Check Out Peter Kass’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Kass.

Hi Peter, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I don’t think I actually knew what that meant when I was younger. Prior to applying to medical school, I taught high school science at Dr. Olga Mohan High School downtown next to Staple Center (I refuse to call it by it’s new name). I loved taking care of my students and realized that I wanted to go to medical school to become a pediatrician. During medical school I realized that I actually liked taking care of clients’ mental health way more than I did taking care of their physical illnesses so I shifted towards becoming a psychiatrist and have never looked back. After graduating from medical school at UC-San Diego I did my residency at UC-San Francisco and my child psychiatry fellowship back at UC-San Diego and Rady Childrens’ Hospital.

I trained at amazing medical centers, but noticed myself become frustrated with how mental health care was practiced in these settings. I felt like my practice was constrained by the limitations created by large medical systems and insurance companies, which often led to really short appointment times, large patient panels, complicated phone trees, and impersonal relationships with patients.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the kind of care I wanted to offer patients and dreamed of being more neighborhood healer than medical provider; I wanted patients to be able to text and message me directly, feel comfortable and heard during appointments, develop meaningful and authentic relationships with me, and know that I was always there if they needed me. I knew this type of practice likely wasn’t possible in a traditional medical system so I opened my private practice immediately after graduating training and have never looked back.

I describe my practice as a boutique, holistic mental wellness practice. I don’t have any other staff so any emails, texts, messages, or phone call come directly to me. My clients never have have to navigate phone trees or complicated messaging systems to reach me, wait weeks for an appointment, or see different providers. I love offering clients a different type of mental health care than what they’ve received elsewhere, one that feels more personalized, human, and holistic.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think anyone’s road is smooth so mine has certainly had some pot holes along the way. Becoming a physician is an incredibly long and grueling process and I certainly had several moments where I questioned my path. I found true joy in healthcare when I found psychiatry and am so grateful that I made the choice to become a psychiatrist.

Our system is designed to teach psychiatrists a medical, biological model of mental health care that is often practiced in larger medical systems, which I always knew didn’t align with how I thought about care or wanted to practice. I worked really hard to find teachers, mentors, and training programs that would help me become the mental health healer I wanted to be. The path was windy but I believe that it was the path I was meant to take. I love that I now straddle the worlds of medicine and healing so that I have both skill sets to offer patients.

Like my clients, I’ve also been on my own mental health journey. I have a long history of anxiety that reached its peak during COVID and around the time I became a father for the first time. It took my a long time to recognize how my anxiety was impacting my relationship with myself, others, and the world around me, but once I did, I embraced my challenges and entered my own healing path that included a lot of the modalities I offer to clients. My own healing journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I am so grateful that to have profound personal experiences that I bring into my care with clients that can better help them have the transformations they are seeking.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
While I trained in western medical model psychiatry, my practice looks very different than the ones I trained in. I try to straddle the space between physician and healer and consider myself as much a therapist and holistic healer as I do a psychiatrist. My practice really focuses on helping people feel more whole, connected, and joyful, not just treating symptoms. I incorporate dietary advice, supplements, lifestyle coaching, therapy, mindfulness, into every one of my treatment plans and try to only use medications when truly indicated, which is sometimes the case. I also believe deeply in the power of deep psychological work to create lasting and powerful change and utilize guided ketamine psychedelic work with a lot of adult patients. I believe ketamine works best as a tool to deepen someone’s personal exploration and use it in the same model as other more traditional psychedelics, like psilocybin or MDMA, where the medicine helps remove some of a client’s psychological barriers so they can access thoughts, feelings, and connections that lead to more meaningful and powerful change.

I feel like true healing can only happen when patients feel comfortable and truly cared for in a practice. To ensure patients feel connected to and cared for in my practice, I maintain a small patient panel. Keeping my practice small ensures that I always have openings for patients that need them, can respond quickly to my clients’ calls, texts, and messages, and can have the extended appointments times that set my practice apart from traditional mental health practices. Part of what makes my practice so therapeutic is that patients know I am always available whenever they need me.

I find the standard 20 minute medication management appointments seen is most psychiatric practices as anti-therapeutic and see all my clients for 90-120 minute intake appointments and 45-minute follow ups. These extended appointment times ensure patients have all the time they need to feel heard, understood, and cared for. I also love working with other holistic providers and am often collaborating with patients’ therapists, coaches, primary care doctors, nutritionists, chiropractor, etc to ensure that we are creating the best treatment plan possible to help clients reach their mental, physical, and spiritual goals.

I believe the most effective mental health practice is one where clients feel safe, heard, supported, and cared for and do everything I can to make sure every client feels that way in my practice.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I am originally from Santa Monica, went to collage in Claremont, and taught downtown so LA still holds an extremely special place in my heart. I love LA’s culinary scene, especially the hole in the wall and neighborhood spots that make the city so special. Shout out to Gilbert’s El Indio and Bay Cities Deli (My order: Godmother w/ the works and spicy peppers) in Santa Monica, two places I always have to get to when I get back to LA. I’m also the son of an artist and television writer/playwrite, so I deeply appreciate LA’s art scene. My son likes the Natural History Museum and California Science Center, but I prefer to visit The Broad and LACMA when I’m in LA without my 4 and 2 year olds. I know it’s cliche, but the only thing I constantly dislike about LA is the traffic. I always tell friends if traffic is the worst part of LA, then LA must be doing a lot of things right.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://PeterKassMD.com
• Instagram: PeterKassMD
• Other: TikTok: PeterKassMD