Beyond the Brain: How Metabolic Psychiatry Is Transforming Mental Health Care
Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby is a licensed psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified coach, AAMFT clinical supervisor, host of the Love, Happiness, and Success Podcast and founder of Growing Self.
If someone had told me a few years ago that the most mind-blowing conversation I’d have as a therapist wouldn’t be about attachment styles or trauma—but about mitochondria—I would’ve raised an eyebrow, sipped my coffee, and politely backed away. But friends, here we are. And I am so excited to share this with you.
In a recent episode of the Love, Happiness & Success for Therapists podcast, I sat down with Nicole Laurent, LMHC, a trailblazer in the field of metabolic psychiatry. What she had to say absolutely floored me. If you’ve ever worked with clients whose depression, anxiety, or brain fog seem impervious to every tool in your therapy toolbox, you need to know what she’s teaching.
What Is Metabolic Psychiatry (and Why Should You Care)?
Metabolic psychiatry is an emerging (and let’s be real—paradigm-shifting) branch of mental health that looks at the role of nutrition, metabolism, and mitochondrial health in psychiatric symptoms.
We’re talking about real, physiological underpinnings of things like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and even garden-variety burnout. It’s not just about thinking better thoughts—it’s about giving the brain the energy it needs to do that thinking in the first place.
And the star of the show here? The ketogenic diet—though not the “bacon and butter for weight loss” version. We’re talking about a therapeutic, medically-informed ketogenic intervention that’s helping clients experience full psychiatric recovery. Not “I made a sandwich today” recovery. We’re talking, “I feel like myself again and I’m going back to grad school” recovery.
Why This Matters to Us as Therapists
I’ll be the first to admit—I was never trained to consider the impact of insulin resistance, blood sugar, or mitochondria on a client’s mental health. (Were you?) It was all psychodynamics, CBT, and trauma-informed practices like Internal Family Systems—and those are powerful tools! But there’s a whole physiological layer many of us aren’t addressing, and we need to be.
Because when a client comes into your office struggling with mood, cognition, or energy—and they’ve already “done all the things”—you need to know this conversation exists. Metabolic psychiatry might be the missing link between stuck and thriving.
It’s Time To Take Care of You, Too.
You’re a hero, and you deserve support. Sign up below to be included in the conversation, and get weekly “for therapists” podcasts, thought provoking articles, best practices, industry insights, free resources, and self-care ideas delivered to your inbox.
Nicole’s Work Is a Game Changer
Nicole shared how she went back to school (after a deeply personal health scare) to specialize in metabolic interventions for mental health. She’s now built an entire clinical practice around helping clients implement ketogenic therapies as part of their mental health treatment plans.
And the results? Stunning. Full remission in cases of treatment-resistant depression. Cognitive clarity that rivals stimulant medications. Clients reducing (or eliminating) psychiatric meds because their brains are actually healing. It’s not hype. It’s clinical data—and it’s changing lives.
Integrating Metabolic Psychiatry Into Your Practice
Don’t worry—you don’t need to become a certified ketogenic nutritionist to benefit from this. Nicole made it super clear that this is team sport therapy. You can:
- Learn the basics (start with Dr. Christopher Palmer’s book, Brain Energy)
- Get metabolically curious in your intake assessments
- Build relationships with professionals trained in metabolic psychiatry
- Refer clients who might benefit from these interventions
- And maybe…consider building your own niche?(Check out my free CEU training: Find Your Niche as a Therapist for more on this.)
This field is still new enough that if it speaks to you, there’s room to grow here—professionally and personally.
Let’s Keep Growing Together
If you loved this conversation and want more like it, be sure to sign up for my For Therapist’s weekly newsletter. It’s where I share new episodes, research highlights, thoughtful tools, and free professional development resources—all designed to support your growth and fulfillment as a clinician. You’ll be the first to know what’s new, what’s next, and how to bring it into your practice in a meaningful way.
Also, if you’re into this kind of multidimensional, game-changing dialogue, I’d love to connect with you on LinkedIn! It’s where I share what I’m learning, what I’m exploring, and where we therapists can geek out together. I also share info about upcoming free CEU webinars that I host specifically for licensed clinicians. I’d love to see you there!
Xoxo
Dr. Lisa Marie Bobby
P.S. Know another therapist who could benefit from learning about metabolic psychiatry? Forward this article their way. Share it with your colleagues or post it in your therapist groups. You never know who might be searching for the missing piece in their clinical puzzle—and this could be it.
Resources
Laurent, N. (2024). Retrospective case study: ketogenic metabolic therapy in the effective management of treatment-resistant depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1394679. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1394679/full
Sethi, S., Wakeham, D., Ketter, T., Hooshmand, F., Bjornstad, J., Richards, B., … & Saslow, L. (2024). Ketogenic diet intervention on metabolic and psychiatric health in bipolar and schizophrenia: a pilot trial. Psychiatry research, 335, 115866. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124001513
Danan, A., Westman, E. C., Saslow, L. R., & Ede, G. (2022). The ketogenic diet for refractory mental illness: a retrospective analysis of 31 inpatients. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 951376. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.951376/full?author_name
Subscribe, Share & Follow
The Love, Happiness & Success
For Therapists Podcast
