Dr. Robert Hedaya

ROBERT J. HEDAYA, MD, ABPN, DLFAPA, IFMCP, is a caring compassionate doctor who is devoted to restoring each of his patients to health.  He gets to know each patient thoroughly – psychologically and medically.  Dr. Hedaya has been at the cutting edge of medical practice, psychiatry, and psychopharmacology since 1979.  He has decades of clinical training and experience, is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a Distinguished Fellow of American Psychiatric Association, and is certified as proficient in psychopharmacology by The American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology.  Dr. Hedaya acquired specialized training in psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Clinician and Professor

Dr. Hedaya is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical Center, where has been awarded the “Teacher of the Year” while teaching courses on Affective Disorders, Cognitive Therapy and PNIE (Psycho-neuro-Immuno-endocrinology).

Dr. Hedaya teaches Functional Medicine both locally and nationally. He teaches physicians regularly at the Institute for Functional Medicine, The Walsh Research Institute, Georgetown University School of Medicine, as well as local physicians. He teaches about Mood disorders, PTSD, Precision Medicine, Genetics, Methylation, Functional Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, Infectious Medicine and Toxicology, as applied to Neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Hedaya is a faculty member and master clinician at the Institute for Functional Medicine.  

Visionary Thinker and Author

With the publication of his first book, Understanding Biological Psychiatry, he pioneered the use of Functional Medicine in the psychiatric field. In it,  he explains how the brain works and how brain function relates to physical symptoms and cognitive and emotional well-being.

His second book, The Anti-depressant Survival Program, Dr. Hedaya notes that there is a dark side to these “wonder drugs” — punishing side effects such as weight gain, lethargy, and sexual dysfunction that afflict up to 80 percent of the people who take them. Until now, side effects sufferers have had nowhere to turn for help.  All too often their doctors dismiss side effects as “necessary evils” and urge patients to “learn to live with them.” Beginning with a Five-Day Jump Start that motivates and shows quick results, Dr. Hedaya takes you to step by step through his lifestyle program for restoring lost vitality, sex drive and desired weight. Then he offers results-oriented advice about how to work with your doctor to supplement vital hormones, vitamins, and micronutrients that are often depleted by antidepressants. There are also special sections written expressly for your doctor.

In Depression: Advancing the Treatment Paradigm, written for professionals, Dr. Hedaya details the nature of depression as a complex, multifactorial condition that is co-morbid with many chronic diseases, demanding a new approach that identifies and addresses the common underlying metabolic dysregulations. He bridges the gap between current and best practice by presenting a comprehensive, systems-oriented approach to solving the problem of depression.

Dr. Hedaya never stops learning. He wants his patients to benefit from the latest research and approaches. He presents his research at professional conferences.  In addition to his private practice, he teaches fellow physicians, medical students, and other healthcare clinicians.

Because he is known in his profession as a thinking man’s doctor who’s learned in the latest medical technologies and methodologies, Dr. Hedaya has treated many fellow physicians in his practice.

Medical Approach

Dr. Robert Hedaya evaluates each patient focusing on the detailed evaluation and bi-directional interactions between and among their:

• hormonal system
• immune system
• gastrointestinal system
• nutrition
• environment
• inflammation
• infection
• genetics
• detoxification
• cell signaling
• life circumstance
• age
• gender

Recent Professional Presentations

Walsh Research Institute, Evanston, IL

https://www.walshinstitute.org/practitioner-education.html

Mastering Brain Chemistry: Physician Education Workshop

The Walsh Research Institute Medical Practitioner Education Program offers unique opportunities for physicians and medical practitioners to learn advanced, drug-free, nutrient-based approaches for their patients challenged by autism spectrum disorders, behavior disorders, ADD/ADHD, anxiety, clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders.

The sessions include an update on new advances in brain science, the impact of nutrient imbalances on brain levels of key neurotransmitters, the ability of specific nutrients to regulate gene expression of proteins and normalize neurotransmission, and research related to the enhancement of the body’s protection against environmental toxins.

