Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Alyssa Chimiklis.
Hi Dr. Alyssa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I started graduate school, I thought I wanted to focus primarily on research and treatment intervention work. Much of my training was in neuropsychology, particularly working with school-age youth with ADHD.
That changed when I had a predoctoral placement at an eating disorder center. It was the first time I really saw how deeply connected the brain and body are, and that experience completely shifted the direction of my career. It ultimately brought me from the East Coast to San Diego, where I completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego Health specializing in eating disorders.
In many ways, my career has now come full circle. I have my own private practice, Thrive Health, here in San Diego, while also continuing to work with the same eating disorder center on the East Coast where this part of my journey first began. My role there has evolved to include supervision, teaching, and program development, which has been incredibly meaningful.
I love that my work now has this East Coast–West Coast connection and allows me to bring together so many different parts of my training, particularly my work with eating disorders and ADHD and my focus on the connection between the brain, body, and behavior.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. And as cliché as it sounds, I think a lot of our struggles are where we learn the most.
I tried different paths along the way, working in private practices and full time in hospital settings, and I kept circling back to the same thing. I wanted to have my own private practice, but I also didn’t want to give up being part of a hospital and a larger clinical team.
There was also this East Coast, West Coast piece. For a long time, I felt like I had to choose. Do I build my life on the East Coast or the West Coast? Do I work in private practice or in a hospital setting? I was looking at so many parts of my life as either/or.
Things really started to change when I realized they could be both. I could build my own practice in San Diego and still be connected to the East Coast and the eating disorder center where this part of my career originally began.
In a way, my career has been about learning how to bring two different worlds together rather than feeling like I have to choose between them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Thrive Health?
Thrive Health is a highly personalized psychology practice specializing in eating disorders, ADHD, anxiety, and the connection between the brain and body. I primarily work with adolescents, young adults, and families. My approach is highly individualized because I don’t believe there is one approach that works for everyone.
I also work directly with parents who are often overwhelmed trying to figure out what their child needs and where to begin. Through parent consultation and care coordination, I help families better understand their options, identify appropriate resources, and navigate the different pieces of their child’s care. Sometimes having someone help connect the dots can make an overwhelming process feel much more manageable.
One thing that makes my practice different is my training in functional psychiatry, which has deepened something I have believed for a long time. The brain is not separate from the rest of the body.
We sometimes talk about mental health as though everything begins and ends in the brain, but we are whole, interconnected systems. Sleep, nutrition, genetics, the gut brain connection, stress, and other physiological factors can influence how we think, feel, and function. Functional psychiatry encourages us to look beyond the symptom and ask what might be contributing to why this person is experiencing this in the first place.
As a psychologist, I am not replacing the role of a physician or dietitian. Rather, this training has expanded the lens through which I understand my clients and collaborate with the other professionals involved in their care.
In many ways, that reflects a larger theme in both my life and my work. I’ve learned that it doesn’t always have to be either/or. Sometimes it can be both.
That same idea has shaped how I think about mental health. We can look at the brain and the body. We can use evidence based psychological treatment and remain curious about underlying physiological factors. We can specialize while still looking at the whole person.
That is probably what I am most proud of creating with Thrive Health. It is a space where we don’t have to put people into one box. We can be curious about all of the pieces, how they connect, and what each individual person may need to move forward.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
A lot of things make me happy. Having a cup of coffee alone on my balcony in the morning, spending time with friends and family, practicing yoga, traveling to new places, and having new adventures all make me happy. And I also find a lot of happiness in my work. There is something incredibly meaningful about watching clients who have struggled begin to find their way back to themselves, build a life that feels authentically theirs, and feel like they are truly the captain of their own ship. For me, happiness is a combination of those things. It is appreciating the small, quiet moments, staying connected to the people I love, continuing to explore, create, and contribute, and doing work that feels deeply meaningful.
Pricing:
- They can visit my website
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thrivehealthcc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivehealthcc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590765500988
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThriveHealthcc
