Pooja Lakshmin

Pooja Lakshmin MD is a psychiatrist, a bestselling author and a contributor to The New York Times. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Lakshmin has spent thousands of hours taking care of individuals struggling with burnout, despair, depression, and anxiety in her clinical practice. Her debut book, "Real Self-Care: Crystals, Cleanses, and Bubble-Baths Not Included," presents a long-overdue reckoning with the contradictions of the wellness industry and a paradigm-shifting program for practicing real self-care that empowers and uplifts readers. It was named an NPR Best Book of 2023, and has been featured on "Good Morning America," NPR, Talks at Google, "The Ezra Klein Show," The New York Times, Vox, The Guardian and more.

A noted speaker, Dr. Lakshmin is regularly invited to give her signature keynote: "Real Self-Care is An Inside Job." In it, she covers her Four Principles of Real Self-Care using evidence-based tools, compelling storytelling, and a dose of humor. She also works as a consultant for companies to design mental health programming.

She holds a BA in women’s studies and the biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MD from Jefferson Medical College.