Institute for Functional Medicine, San Antonio, TX

Stress, Pain, and Addiction: Transformative Treatments and Innovative Solutions

https://aic.ifm.org/

This year, IFM’s 2019 Annual International Conference provides the tools to definitively impact patient care. Functional Medicine leverages comprehensive assessments and personalized multifactorial treatment strategies to untangle these often interconnected issues, making it uniquely positioned to transform how we address stress, pain, and addiction in clinical practice. Join IFM in San Antonio, TX, to engage with cutting-edge research and clinical insights regarding stress, pain, and addiction and help improve outcomes for the majority of your patients.

Dr. Hedaya will present: A Functional Approach to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Institute for Functional Medicine, Denver, CO

Illuminating the Energy Spectrum: Evidence and Emerging Clinical Solutions for Managing Pain, Fatigue, and Cognitive Dysfunction

Dr. Hedaya will present: A Functional Approach to Depression clinical considerations and case-based applications

Media

Dr. Hedaya has been featured as an expert consultant numerous times, including television appearances on the Today Show, Fox, CBS Evening News, 20/20, MSNBC, and CNN.  He blogs for Psychology Today.

Professional Status:

• Founder, The National Center for The Center for Whole Psychiatry + Brain Recovery
• Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, Department of Psychiatry
• Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
• The Endocrine Society, Active Member
• Washington Psychiatric Society
• Suburban Maryland Psychiatric Society

Society Affiliations:

• American Group Psychotherapy Association
• American Medical Association
• American Pain Society
• Maryland Chirurgical Society
• Metropolitan Washington Society for Adolescent Psychiatry
• The Mid-Atlantic Environmental Medicine Network

Certification:

Awards:

• Phi Beta Kappa: S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, 1974
• B.A., Cum Laude: S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, 1974
• Pediatrics Honors Award: S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo School of Medicine, 1976
• Physicians Recognition Award: American Medical Association, 1983-1996
• Outstanding Teacher Award: Georgetown University Department of Psychiatry, 1993
• Clinician of the Month: Functional Medicine Update: February 1997
• Community Service Award: Washington Psychiatric Society, 1997
• Outstanding Teacher Award: Georgetown University Department of Psychiatry, 1997
• Clinician of the Month: Audio Interview for Functional Medicine Update, March 1997
• Outstanding Teacher Award: Georgetown University Department of Psychiatry, 1999
• Historical Society’s Who’s Who Recipient: International Who’s Who of Professionals, 2002
• Institute for Functional Medicine, Master Clinician, May 2009

Publications:

• Pharmacokinetic Factors in the Clinical Use of L-Tryptophan. Hedaya, R.J., J. of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol. 4, No. 6, December 1984.
• The Womanizer: Hedaya, R.J., Journal of Human Sexuality, Vol. 9, No 1, 1985.
• Carcinoid Carcinomatous Meningitis: Nagourney, R.A., Hedaya, R.J.; Annals of Internal Medicine, Volume 102, pp.779-782, 1985.
• Utility of Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone in Clinical Practice: A Retrospective Analysis of Thirty Cases: Hedaya, R.J; Manuscript In Preparation.
• Understanding Biological Psychiatry Hedaya, R.J., 1996, Norton Publishing Company (311 pages), Professional Book Division.
• Bullies, Bullets and the Happy Genes Theory
  Letter to the Editor New York Times
  July 19, 1996
• Seasonal Depression in Patients with Dissociative Disorders: Clark, H.C., Hedaya, R.J., Rosenthal, N.E. In: Journal Of Nervous and Mental Disease: 184;7;433-437. July 1996.
• The Antidepressant Survival Program: How to Beat the Side Effects and Enhance the Benefits of Your Medication Hedaya, R.J., 2000, Crown Publishers (292 pages).
• Book Chapter: Stress, Spirituality, Poverty and Community
  Textbook of Functional Medicine, Institute for Functional Medicine
  Gig Harbor, Washington (2006).
• Depression: Advancing the Treatment Paradigm, Hedaya, R.J., Institute for Functional Medicine, Gig Harbor, Washington (May 2008).
• Integrating Nutrition into Practice: Chapter: Nutrition and Mental Health (2017) CRC press with Nora Galil.
• Reversal of Acquired Prosopagnosia using Quantitative Electroencephalography-Guided Laser Therapy: Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine, and Laser Surgery Vol 40; No 3. March 2022.