In the bustling heart of Atlanta, amidst the clamor of conventional psychiatric practices, Dr. David A. Wright stands as a beacon of holistic healing and transformative care. With a unique blend of medical expertise, holistic approaches, and psychoanalytic insight, Dr. Wright is redefining mental health treatment. As one of only two medical doctors in Atlanta offering a comprehensive approach that integrates naturopathy and psychoanalysis, his methods have garnered attention for their remarkable success. Dr. Wright’s track record speaks volumes. With an astounding nearly 100% success rate, he guides his clients through the labyrinth of depression, anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, trauma, PTSD, mood disorders, and personality disorders, all without resorting to pharmaceutical crutches laden with side effects. Beyond his clinical practice, Dr. Wright is a prolific author, releasing two groundbreaking self-improvement books, “Tomato Bisque for the Brain” and “Sweet Potato Bisque for the Brain,” offering nourishment for the mind and soul. In Mystic Mag‘s exclusive interview, Dr. David A. Wright shares his journey, his methods, and his vision for a future where holistic healing is not just an alternative but a cornerstone of mental health care.
Your approach to mental health seems unique and comprehensive. Could you elaborate on how you integrate holistic, naturopathic, and psychoanalytic methods in your hypnotherapy practice?
I have a “Holistic Mental Health & Wellness” Practice. My practice uses holistic, naturopathic, cognitive behavioral, psychoanalytic, and other methods (including hypnosis, hypnotherapy, and NLP), but it’s not a hypnotherapy practice per se.
I created MLC Of Greater Atlanta in 2016 based upon my belief that our mental health and wellness system has failed in many ways, primarily offering people only 2 services: (1) Medication Management with psychotropic agents, some of which are addictive (2) Traditional Talk Therapies, which often fail to solve any issues because only talking about issues does not make them go away.
I wanted to provide a holistic, functional, integrative mental health approach to help individuals identify & accept issues, challenges & symptoms and then reduce, resolve or eliminate them using methods that help them build the mental, emotional, neural & metabolic muscles needed to overcome them without addiction or unwanted side effects.
My practices & my books (2 self-improvement books & 1 health/wellness/diet/nutrition/weight loss book) are based on these practices & principles, and I’ve helped hundreds of clients become stronger, healthier, more determined, more passionate, more perseverant, more resilient versions of themselves using & teaching them the best techniques I’ve found to help resolve issues, obstacles, dilemmas & challenges without causing unnecessary harm.
Visit my website & view the dozens of reviews & testimonials that clients have left sharing how their lives have improved & begun to shine & radiate from their sessions with us. We get to the root causes of your issues & then we create, coach & teach creative solutions that work consistently. We HEAL from the inside out.
My philosophy is that everyone is a unique individual with unique strengths, weaknesses and challenges, & I meet each client where they are with the knowledge & expectation that true change requires them to grow beyond their current comfort zones. I share more philosophies about psychology, mental health and wellness, & healthcare in general in my 2 self-improvement books, Tomato Bisque for the Brain, and Sweet Potato Pie for the Spirit, Soul & Psyche, both available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble.
My inspiration for the healing profession began with the care that I received from my parents & community, including my discovery of the principles of Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr. Milton Erickson, Dr. Karl Jung, progressed as I completed college (Triple Majors in Biology, Philosophy & Psychology; Double Minors in Chemistry & Sociology/Anthropology), & grew as I evolved through Medical School, Masters Programs & into consulting working in Forensic & Addiction Psychiatry. It ends with a desire to HEAL.
With your focus on avoiding pharmaceutical drugs, how do you address skepticism or concerns from clients who may be accustomed to traditional medication-based treatments for mental health issues?
Instead of pursuing a residency in psychiatry, I chose to study and train in disciplines that were more in line with the techniques used by the Father and Uncle of Psychiatry, Dr. Sigmund Freud (The Father of Psychiatry) and Dr. Milton Erickson (The Uncle of Psychiatry), respectively. Specifically, I chose an approach to health and holistic mental health in which the first step doesn’t involve just handing a patient a pill. During medical school and beyond, I found that psychiatry today typically involved seeing a patient for 15 to 30 minutes and making medication-related decisions, and generally prescribing pills. And, I couldn’t see myself simply prescribing pills every 15 minutes for the rest of my life. I also don’t feel that a pill should be the first solution sought for every problem.
