The goal was to tackle the issue of addiction and substance abuse head on. Richard and Joe welcomed back Dr. Krista Roybal, Executive Medical Director of True Life Center for Wellbeing in the UTC area. While working in private practice and at top hospitals including Scripps, where she served as Co-Medical Director of the Scripps Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program, Dr. Roybal recognized a need for a more innovative approach to treatment. She developed an approach that combines the warmth and individual attention found in private practice with the collaborative environment and neuroscientific focus of a medical facility coupled with her personal belief in holistic healing.

“Seeking help is an act of courage– a commitment on the journey to your authentic self”

Dr. Roybal founded True Life Center in 2014 with those concepts in mind. She exclusively sees patients in True Life’s Intensive Outpatient Program, where her compassionate, strength-based approach makes her particularly adept at treating complex addiction, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Dr. Roybal also specializes in benzodiazepine and medical detox, psycho-pharmacologic evaluations and medication management. Three years later, True Life Center continues to grow and thrive under Dr. Roybal’s hands-on leadership. As a doctor who has always been fascinated by the narrative of each patients’ life journey, she is proud to have developed a treatment center and a team whose mission is to address and treat an individual’s whole health – mind, body, and spirit. Brian joined the program to discuss his history of addiction and road to recovery.

Dr. Roybal completed her undergraduate degree at UC San Diego, then went on to New York Medical College. While training at UC San Francisco in Family and Community Medicine, Dr. Roybal was struck by the number of patients she saw who suffered from the physical symptoms of undiagnosed mental health issues. With the goal of learning more about the mind-body connection, she went on to specialize in psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, where she trained under some of the nation’s top addiction psychiatrists. There, she developed a passion for addiction medicine and a belief that compassion is the antidote for the shame-based illness.

In this week’s show, Dr. Roybal shares compelling data insights about the growing addiction problems within San Diego county, and throughout the nation.

Also joining the show was Brian, 24, a relatively new resident of San Diego who detailed his substance abuse history which started at age 13. He shared how he began using, his addiction and how he ultimately sought and found the help he needed to get clean despite some bumps in the road. He now resides in a sober living home in South Bay and has turned his life around. He’s a physical fitness enthusiast who exercises regularly and eats a healthy diet as well. His long-range goal is to work in the recovery field assisting others in need.

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