Michael Alpert, MD
Psychiatrist
Cambridge MA
Drawing on the work of Donald Winnicott, I strive to provide patients with a safe space where they can creatively discover meaning for themselves in order to feel more authentic, alive, and fulfilled. At the same time, I believe in the transformative potential of the therapeutic relationship and try to form strong empathetic connections with my patients. I prescribe psychiatric medications only when necessary and as part of a multimodal approach to mental well-being.
I offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (either as a solo treatment or in collaboration with psychotherapists), and I provide non-judgmental psychedelic preparation and integration for people who have psychedelic experiences both within and outside of the formal therapeutic context. As a musician, I have experienced the healing power of the arts and incorporate live music and customized playlists into my psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy sessions.
Dr. Alpert is a boards-certified psychiatrist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, where he teaches cross-cultural psychiatry to residents. He is a study physician, therapist, and sub-investigator on clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD run by the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), and he has a private practice based in Cambridge, MA where he sees patients for psychotherapy, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, psychedelic integration and preparation, and psychopharmacology (medication management).
Dr. Alpert believes strongly in achieving mental wellness by drawing on a broad range of healing traditions and addressing the structural causes of dis-ease. Prior to starting his own practice, Dr. Alpert worked as a psychiatrist at a community health center for Asian immigrants that offers comprehensive behavioral health services including immigration attorneys, tai chi groups, psychotherapy, and western psychopharmacology. A passionate advocate of social justice, Dr. Alpert previously volunteered for Partners-in-Health in Chiapas, Mexico, and he currently provides pro-bono psychological evaluations through the MGH Asylum Clinic for immigrants seeking asylum.
Dr. Alpert earned a B.A. in Chinese at Yale University and his M.D. at the Yale School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in Adult Psychiatry at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, MA, an affiliate hospital of Harvard Medical School. In addition to conventional psychiatry training, Dr. Alpert also completed a Fellowship in Psychoanalysis at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute as well as the MAPS training in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. An active musician, he has extensive conservatory training in the Western Classical tradition, and he has studied guqin (ancient Chinese zither). In his spare time, Dr. Alpert enjoys yoga, meditating, and rock climbing. He speaks Spanish and Mandarin fluently.