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Natural Awakenings Milwaukee Magazine

Trinergy Center for Integrative Psychiatry: Holistic Approaches for Mental and Physical Wellness

Nov 01, 2022 12:00AM ● By Sheila Julson
Trinergy Center for Integrative Psychiatry offers evidence-based holistic treatments for emotional and physical health. Dr. Aruna Tummala, an integrative psychiatrist and the medical director of Trinergy, explains how they combine Western medicine with Ayurveda to empower patients to heal and recover from depression, anxiety, autoimmunity and chronic pain.

“We help our patients understand the root causes of their illnesses and help them find a path toward wellbeing,” Tummala says. “Our patients are able to recover their energy and vitality, come off medications and reduce side effects, and enjoy improved relationships with family and loved ones.”

Tummala emphasizes that a holistic approach toward mental wellness begins with holistic physical wellness. Rather than focusing on the brain to address mental illness, the Trinergy team realizes that emotional imbalance can originate from anywhere within the body because all organs interact together. Trinergy’s annual programs are designed to walk patients through a renewal process to revive their health, energy, vitality and relationships.

Trinergy features an Ayurvedic spa with organic products. Services include body massage, sauna treatments, detoxification treatments and shirodhara—an Ayurvedic healing technique often used in conjunction with massage therapy in which the practitioner drizzles oil, milk, buttermilk or water onto the forehead. According to an article on Chopra.com (Chopra.com/articles/5-benefits-of-a-shirodhara-treatment), shirodhara produces five distinct benefits: It counteracts the effects of stress, reduces anxiety, awakens intuition, improves sleep quality and pacifies the Vata dosha (the one that governs the nervous system).

A ‘Food As Medicine’ Philosophy


Tummala achieved her Doctor of Medicine in psychiatry in 2003 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bangalore, India. She practiced traditional psychiatry but was disappointed by the lack of healing she saw in her practice. After experiencing her own health issues, and becoming a mom, she became interested in the “food as medicine” approach.

“I changed my diet and saw that my attention deficit disorder had gone away,” Tummala says. “I explored further and came across the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine.” She pursued education and training in this field and became board certified, thus beginning her transition toward integrating holistic principles. She is board certified in adult and geriatric psychiatry. She earned board certification in integrative and holistic medicine through the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine.

Having a broad palette of Western and Eastern medical training and experience allows Tummala to develop plans of intervention such as diet, exercise, meditation, nutritional supplements, herbs, carefully prescribed psychiatric medicines and more to address symptoms of mental illness. Tummala recently became certified in the use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which uses a pressurized chamber to deliver oxygen to plasma and tissues. The increase of oxygen concentration can help reduce inflammation and thus stimulate healing.

Tummala plans to grow Trinergy to serve more people in the community. In an effort to reach all sections of our society, she hopes to open a nonprofit division of Trinergy to make integrative psychiatry more accessible.

Tummala expresses gratitude to her first batch of patients during 2016 and 2017 that trusted her to offer them integrative therapies. “I learned a lot and by the outcomes I have witnessed since practicing integrative psychiatry, I can confidently say that we can recover from the labels of mental illnesses without having to rely on pills with side effects for the rest of our lives. This is what gives me hope for all of us.”

Trinergy Center for Integrative Psychiatry is located at 12800 W. National Ave., New Berlin. For more information, call 262-288-2754 or visit TrinergyHealth.com.