#188 – Dr Matt Bernstein on The Relationship Between Metabolism and Mental Illness

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Dr Matt Bernstein about the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry and how metabolism, nutrition, and lifestyle factors influence mental health.

Dr. Matt Bernstein is a respected clinical psychiatrist for more than 20 years. He is also Accord’s chief executive officer and one of the leading voices in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. After graduating summa cum laude from Columbia University in New York, N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, he received his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Bernstein then trained at the MGH McLean Psychiatry Residency Program in Belmont, Mass., where he served as chief resident. He remained at McLean Hospital after residency as a psychiatrist-in-charge and later served as assistant medical director of its schizophrenia and bipolar inpatient program. Dr. Bernstein has developed his passion for community-based care as the chief medical officer at Ellenhorn, a sister program of Accord, where he has pursued alternative ways (such as a focus on metabolism, nutrition, circadian-rhythm biology and exercise) to help individuals achieve their best levels of functioning without relying solely on traditional psychiatric approaches. In addition to serving on the clinical advisory board at Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bernstein is known for organizing the first-ever public conference on metabolic psychiatry in 2023.