My Background

Before training to become a psychiatrist, I completed three years of residency training in radiation oncology, which included one year of training in internal medicine. My experience as a hospital-based physician in medicine and oncology was eye-opening. During that time, I developed a better awareness of the benefits and limits of western biomedicine, the ease or suffering our interventions can cause, the importance of quality of life, and the power of empathy and connection.

Although the work had been meaningful, being with my patients through their ups and downs, and having the privilege of hearing their stories, reconnected me with a wish to better understand the human condition and to work to ease emotional and existential suffering. This inspired me to transition into Psychiatry.

As an integrative psychiatrist with a background in medicine, I take into account both physical and psychological factors as well as the interplay between them in order to understand as much of the whole picture as possible. Then I work to treat the whole person, using psychotherapy, conventional psychiatric medication, and complementary & alternative medicine.

Credentials

    • University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts with honors in Biological Basis of Behavior

    • Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Medical Doctorate

    • Lenox Hill Hospital, Internal Medicine Internship

    • NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 2 years of Radiation Oncology Residency

    • Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, General Adult Psychiatry Residency

    • The Ketamine Training Center, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Training Certificate

    • Psychoanalytic Association of New York, Certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

    • Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

    • Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

    • Member, American Psychiatric Association

    • Member, American Psychedelic Practitioners Association

    • "Special Topics: Psychedelics" Presentation for Zucker School of Medicine General Adult Psychiatry Residency didactic curriculum, Glen Oaks, NY. March 2022

    • Ahmed I, Spitzberg A, Davani A, Arnovitz M, Michaels T, Kane J, Vadhan N. “Placebos used in modern studies investigating the effects of psilocybin” [abstract]. In: Grand Rounds; May 2022; Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra.

    • Deek MP, Kim S, Ahmed I, Fang BS, Zou W, Malhotra J, Aisner J, Jabbour SK. Prognostic impact of missed chemotherapy doses during chemoradiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Am J Clin Oncol 2018; 41:362-366.

    • Ahmed I, Dharmarajan K, Tiersten A, Bleiweiss I, Schmidt H, Green S, Bakst RL. A unique presentation of occult primary breast cancer with a review of the literature. Case Rep Oncol Med 2015; 2015: 102963.

    • Nosher J, Ahmed I, Patel AN, Gendel V, Murillo PG, Moss R, Jabbour SK. Non-operative therapies for colorectal liver metastases. J Gastrointest Oncol 2015; 6(2): 224-240.

    • Ahmed I, Ferro A, Cohler A, Langenfeld J, Surakanti S, Aisner J, Zou W, Haffty BG, Jabbour SK. Impact of metformin use on survival in non-small cell lung cancer treated with definitive radiation therapy. Journal of Thoracic Disease 2015; 7(3): 346-55.

Working With Me

We all share in many aspects of the human experience, and yet each of us is unique, with our own set of gifts and vulnerabilities - physical, mental and emotional. I begin with a comprehensive evaluation with the goal of thoroughly understanding you as an individual, your background, your environment and community, and your values. Then together, we work to define your treatment goals and how to best reach them.

Treatment with psychotherapy is aimed at getting to the root of and freeing you from what is causing your pain or discomfort, keeping you feeling stuck, or preventing you from feeling more whole, happy, healthy and at peace.

Integrative psychiatric treatment can help manage symptoms, regulate the mind and body, and create an environment that promotes healing. Treatment can include mind-body medicine, herbal medicine, nutraceutical supplementation, lifestyle interventions, and traditional psychiatric medication. Typically, prescription medication is prescribed for a period of time at the lowest dose that will be effective in helping manage symptoms. I also help people  safely taper off of or make changes to their psychiatric medications.