MENTAL ALCHEMY
alchemy noun
: a power or process that changes or transforms something in a mysterious or impressive way
- Merriam Webster
ABOUT THE PRACTICE
Are you looking for a different relationship with your doctor? Tired of feeling like a number, with an endless run around to get the care you would like?
I went into private practice, leaving some well known medical institutions, to provide a different, at times unconventional approach to mental health. I strive to be the therapist I would like to have. A cross between the welcome familiarity of a small town doc, a skilled scientist, a coach seasoned by years of experience, and a friend.
I am a pretty non-judgmental person by nature. I try to embody that in my work. I recognize that I have never lived your life nor have I walked in your shoes. So I won’t approach you with admonitions about how you could or should be doing things better. I consider our work together is as a team. I can provide a more objective lens through which we can look at your life to help you identify and overcome the obstacles keeping you from living the life you would like to be living, and. I also bring quite a bit of experience of working with clients through a wide variety of issues and a deep commitment to your well-being.
I strive to create an atmosphere free of any sense of judgement so you can feel truly comfortable talking about anything you need to - including giving me feedback about what is working and not working about our sessions. Having been an engineer for a good part of my life prior to becoming a doctor - I know that feedback is an essential part of success, and so I welcome it.
A fEW THINGS THAT MAKE ME DIFFERENT
I believe that truly effective therapy is built on a relationship - and that relationship, and the foundation of trust, is built over time. So I am happy to meet you where you are, and trust the process. So our first session will not be an exhaustive review of your life, rather we will focus on the issues that are bringing you in to see me.
I like to have fun. Why? Sure, because it is fun. More importantly, fun is your brain’s secret recipe to keep you engaged, because there is something to learn. That’s why a baby finds peekaboo so much fun, until it figures out that the face doesn’t really vanish when it’s hidden. It is also why so many of us find magic fun. How they know the card I picked, or how they make the ball disappear remains a mystery to me.
As we get to know each other, I am happy to share from a litany of stories of my “mistakes” if I feel that it will help shed light on what you are experiencing, or give you a different way to frame it, or to illustrate some tool or strategy that may be helpful.
I believe it is vital to look at the past, to understand how we got to this point, and the experiences and learning that shapes the way we look at the world. My focus, however, is on how we can build on or reshape that learning, to change your future. I believe in a strengths-based approach. How can we use your strengths to work around those problems to build the life you want.
SPECIALIZATIONS & INTERESTS
I can and have treated the whole spectrum of mental health conditions, however, my practice is best suited for:
trauma (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
relationships (individual & couples work)
sexual health and intimacy
mild to moderate depression
anxiety
attentional problems (ADHD)
My work often focuses on professionals who have been successful, but now find themselves struggling, especially clinicians suffering from burnout.
To do that I draw on a range of treatment modalities, to create a plan that builds on your strengths, and is best tailored to you and your goals:
accelerated resolution therapy (ask me more about this amazing modality)
cognitive therapy
behavioral therapy
hypnosis
mindfulness
emdr
life coaching
psychopharmacology
experiential neuroreprograming (a mouthful of a term I use to describe a new way of doing therapy. While talking can be really helpful, we truly learn through experience. When possible, I try to create experiences to help you shift patterns of your thoughts and behaviors.)
What to expect when you decide to work with me:
I believe our work together is to
first figure out what life you want to create and
what’s keeping you from that,
and then how we can get you there.
Importantly, I recognize that a solution that may work for most people, doesn’t mean it is the best for you. While I have enjoyed a lot of success in my work, each new patient brings a unique journey of discovery that I am honored to share.
I truly look forward to hearing from you, and hopefully working together!
Learn More
Set up a time for a free consultation. This is a chance for us to explore what working together would look like.
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I believe that life is a path.
Occasionally, that path has potholes. When these unexpected dips are only a few inches deep they may be jarring, but we are perfectly capable of working out of the situation on our own.
Sometimes those potholes are a few feet deep. While we may get a little scuffed up on the way down, we can still pull ourselves out.
However, when the potholes are twenty or thirty feet deep, try as we might, we find it nearly impossible to extricate ourselves. At this point we need a rope or a ladder.
I believe that medications function like that rope or ladder - and much like a rope or ladder, we still need to do the climbing that will ultimately get us out. Sometimes that effort may be as simple as taking medications, and showing up; and at others it may be more involved.
Fortunately my training and qualifications enable me to find that unique ladder or rope (or combination of ropes and ladders) to get you back on your road.
It’s important to note that medications aren’t always the right solution for everyone, and many of my patients don’t take any medications, and many of those that do only do so while they need it.
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"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
-Michaelangelo
Like sculpting, I believe that life is a process of chipping away the extraneous baggage that keeps us from becoming our authentic selves. The right therapy can be a really effective tool to help us live our authentic lives.
My approach to therapy is strengths based and holistic. I believe that for therapy to be truly effective it needs to be a good fit for both the patient and the provider. As such our first consultation will be over the phone, and at no charge to you.
