices such as biofeedback and meditation as a way of managing anxiety and affecting health. Although the mind-body connection clearly goes both ways, I was fascinated by the idea that managing emotional stress might prevent or lessen the impact of many chronic physical illnesses as well. I have maintained these interests throughout my career.
I have enjoyed working with thousands of patients over more than 25 years, in both rural and urban settings and who have varied from the "worried well" to the most severely impaired. I feel one of the greatest lessons I have taken from this experience is that while there are innumerable common threads in peoples' experiences and mental health symptoms, that each person brings to the table their own concerns, preferences, fears and desires regarding their treatment. If that fact is not respected, people become reduced to diagnoses and billable services.
Unfortunately, as the business model of healthcare delivery has changed over the years, I've found it increasingly difficult to practice in a way that allows real human interaction and understanding. For this and other reasons, I've chosen to step outside the business of corporate medicine. I am working to ensure that for both me and my patients, that this is a better path.
Practice Details:
As many practitioners and patients have learned through our collective experience of the pandemic, Telehealth has both advantages and disadvantages which vary with medical specialties.
For Psychiatry, I've found it to be a very effective way of connecting with individuals without as many interruptions to their daily lives.