About Me

Professional bio:

Dr. Vania Manipod is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Neurology & Psychiatry in general psychiatry. She is currently in private practice in southern California and firmly believes in a holistic approach to psychiatry by incorporating psychotherapeutic techniques, diet and lifestyle, in addition to medication management, when indicated. She utilizes various schools of psychotherapy in her approach, especially psychodynamic psychotherapy, in which she pursued additional training after completion of psychiatry residency. Dr. Manipod is also actively involved in various social media outlets and has an international following to reduce the stigma of mental illness, particularly through her blog, Freud & Fashion.  She has been an invited speaker on both the state and national level on topics such as physician burnout, traumatic brain injury, and osteopathic principles & psychiatry.

Informal bio:

Before deciding to become a physician, I wanted to be a journalist, so a blog combines both of my goals.  My main purpose is to give a glimpse of the life of a new doctor with a passion to learn how to best help those who struggle for normalcy in life.  I believe that someone with mental illness is just like someone with a diagnosis like hypertension…sometimes they need medication, sometimes they don’t…but either way, the illness shouldn’t prevent them from enjoying life.  My life has definite ups and downs and as I learn to treat others, I undergo my own sense of therapy as well.  So my goal is to share my experiences and give tips on therapy pearls that I learn along the way!

I’m definitely not a fashionista, but I think it’s stylish to express yourself and feel comfortable in your own skin, which has been an ongoing process for me.  My profession has helped me learn so much about myself and I  look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you…and learning from your experiences too!

**P.S.  I’m a California girl, but completed Psychiatry residency training in Oregon, hence lots of CA and OR references in my blog

at my first backyard BBQ (check out the string band in the background!) in Oregon

46 thoughts on “About Me”

  1. Well it definitely is good to see that there are a few people out there that have a passion for sharing their ideas and thoughts with the rest of the world. I hope your blog comes along as well as a ll the successes (i think i spelled that right) of your life. Hope to see more.

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  6. I am looking forward to your posts and images of Oregon. My step-father was from there and I always wanted to see it…and now i WILL…thank you!

    Nice to meet you. Vania is such a pretty name! 🙂

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  7. Hi…I noticed you “liked’ the Support in Withdrawal page on my site…

    We are always looking for psychiatrists who are competent to help with withdrawal from psych drugs. If that is something you have experience with or alternately if you’re interested in learning how to assist those who run into difficulties there are lists where your name could be included.

    I’m associated with various websites who keep these sorts of lists.

    To see if you’re interested here is an article I wrote about the great need for prescribers who know about psych drug withdrawal:

    A plea to prescribing physicians and psychiatrists: please help us heal

    A plea to prescribing physicians and psychiatrists: please help us heal

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  8. Thanks for stopping by my blog, I really appreciate it!! I can’t wait to read your blog, I’ve been fascinated by psychology for many years. I was originally diagnosed at the age of 7 and have been going to therapy for 20 years, as such I’ve picked up a lot over the years, and due to some not so good things I became interested in Psychopharmacology. It’s fascinating to see how medication impacts someone’s life, unfortunately a few people I know have had their lives destroyed by medication, but I’ve also seen the positives- me being one of them.

    I also almost lost my life due to seroquel so I I’ve seen the bad side too (I was on over a 1000mg for almost 2 years, my mind just started to shut down and my cognitive functions vanished, I couldn’t speak, I had spotty memory and my body just started to fail. This happened because of a crooked psyhdoc I had been seeing. AstraZeneca paid him a lot of money to give his patients Seroquel. Before I knew it I was on an insanely high dose, oddly enough it wasn’t until the end that I experienced lethargy, which is weird because most people I know end up falling asleep or struggle to stay awake after taking it. In regards to how harmful seroquel was, when I was admitted to a psych ward for a major mixed episode, the nurses gave me instant release seroquel, I had been using extended release, I ended up having a massive panic attack, horrible palpitations and was put on a high dose of Ativan, which although helped me it was a major mistake. The day I got out of the hospital I overdosed on Ativan, it was one of the lowest points in my life 😦 .

    Well I think I’m going to stop, sorry for the long comment, but reading your about page and glancing at the front page of your blog, it brought up a lot of memories and I wanted to share them with you.

    Again thank you for stopping by my blog, if you want maybe we can exchange links, regardless I’m going to put your blog on my blogroll.

    I hope you had a wonderful Thursday,

    Dave.

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    • Hi Dave,
      thanks so much for your comment and sharing your experience. I’m glad you’ve done your own extensive research on the effects of psych meds, both good and bad. i’m a minimalist when it comes to prescribing and definitely believe that less is more, and try to educate my patients as much as possible about each med option (both positive and adverse possibilities). it’s great that you’re sharing your experiences through your blog. will add it to my blog roll!
      have a great rest of the week!
      Vania

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  9. “I believe that someone with mental illness is just like someone with a diagnosis like hypertension…sometimes they need medication, sometimes they don’t…but either way, the illness shouldn’t prevent them from enjoying life.”

    I love that!!! And even better from a human being who is a psychiatrist. 🙂

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  11. Freud & Fashion? An interesting combination of words. (Some call that poetry)
    F & F? Friend or Foe? 🙂
    Lovely blog. I’ll come back
    Take care
    brian

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  12. Can’t believe I’ve only just discovered this. Keep up the good work, looking forward to your next post! Follow back if you will, thank you.

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  13. There’s so much to be found in life, one has only to look. Life’s wisdom will take you as far as you choose. Take time to smell the beauty around you, let the influence of life love you, and be the beautiful gift that you are.
    My blessings to you…

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    • Hi Christopher – read your comment when I woke up this morning and was a great reminder to start my sunday and week to be mindful and open to the beauty that surrounds. Thanks for your blessings

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  16. Married an Oregonian and lived in Eugene for one year. Couldn’t take the overcast skies and rain. Ended up moving back after a year – what my psychiatrist at the time called the geographic cure.

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  19. Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog. I love what you said about mental illness because it’s true. Our illness shouldn’t define us as people. Sadly it’s the ignorance of those who don’t try to educate themselves about mental illness that pour fear into community. It would be cool to have a psychiatrist that loves fashion! If you lived where I was…I would change psychiatrists! Hahaha Hugs Paula xxx

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  23. Hey, California girl! I see you have patients from everywhere. I’m from Romania – Eastern Europe. When you get on a bike to come up here for a consultation? :). For real, there are days when I feel the need for someone like you. You know it because you just read my post. Thanks for that. I will follow you and your blog. Cheers, Monica

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  27. Hi, I was wondering what you majored in as an undergrad, and what do you think made you stand out when you applied to med school. I’ve been trying to decide what to major in, and I’m considering applying to med school. I loved my general psychology class and I love learning languages, but my family is pressuring me too be a nurse just so I can get a job right away. I’m really conflicted and would really appreciate your help.

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    • Hi! You can pretty much major in anything as long as u take requirements for med school. I was a bio major and minored English but if I could go back I probably would’ve majored in English and minored in bio ☺

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