Gianna Biscontini, the new face of mental health and wellness. Photo by Malek Naz Freidouni

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Gianna Biscontini did not set out to disrupt what she describes as the “mental health care industry.” But a walk in California’s Muir Woods opened her eyes to what therapy could—and should—be: “a transformative experience that combines science-supported practices with the healing capacity of the mind and body.”

As a long-time executive coach and clinical behavior analyst, Biscontini had been struck by what she calls “experiential avoidance,” a coping mechanism she attributes to our inability to “expect and tolerate discomfort. Eating too much, drinking too much, buying things we don’t need. They’re all symptoms of looking for that quick fix, a temporary escape from how we really feel.”

Trauma and suffering are real, she explains. Especially now. But the way we try to manage our malaise and make peace with it doesn’t work. “Most Western medical models (including our own) attempt to logic our way through, when it seems to be most helpful to reach outside of what we already know (or think we know). Changing your thinking, expanding it by getting out of your head, so to speak, is how you can truly change your life.”

This epiphany led her to change her own approach to helping clients solve the existential questions that keep them up at night (“Who am I? What am I meant to be doing in this world? How can I get there?”) and which methods like traditional talk therapy and standard meds fail to address.

Working in the Bay Area, Biscontini was trained in the Eastern practices and non-traditional drug therapies that ultimately became the foundation for Expanded Women’s Health + Wellness, a clinic she established two years ago to “integrate cutting-edge research within a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework.” She is one of the few practitioners in the Washington metro area to offer psychedelics and ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) for “trauma, OCD, anxiety and depression, gut-brain nutritional interventions for energy improvement, and parent-centered wellness support for caregivers navigating burnout, identity shifts, or generational healing work.”

Biscontini admits that although Elon Musk and Matthew Perry may have given ketamine a bad name, her safe and carefully supervised sessions succeed in “fostering deeper emotional understanding and psychological flexibility, enabling individuals to work through existing patterns and experiences with greater clarity.” Which means patients can get on with their lives without being tethered to or entrenched in a diagnosis that limits their emotional growth and, well, expansion.

The clinic’s warm and eco-friendly space welcomes women, the AFAB community and their male allies. The practice does not accept insurance but does return a portion of its profits to subsidize care for those in need.

We asked how she would counsel harried and harassed Washingtonians in these difficult times. She laughed: “Slow down, maintain a breath work or meditation practice, and develop a healthy release for the anger, grief, or stress building up in your body. Your mental and physical health are one. Treat them holistically and honor your self-care. It’s not an indulgence. It’s a necessity.”

Expanded Women’s Health + Wellness is located at 2168 Wisconsin Ave NW. For more information, visit expandedwomenshealth.com or call 202.599.1323.

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Open Minded: Gianna Biscontini Wants You to Tune in to Your Truest Self | The Georgetowner