Meet Gregory Sayer of Ficus Psych

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Sayer

Hi Gregory, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I felt a connection to the medical world from an early age. I have a scar on my body that I’ve had for as long as I can remember. It was caused by medical difficulties that required surgical interventions as a baby. My curiosity and the visual reminder of a positive impact that treatment can have on someone has been with me from the get-go. After rotating through the different specialties in medical school, I noticed that the field of psychiatry could have a unique and tremendous impact on a person’s quality of life and overall wellbeing, and I wanted in.

I also knew that I wanted expertise in not only treating adults but also children and adolescents. Improving a young person’s current situation and future trajectory is a lifelong interest of mine. From doing art activities with children hospitalized for serious medical conditions, during high school, to co-founding a community outreach organization for at-risk youth with my brother in college at USC, the leap to a psychiatry training, at UCLA, and child and adolescent training, at Columbia and Cornell, was a no brainer.

During fellowship training in New York, I founded a private practice, starting with a free evening when my shifts in the ER at the hospital finished a little earlier. Seeing my first private patient was exciting and felt like an important step to the rest of my career.

I continued building my private practice in NYC while working part time at NYU. After a few years, I decided it was important to move back to southern California to be closer to my family. I then embarked on the process of establishing a bicoastal CA and NY practice during the pandemic.

During this time, I realized I wanted to be able to provide patients with a broader set of services and continue mentoring other healthcare professionals, which inspired me to turn my solo practice into a group one, with other mental health clinicians. I am actively adding to your team at Ficus with the unique aim of having an inter-disciplinary team (including family therapists and social workers) to match patient needs with the best provider type.

I’ve also remained engaged with academia by joining the UCLA voluntary clinical faculty and have the privilege of serving as a mentor and supervisor for physicians in the psychiatry training program. Leaning into the LA network of healthcare providers has been rewarding and helpful for building the LA practice.

While direct patient care is my career priority, I’m also working on promoting mental health awareness through book writing and philanthropic endeavors with a local child mental health organization.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We didn’t learn how to start or run a business in medical school. Reading, learning, consulting with professionals, and connecting with others have all been part of the process. One bump along the road was navigating the complicated world of trademarks that ultimately led to our corporate name change to Ficus Psych.

There are many reasons why we picked the word Ficus beyond my love for plants. There are over 800 species of Ficus plants, and they symbolize our values of growth and diversity. The word Ficus also had very few trademarks associated with it! This bump in the road turned into a learning experience about adaptability and turning a setback into an opportunity.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Ficus Psych is a bicoastal outpatient mental health practice, based in LA. We work with children, teens, and adults and specialize in evidence-based, patient-centered care. Having trained at rigorous academic centers, published clinical research, and served on the program committee of the world’s largest child and adolescent psychiatry academic organization has instilled the appreciation and implementation of up to date, evidence-based medicine in our treatment. We integrate this scientific background with our conceptualization of the patient as a whole. Learning about a patient’s story, fears, and wishes are all things we consider when building a treatment relationship based on respect, appreciation of autonomy, and empathy. This combination fosters a treatment that can lead to tangible and meaningful change that will hopefully stick with them years after working together.

My approach starts with a thorough diagnostic evaluation. It’s essential to know where someone has been, where they are now, and where they want to go before launching into a treatment. Understanding the many biological, psychological, and social variables that contribute to the current symptoms gives us a foundation to work from.

As a psychiatrist, I am a medical doctor who specializes in mental health. Some psychiatrists focus only on medication management. While I may treat patients with medications, I also have a strong interest in psychotherapy and other psychosocial interventions. This is helpful as there are times when a patient may not be open to medication, there may be fear or past negative experiences, or I may think medication is not the best treatment intervention. Valuing the role of therapy allows me to provide evidence-based psychotherapies directly to patients, make recommendations regarding appropriate therapies to pursue, and / or better collaborate with an existing therapy provider.

At Ficus, we welcome those who are brand new to the world of mental health as well as those with past treatment experiences who may be ambivalent about reengaging. The opportunity to help someone cultivate a better life is at the core of our mission.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Reflective capacity is an essential quality that has been important for my success. The interest in and ability to reflect on things both in the clinical work and business side has allowed me to be adaptable and strive for excellence. A patient’s mental state, treatment course, or nuances of business development are all dynamic processes that I am interacting with. No one can fully predict the future but being able to be introspective, thoughtful, pivot, and adjust as needed allows me to best navigate challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ficuspsych.com
• Instagram: @ficuspsych
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ficuspsych