Oftentimes, psychiatrists and other physicians (primary care physicians, specialists, etc.) prescribe medications that are addictive in nature and which carry significant, lifelong side effects, and many fail to share that with their patients. And, it’s my belief that it’s not ethical to treat someone with addictive agents without being honest with them about it. We have too much of an Opioid, Stimulant, and Benzodiazepine Crisis in this country to be concealing from patients that their prescription agents are addictive. I believe that helping people move past psychological, psychiatric, and life problems should involve getting to the root causes of their issues instead of just masking or matching the symptoms. Finally, it’s my belief that insurance companies and large pharmaceutical corporations should not be running healthcare in this country, and that’s what’s been happening for the past 60 years in the United States’ healthcare system. The purpose of my practices and my podcast, Fresh Start with Dr. David, is to change that and to provide people with more holistic, long term, long lasting choices and options.
Most of the clients who request an appointment from me aren’t skeptical about a holistic approach; actually, that’s what they are seeking. In my experience, many more people tend to have skepticisms about being treated with prescription medications, many of which are addictive and/or carry tough side effects, than holistic approaches. I think that people become skeptical about certain approaches when those approaches overly promise and/or push unbelievable claims or unrealistic results. When people push products or services with unbelievable claims, unrealistic results, or fast and easy outcomes then people should be skeptical.
In my practices, I express just the opposite to my clients. I share my beliefs and experiences that if it took a while for a problem to be created, then it stands to reason that it will take both time and effort in order to learn to manage it, resolve it, or reduce it. I think that people are skeptical of quick fixes and instant Band-Aids, and I’m skeptical of them as well. Generally speaking, I don’t believe in instant or quick fixes to significant problems. A Band-Aid is a great remedy for a small cut, preferably preceded by washing it and using peroxide on it. But, a Band-Aid is not a good approach to a large cut or open wound, right? And, when a solution is found that is quicker or more instant, like with prescription pills, there will always be some price to pay. In medicine, those prices are called side effects. And, in many cases, you may not see the full side effects (i.e., repercussions) for years to come, if ever.
What type of services do you offer?
The services that I offer are on the SERVICE TAB (at the top) of the Website, but the primary services are Mental Health & Wellness Coaching (for Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, Sadness, Grief/Bereavement, ADD/ADHD, PTSD, Life Discontent, Personality Disorders, Nicotine Addictions, etc.), Life Coaching, Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Self-Improvement, & Self-Development Coaching.
However, here a list of many of the services available at MLC Of Greater Atlanta: (1) Mental Massage–A short Hypnosis Session (2) Guided Meditation (3) Hypnosis (4) Hypnotherapy (5) Health, Wellness, & Lifestyle Coaching (6) Mental Health Coaching–Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Depression, ADHD, PTSD, Trauma, Imposter Syndrome, etc. (7) NLP [Neuro Linguistic Programming] (8) Life Coaching & Life Direction Coaching (9) Relationship Coaching (10) Academic Coaching (11) Vocational Coaching (12) Professional Development Coaching (13) Performance Coaching (14) Dietary Coaching (15) Nutritional Coaching (16) Weight Loss & Weight Management Coaching (17) Chronic Disease Management Coaching (18) Quit Smoking/Quit Vaping Coaching (19) Anger Management Coaching (20) Work-Life Balance Coaching.
