I worked with Dr. Mitchell at the Amen Clinics of Reston, VA and she was hands down the most empathetic, compassionate and detail oriented doctor I ever had the pleasure of working with. She really took note of important details and context I shared with her (which many doctors often disregard), and she listens for clues that can guide treatment recommendations. Under her care I did extremely thorough bloodwork, cortisol testing, supplements and tried other supportive treatments that she suggested. My treatment was a journey of learning even more about my own body, my brain and healing techniques that even as someone well educated in health, wellness and nutrition, were new pursuits for me. Dr. Mitchell definitely values using natural remedies, mindfulness and healing from within. Unfortunately, Dr. Mitchell's caring demeanor alone was not enough to save my health/psychiatric journey at this time from being very agonizing and tumultuous. I was weaning off of a very powerful medication that had begun to cause a lot of side effects and rampant health issues for me, but tapering and finally getting off of it was one of the hardest things I've ever done due to the incessant and intense withdrawal symptoms I suffered from for an entire year! It was certainly one of the darkest, most hopeless times of my life, functioning was nearly impossible. I lost weight and strength, I had terrible body aches that made my chronic pain much worse, my nervous system was completely dysregulated, I became very frail, deeply depressed, losing the will to live, I couldn't sleep through the night and was chronically sleep deprived running on fumes, I was in severe physical and emotional pain. It was a time that I wasn't able to participate in my life or do many things I once enjoyed, let alone basic things like cooking and cleaning. I diligently tried all the recommendations, supplements, treatments and tapering schedule Dr. Mitchell recommended, and I am sure these things had some benefit, but nothing seemed to help significantly to relieve my suffering from the withdrawal. The risk and severity of withdrawal from intense medications like this aren't discussed enough. The medical system is so quick to put people on medication, but not well trained at how to help people get off of it and honestly not enough is really known about this. However, had I not had a doctor as skilled, detailed and compassionate as Dr. Mitchell, I would have been much worse off and might not have been able to get through that period, which I finally did! Together, we assessed my progress, made tweaks, tried other medication as a temporary fix, or even changed our approach in some cases. At the end of the day, it just took time, time for my brain and body to adjust and finally be able to sleep again (naturally, without medication). It took a year but I am now fully off that medication that caused serious issues for me, (even causing me to suffer a bad fall, concussion, nose and neck injury due to sedation while on the drug) and can finally say it's behind me. This process has done a lot of damage to my body and I am still recovering but I finally feel much more like myself again and I am grateful to Dr. Mitchell for guiding me. The cost of the Amen Clinics was too expensive, but it was at a time that I needed to ensure I was pursuing the best possible psychiatric care, leave no stone unturned, and the brain scans gave me clarity about my diagnosis and my path forward.