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My primary concern is your health and well being. To that end I am fortunate that I can draw on a variety of treatment options, and when the case warrants, and we both agree, to pursue non-conventional approaches. Because I am not constrained by an insurance company’s narrower scope of allowed care, that affords us the opportunity to explore what feels right and good for you, and ultimately helps you!
I know most of us pay a lot for our insurance and would like to get some value from it. So I am happy to work with you to get reimbursed. When you ask, we will provide you a Superbill - a medical invoice - which I will write to facilitate your reimbursement - so you can submit that to your carrier. How much you get back is determined by the specifics of your plan. Unfortunately, there are too many of them for me to know in advance how much they will refund you. Truthfully, I think Insurance companies benefit from making it unnecessarily complicated.
ABOUT ME
I am a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. I was fortunate to have been the only civilian selected for a military residency, where I gained special expertise in treating Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injury. While I have worked in substance abuse, psychotic disorders and severe mood disorders, both in inpatient and outpatient settings, those conditions aren’t best suited for this clinic.
I completed my Psychiatry residency at Tripler Army Medical Center, earning my medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. I graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy, and served 12 years in the Navy, prior to going back to school. I finished my post-baccalaureate studies through Harvard, and earned my graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and Art at Stanford University.
A Letter to You:
All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
(Not My Kindergarten)
Actually, I don’t even remember my kindergarten or that I even went to one. I lived in India until I was six, and honestly I think they just started sending us to school right out of the gate. I’m talking about my daughter’s kindergarten.
When she was turning five, her teacher invited us to a small celebration they were having at the school. As part of the festivities the teacher sat all the little kiddos down for story time. As they waited, wrapped in anticipation, she began a cute little birth story about my daughter Ayden. “Before she was born, Ayden was sitting up in heaven,“ she recounted, “imagining what her life would be like. She imagined her parents...” And the story kept going. As she spoke, something odd occurred to me - there was nothing about my daughter in the story. In fact, if she simply replaced “Ayden” with anyone else’s name, it would be an equally valid story about their birth.
For those of you that knew her back then, you know that she had these amazing long golden wavy locks (her mom and I always wondered where they came from). She was (and is) a pretty amazing girl - but her hair was something everyone noticed, and even strangers would come up to us to comment on. But there was nothing about those locks in her story. Odd. I thought to myself, well….what if she didn’t have that beautiful hair, would I still love her?
Yes, of course!
What if she had ugly hair (whatever that is), would I still love her?
Yes! Without doubt!
What if she was bald?
Yes!
There was nothing in the story about her smile. We had affectionately come to call her super-powered alter ego “EVIL GRIN” - because when she wore that beautiful and devilish smile, you knew she was cooking up something truly mischevious! She of course had other ones, but that one was certainly note worthy. But, nothing about her smile!
The same thoughts crossed my mind.
What if she didn’t have any of her charming smiles, would I still love her?
Yes, of course!
What if she had ugly teeth and a crooked smile?
Would I still love her?
Yes.
What if she was toothless?
Yes! In fact for much of her early years we wondered if she was ever going to get a full set of teeth.
What if she wasn’t athletic?
Yes.
What if she was handicapped?
Yes.
What if she wasn’t smart? Would I still love her?
Yes.
What if she was stupid? (I know it sounds harsh, but I thought it.)
Would I still love her?
Yes.
What if she was mentally disabled?
Yes.
In fact there wasn’t a condition that I could come up with that would change that I loved her, or that I believed she deserved to be loved. It was then that I realized something really important. None of it was important! She was inherently worthy of being loved! We use all these adjectives to describe the people we love, as if somehow those qualities made them lovable - or worthy of love. But they really aren’t important.
There it was staring at me plain as day… We are all inherently deserving of being loved. There is nothing we need to do, or even can do to make us more deserving of love. Equally important is that there is nothing we can do to make us less deserving of love.
As a physics major, my mind of course turned to a simple physics concept to help me really digest the enormity of this revelation. (Yes, that is my nerd flag proudly flying) In order to get a particle, even the tiniest of particles to travel fast (close to the speed of light fast) we have to push on it with a lot of force. The closer to the speed of light we get, the bigger the force required, until finally to get it to the speed of light, it takes an infinite force. Basically, it’s impossible! But photons (light particles) are already traveling at the speed of light. They don’t need any external force. In fact, an external force can’t make them go any faster, or slower for that matter. So you might be wondering how does this relate?
In short, if you think that being worthy of love comes from accomplishments, attributes or external validation - no amount of it will ever be enough. If on the other hand you understand that you are already perfectly lovable, you know that there is nothing you need to do or even can do to increase (or decrease) that. This was an especially profound revelation for someone (namely me) who had spent his entire life trying to be perfect in order to be good enough and worthy of being loved.
I hope this simple message reaches you in the manner it was intended.
I wish you all the best in your journey!
J. Andrew Chacko