I also offer a significant number of specialty sessions to help clients move past the following issues: (1) The New Year’s Resolution Session (2) Procrastination (3) Anxiety (Fear & Worry) (4) Bad Habit & Addictions (5) Boundaries Session (6) Childhood Trauma (7) Loss, Grief, Bereavement, & Acceptance (8) Borderline Personality “Black & White Thinking (9) Inner Critic “Perfectionism” (10) Codependency Fix Session (11) Over-Analysis/Overthinking (12) Overeating & Impulse Control (13) Inner Conflict Resolution (14) Life Purpose, Inner Passion, & Life Direction Session (15) Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, Self-Worth, and Self-Value (16) Self-Doubt Fix Session (17) Self-Awareness & Insight (18) Stagnation “Stuck States” (19) Guilt Elimination (20) Time Management & Time Mastery (21) Emotional & Psychological Triggers (22) Marriage & Relationship Compatibility and Accountability (23) Values, Principles & Beliefs Realignment & Rebuilding (24) Drive, Ambition, Motivation & Enthusiasm (25) Personality Analysis & Development (26) Learning, Studying & Test-Taking Strategies (27) Focus, Concentration, Attention, & Distraction (28) Memory & Recall (29) Self Awareness, Admission, Acknowledgement, & Acceptance (30) Life Plan, Foundation, & Structuring.
In your experience, what role does hypnotherapy play in managing conditions like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD?
When it comes to conditions like these (Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, PTSD, ADHD, etc.), I’m much more likely to use an assortment of methods and approaches to get to the underlying root cause of the symptoms associated with these conditions and to help my clients resolve them. Generally, I’d likely use a combination of methods, including life coaching, cognitive behavioral methods, psychoanalytic techniques, exploration of self-defense mechanisms, hypnosis and hypnotherapy, and other, meditative techniques.
In my experience, hypnosis and hypnotherapy, and other techniques, help to loosen the tightness of the subconscious mind and many of the rigidities, patterns, and systems that are running on auto-pilot there. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy help to move clients past many of the self-limiting beliefs that they may hold about themselves and their abilities. In addition, techniques and methods like hypnosis, hypnotherapy, NLP, Time Line Therapy ®, and Guided Meditation help to establish a strong rapport with clients, which makes it much more likely that they will play an active, trusting, and energetic role in their own healing, improvement, and evolution.
With your expertise in psychoanalysis, how do you address underlying psychological factors contributing to mental health conditions during hypnotherapy sessions?
Psychoanalytic techniques and methods help with making, creating, and elucidating connections between different personality and psychological factors, which helps the conscious, subconscious, unconscious, and other than conscious parts of the mind find solutions to problems using the often buried connections between variables. Because many parts of the mind operate on auto-pilot, psychoanalytic techniques can help to reconfigure mental processes so that automatic processes are more adaptive and flexible and less rigid and stagnant. These techniques can be used during hypnosis and hypnotherapy sessions in order to help clients move beyond their current maladaptive patterns, cycles, and oscillations. They also help clients move beyond self-limiting belief systems that undermine their true goals and ambitions.
In your opinion, what are some misconceptions or myths surrounding hypnotherapy and holistic mental health approaches that you often encounter, and how do you address them with your clients?
The biggest misconception people have is that a hypnosis or hypnotherapy session will cure anything. In my experience, that’s just not how it works. I often get requests that reference half a dozen conditions that are severe and chronic with a desire to cure it with a single hypnosis session. I think that many of these misconceptions are based upon stage hypnosis events, television shows, and movie caricatures of hypnosis.
Hypnosis is not magic. It’s not voodoo. Dr. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychiatry, used Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy. But, he did not use it as a cure for psychiatric or mental health disorders and conditions. He used it as another tool to help move clients closer to healing and symptom resolution & management, not as a cure.
Generally, if a problem takes time to be created, then it will take time and energy for it to be resolved, decreased, or managed. My biggest message to others is to personally and financially invest in your own mental growth and stability, self-improvement, self-development, and healing. If you make a significant investment in your own mental health and wellness, you’ll receive a return that exponentially magnifies what you’ve spent.
Particularly in the mental health and wellness field, you get what you pay for. If it’s cheap, then you should be skeptical. Find someone who knows what they are doing, is flexible, knowledgeable, and is truly passionate and purposeful in helping you reach your goals. Finally, don’t you dare give up on yourself! Your present circumstances are temporary, so don’t try to use a permanent solution to address a temporary problem.
