Your questions about
metabolic psychiatry
Mental health isn't just in your head. If you're curious about the role of metabolism, start here.
What do you offer?
We provide comprehensive, metabolic psychiatry care for people with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and other mental health conditions.
Our board-certified team combines psychiatric treatment with metabolic science, evaluating how your body produces and uses energy, and how factors like inflammation, microbiome, hormones, and blood sugar affect your mental health.
Care includes psychiatric treatment, metabolic interventions, medication management, nutrition guidance, and remote ongoing monitoring, all delivered through our secure mobile app.
We also address weight changes and metabolic side effects from psychiatric medications, and can prescribe medications such as GLP-1s when clinically appropriate.
What is Metabolic Psychiatry?
Metabolic psychiatry is a medical discipline shaped by the work of Stanford physician-scientist Dr. Shebani Sethi, who coined the term and leads some of its foundational research. This field examines how your body’s metabolism affects your brain and mental health.
Your brain depends on a steady supply of energy. When that system is disrupted, through high blood sugar, inflammation, or nutrient imbalances, it can worsen or even drive conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
While traditional psychiatry focuses on managing symptoms, metabolic psychiatry identifies and addresses the underlying metabolic factors that influence brain function and treatment response. By improving how your body and brain produce and use energy, it can enhance mood stability, treatment effectiveness, and overall quality of life.
How does treatment work?
You’ll work with a dedicated care team, including a board-certified psychiatrist, clinical metabolic specialists, and nutrition experts, through our mobile app.
Your team begins by testing for metabolic factors that affect brain function, such as insulin resistance, inflammation, hormone imbalances, and blood sugar regulation. These results reveal what’s happening in your body, not just your symptoms.
Then they build your personalized treatment plan by combining psychiatric care, metabolic interventions, nutrition guidance, and medication management, all coordinated around your unique biology.
You’ll attend video visits with your psychiatrist, complete daily check-ins to track your progress, and communicate with your team through secure messaging. Your team monitors your data on an ongoing basis and adjusts your treatment as your body responds.
Unlike traditional psychiatry, which treats symptoms in isolation, your team works together on one integrated plan that addresses both your mental health and the metabolic factors influencing it. This model allows for more continuous, responsive care than traditional appointment-based psychiatry.
What makes MPL different?
MPL was founded by Dr. Shebani Sethi, the Stanford physician-scientist who coined the term “metabolic psychiatry” and leads foundational clinical research in the field.
Our care protocols are built on more than a decade of NIH and foundation-funded trials and clinical evidence, and they continue to evolve as we conduct new research. When you receive care at MPL, you're treated by the team that helped define this field and is actively advancing it.
We're not just applying metabolic psychiatry, we're building it. Through ongoing clinical trials and research partnerships, MPL contributes directly to the science, which means your care reflects the most current evidence available and helps generate new insights that advance the field.
Patients may also choose to participate in confidential research studies that help shape the future of metabolic psychiatry care.
Who might benefit from this approach?
Metabolic psychiatry treats people experiencing:
- Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, schizophrenia, eating disorders, or other mental health conditions
- Treatment-resistant symptoms where traditional approaches haven’t been enough
- Metabolic concerns alongside mental health, such as weight changes or metabolic side effects from psychiatric medications
- Persistent brain fog, fatigue, or mood instability despite ongoing treatment
For many, this approach revealed the missing link between metabolic health and mental well-being.
Do I need a diagnosis to get started?
No. During your intake, our clinical team will review your symptoms, health history, and any lab results to understand how this approach can support you.
You don’t need an existing diagnosis to begin; our process helps determine whether metabolic psychiatry care is the right fit for your needs.
How will I know if this is working?
Your care begins with clear, measurable goals tailored to your symptoms, metabolic profile, and mental health needs.
Throughout treatment, we track key indicators including: mood, energy, sleep, and overall quality of life. Your team reviews your results regularly and adjusts your plan based on what’s working.
As your metabolism stabilizes, you may begin noticing improvements in energy, mood, and focus within the first few months. Your treatment plan evolves continuously based on your progress and biology.
Is this covered by insurance?
Coverage varies by state and plan, and for services not yet covered, we offer monthly payment plans to make care accessible.
Before you begin, our team will verify your benefits and meet with you individually to walk through the costs.
We are actively expanding our in-network coverage nationwide to make metabolic psychiatry care available to more people.
How do I get started?
Step 1: Request an appointment
Answer a few brief questions to get started and request your first appointment.
Step 2: Initial clinical review
After you submit your request, our care team will review your details and be in touch about setting up an appointment.
Step 3: Comprehensive intake assessment
You’ll complete a detailed intake covering your health history, symptoms, and any relevant lab results.
Step 4: Your personalized treatment plan
You’ll meet with your psychiatrist and nutrition team to build a treatment plan tailored to your mental health and metabolic profile.
Is this just following a keto diet?
No. While ketogenic therapy may be part of your plan, metabolic psychiatry is comprehensive medical care that evaluates your full metabolic and mental health picture.
Your care team evaluates and adjusts factors that affect brain energy and mental health, including inflammation, gut health, blood sugar stability, hormones, sleep, and medications. Based on your clinical profile, they'll determine which interventions, including nutrition approaches, are right for you.
When appropriate, ketogenic metabolic therapy is prescribed and closely supervised. For others, different nutrition protocols may be more effective. For patients with eating disorders, we take a specialized, closely supervised approach to ensure safety and nutritional balance.
Every plan is individualized and guided by licensed clinicians with expertise in metabolic psychiatry and nutrition interventions. For some patients, ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) may be part of their plan.
What is Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy
Ketogenic metabolic therapy is a clinically supervised nutritional treatment that changes how your body and brain use energy.
By shifting the body’s primary fuel source from glucose to ketones, it can improve brain energy stability and reduce inflammation, which are factors that influence mood, cognition, and other aspects of mental health.
This therapy has been studied for decades in neurology and psychiatry, with emerging evidence showing benefits for conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Unlike a standard keto diet, ketogenic metabolic therapy is a medical intervention that requires clinical monitoring and expert supervision, tailored to your needs as part of an integrated treatment plan.
Can I refer a patient or collaborate as a provider?
Yes. We’re building referral and partnership pathways for clinicians interested in metabolic psychiatry and its integration into patient care.
If you’d like to refer a patient, you can share our book an appointment below:
If you’re a provider interested in collaboration, join our provider waitlist:
