Patricia L. Gerbarg, M.D. is Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at New York Medical College and has maintained a private psychiatric practice for 25 years. She graduated from Brown University in 1971 and from Harvard Medical School in 1975. Dr. Gerbarg completed a Psychiatry Residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston in 1979 and psychoanalytic training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute in 1992.

Dr. Gerbarg has taught and lectured on a range of topics in psychiatry and psychoanalysis including transference, personality disorders, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, boundary violations, professional ethics, women's issues, breast cancer, and psychotherapy. She has lectured on trauma, neurobiology, and alternative treatments in psychiatry at the American Psychiatric Association Meetings, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society, the American Psychoanalytic Association Meetings, and other conferences.

Dr. Gerbarg first became interested in complementary treatments during her 7-year battle with Lyme disease when conventional medical approaches failed to restore her health. She attributes her recovery to CAM, including the medicinal herb, Rhodiola rosea, and mind-body practices. She has used these methods to heal patients suffering the long-term effects of this disease.

Over the past ten years, Dr. Gerbarg has been increasingly involved in research and writing about alternative and complementary medicine in psychiatry and has co-authored numerous articles and book chapters with Dr. Richard P. Brown. The American Botanical Council published their review of an herb called Rhodiola rosea in the November 2002 issue of Herbalgram. Their book, The Rhodiola Revolution (Rodale Press 2004), presents the scientific basis for the health benefits of this adaptogen in the context of a five-step holistic approach to reducing stress and maintaining energy. Dr. Brown and Dr. Gerbarg bring a unique blend of rigorous science and broad clinical experience to their work. Dr. Gerbarg has been extensively interviewed by radio stations, magazines, and newspapers.

Dr. Brown, Dr. Gerbarg, and Dr. Muskin co-authored a chapter on “Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry,” in the textbook Psychiatry Second and Third Editions (John Wiley & Sons 2003 and 2007). Dr. Brown’s and Dr. Gerbarg’s chapter “Alternative Treatments in Brain Injury” was published in Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury (APPI 2004 and 2008). They co-authored, “Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: Part I – Neurophysiological Model published in the February 2005 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; Part II – Clinical Applications in the August 2005 issue of JACM. Their chapter on “Yoga in Psychiatry” appears in the Clinical Manual of Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry (APPI 2007). Dr. Gerbarg’s chapter, “Yoga and Neuro-Psychoanalysis.” was published in Bodies In Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension edited by Frances Sommer Anderson (The Analytic Press 2007). She co-authored How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care by RP Brown, PL Gerbarg and PR Muskin (WW Norton 2009).

In addition to her clinical practice of psychiatry, Dr. Gerbarg provides consultation and facilitates the development of research projects on the health benefits of mind-body practices. Her interest is the integration of neuro-psychoanalysis, standard medicine, yoga, and medicinal herbs to promote healthy living, disease prevention, and more effective treatments for stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (see complete curriculum vitae).