The Integrative Method
The Integrative Method is how we coordinate medication, therapy, and lifestyle care under one clinician in a single plan. It starts with a structured assessment, matches you to the right clinician, treats your whole clinical picture together, and tracks progress with validated measures.
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One method, four phases.
Conventional psychiatric care runs one piece at a time: medication on one track, therapy on another, lifestyle left to you. The Integrative Method ties them together: one clinician on one plan, from the first assessment through long-term care. Here is how it works, phase by phase.
Care starts before you sit down.
Ahead of your first appointment, the Sigmund Assessment, a structured digital evaluation, maps your full clinical picture, so your clinician arrives already understanding your case and care begins further along.
1
Reach out
Tell us what’s going on. A short first contact starts the process.
2
Intake call
A patient care coordinator learns your history, your needs, and what you’re hoping to change.
3
The Sigmund Assessment.
A structured digital evaluation maps your full clinical picture before day one.
Every layer that shapes how you feel
The Sigmund Assessment maps your full clinical picture, and your plan treats across every layer that shapes how you feel, not one symptom in isolation.
Four layers, treated together:
Lifestyle
Physical activity, supplements, sleep, nutrition.
Your core
Biological, psychological, and social. Brain circuits and neurotransmitters, thoughts and emotional regulation, relationships and connection.
Meta
Meaning, morality, and ethics, and the broader structural conditions that shape a life.
Culture and Environment
Belief systems and rituals, access to nature, secure housing, a safe neighborhood.
Your core
Biological
Genetic risk factors, neurotransmitters, receptor systems, brain circuits.
Psychological
Thoughts, emotional regulation, coping strategies, self-efficacy, self-esteem.
Social
Relationships, depth of connection, feeling connected, healthy communication.
Lifestyle
Physical activity, supplements, sleep, nutrition.
Environment
Access to nature, secure housing, safe neighborhood, low pollution.
Meta
Meaning, morality, and ethics, and the broader structural conditions that shape a life.
Culture and Environment:
Belief systems and rituals, access to nature, secure housing, a safe neighborhood.
A model grounded in research.
The Integrative Method was developed through academic research, not only observed in the clinic. Dr. Ryan Sultan, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and Director of the Sultan Lab for Mental Health Informatics, has published peer-reviewed work on ADHD and cannabis use disorder that informs how we assess and treat.
As Dr. Sultan puts it: "Why is it either medication or therapy or exercise or diet? Let's stack it." That's the principle behind the model: three pillars in a single plan, owned by one clinician, tracked against real data. For patients who want to look deeper, you can explore the research.
"Why is it either medication or therapy or exercise or diet? Let's stack it." — Dr. Ryan Sultan
What patients say about the process
Frequently asked questions
What is integrative therapy?
Integrative therapy addresses mental health across four layers at once: your core (biological, psychological, and social), lifestyle, culture and environment, and Meta. Rather than choosing between medication or therapy, it coordinates both alongside lifestyle medicine and measured tracking. At Integrative Psych, it's delivered through the Integrative Method, a four-step model that begins with the Sigmund Assessment.
What is the Sigmund Assessment?
The Sigmund Assessment is a structured evaluation your clinician reviews before your first appointment, so they understand your history and goals from day one and your care starts further along. It captures your symptoms, treatment history, and the full context shaping your life, then drives your clinician match and sets the baseline against which progress is measured.
How does clinician matching work?
Your patient care coordinator looks at your needs, then uses the Sigmund Assessment to find the clinician best suited to your goals, approach, communication style, and cultural fit. You have a say. If the fit isn't right after your first appointment, we'll work with you to find a better one.
Can one clinician really handle both medication and therapy?
Yes, that's how we're built. Our psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners are trained in both medication management and evidence-based therapy, so one clinician handles your treatment with no handoffs. In rare cases where two specialists serve you better, both work from the same picture, drawn from the Sigmund Assessment, and adjust together.
Start with a complete picture.
If you've worked through treatment with more than one clinician and it hasn't been enough, the Integrative Method may be what you've been looking for. We'll explain how the Sigmund Assessment works, talk through your history and goals, and match you with the right clinician. Available in person at our Manhattan office, or by telehealth anywhere in New York State.