Dr. Ballestas is a board-certified adult psychiatrist who specializes in holistic mental health and psychotherapy. He has over 10 years of experience treating mental health conditions using a combination of psychotherapy, medication management and lifestyle medicine.
Early in life, Dr. Ballestas developed a fascination with natural and herbal medicine. During his first years as a medical student, he felt compelled to become a psychiatrist after noticing how mental illness not only impacted the patient, but also their families and their community. His compassionate nature led him to find safer ways to counter the mental health stigma.
Dr. Ballestas completed his Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training and Psychiatric residency at Albert Einstein (Bronx Lebanon Hospital) in NYC, where he served as chief resident. His compassion and commitment to underserved populations led him to complete a fellowship in Public and Community Psychiatry at Yale University.
His interest in treating the whole person inspired Dr. Ballestas to study Functional Medicine and Integrative Medicine, where he learned to incorporate numerous holistic modalities to improve the overall health and wellbeing of his patients.
His dynamic and empathic approach helps his patients understand themselves, identify their strengths and create individualized treatment plans. He encourages his patients to have an active role in their recovery while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Ballestas believes that by empowering others with the knowledge needed to balance their lives; they can reach their full potential and live a happier, healthier life.
In his free time, Dr. Ballestas enjoys being a parent, spending time with loved ones and energizing his life with music, dance and drumming.
