Judy Tsafrir, M.D. Boston Area Holistic Psychiatrist

Judy Tsafrir, M.D. Boston Area Holistic Psychiatrist Subscribe to my Holistic Health blog: https://www.judytsafrirmd.com/blog/

I am a Harvard affiliated, board certified, conventionally trained adult and child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, and a Certified GAPS Practitioner located in Newton, Massachusetts. I have a deep curiosity about development and healing, and have an open mind about trying diverse approaches to help my patients. I am familiar and skilled in working within a traditional medical/psychiatric model, but am now much more drawn to nutritional approaches to healing, as well as more unconventional energetic/holistic/ spiritual approaches. I love my work, which I see as helping my patients become most fully themselves, enjoying optimum health and vitality, and creating and living a life they love.

01/26/2026

The hidden cost of people-pleasing: How “fawning” affects your health ⬇️

Do you find yourself constantly agreeing with others, even when you don’t? Smoothing over conflicts? Putting others’ needs before your own until you’re completely drained?

You might be experiencing “fawning” - a survival response that’s just as real as fight, flight, or freeze, yet often goes unrecognized because our society (especially for women) rewards it.

Fawning is a self-protective strategy designed to avoid conflict through appeasing others. It stems from deep fears of abandonment and rejection - the unconscious belief that connection only happens when we silence our true feelings.

The hidden health cost? This constant inauthenticity activates your sympathetic nervous system, creating chronic fight-or-flight responses. Many patients with mysterious inflammatory conditions regularly engage in fawning behaviors that directly fuel their physical symptoms.

In Sacred Psychiatry, I explore how acknowledging your true feelings - first to yourself, then to others - is essential for healing. Sometimes the most powerful medicine is simply speaking your truth.

Try this grounding practice before difficult conversations:

Press your heels firmly into the earth

Notice your breath moving through your body

Feel where your physical body exists in space

Remember you’re authorized to have needs and boundaries

Ready to break free from the people-pleasing cycle? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

These physical strategies for asserting oneself come from Dr. Cathleen King the founder of the Primal Trust brain/nervous system retraining program.

01/24/2026

I’m on Gaia! Watch my Open Minds interview with Regina Meredith 💫

We dive deep into cosmic shifts, Chiron’s healing wisdom, and why true healing addresses the SOUL, not just symptoms. But one of my favorite parts? Sharing the simple daily practice that can transform how you navigate both personal challenges AND the overwhelming news cycle.

In the interview, I talk about what I call “the blessing way” - three essential things that, when practiced daily, dramatically improve life quality and help you stay centered amid external chaos.

As I share in the conversation: “We have a bounty of help if we ask for it” - but we forget to ask. These practices remind us we’re not navigating these intense times alone.

This is psychiatry beyond the mind, exploring the cosmic dimensions of healing and what it means to work with both personal patterns AND collective energies.

✨ Click here to watch the full episode! https://www.gaia.com/video/cosmic-psychiatry-healing-beyond-the-mind?utm_source=ambassador&oid=645&affid=3338

Ready to develop your own spiritual practice for turbulent times? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry below 📚

https://www.judytsafrirmd.com/sacred-psychiatry-book/

01/23/2026

🐅 “Imagine you’re surrounded by 10 ferocious hungry tigers. What do you do? Stop imagining.”

This profound teaching, often attributed to Ajahn Chah, the great Thai Buddhist monk, cuts straight to the heart of something important: so much of our suffering comes not from reality, but from our thoughts and projections.

In Buddhist psychology, we’re taught to train our attention skillfully - to direct it in ways that reduce suffering and open us to freedom. This is quite different from the psychoanalytic approach I was trained in, which encouraged deep exploration and elaboration of painful thoughts, feelings, and fantasies.

In psychoanalysis, there was certainly no suggestion to “stop imagining.” Rather, we were invited to feel and think about everything from every angle - to dive deeper into the painful material.

Both approaches have value, but these days I find myself more moved by the healing that comes from learning to attune to the sacred dimension of experience:

The stillness beneath the mental chatter
The awe and beauty of the natural world
The peace that exists beyond our projections
The quiet truth that’s always available

In Sacred Psychiatry, I explore how both deep exploration AND skillful redirection of attention can serve our healing journey. Sometimes we need to feel everything; sometimes we need to stop feeding the tigers of our imagination.

The art lies in discerning which approach serves us in any given moment.

Which speaks to you more: deep exploration of painful patterns, or intentional redirection of attention toward what’s sacred and peaceful?

Ready to discover your own path to healing and freedom? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

01/22/2026

Neptune enters Aries: The shadow and light of spiritual warriorship

On January 26th, 2026, Neptune shifts into Aries (until 2039). Since Aries is ruled by Mars, when Neptune - planet of myth, fog, and idealization - enters a Mars-ruled sign, we don’t just get courage and initiative. We also get collective susceptibility to Mars’s shadow.

Fantasies of domination. Distorted ideas about strength. Glamorization of aggression and “might makes right” thinking. We can already feel this beginning as politics blurs into spectacle, with reports of mixed martial arts planned for the White House lawn next July 4th.

Under this spell, the storyline becomes: the strong are good, the soft are weak, the vulnerable are disposable. This is amplified because Venus is in detriment in Aries - meaning Venusian values like democracy, cooperation, beauty, and empathy can be dismissed as “soft” or “irrelevant.”

The last time Neptune moved through Aries (1860s-1870s), America was reshaped by Civil War, reconstruction, and fierce struggles over sovereignty and human rights, including early suffrage movements.

Neptune in Aries often coincides with eras when power becomes existential - sometimes expressed as liberation, sometimes as domination.

Yet Neptune in Aries can also awaken higher courage - fire in service of sacred activism, bravery that protects life rather than conquers it.

My prayer for this transit: that Mars and Venus find right relationship again, embodied as sacred activists motivated by compassion and guided by love, not conquest.

✨ What do these reflections stir in you? Share below!

Ready to navigate these transformative energies with wisdom? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

01/20/2026

Neptune enters Aries (Jan 26): When compassion becomes action

Neptune, planet of dreams, mysticism, and collective longing, moves into Aries after 14 years in Pisces. This marks a profound elemental shift from water to fire, from feeling to action, lasting until 2039.

When water and fire combine, they create steam - an invisible but powerful force that builds pressure, generates momentum, and reshapes the world.

The last time Neptune was in Aries (1861-1875), humanity lived through the age of steam power - engines driving factories, railroads, ships, transforming civilization. Simultaneously, the American Civil War began, followed by abolition and reconstruction - a collective struggle over human dignity and moral vision.

Neptune in Pisces invited us to feel deeply. Neptune in Aries asks: What are we willing to do about what we feel?

This transit can awaken fierce compassion, spiritually rooted activism, and willingness to defend the vulnerable. Neptune in Aries holds paradox - dissolving into oneness while being fiercely centered in individual will.

At its best, this is vision and love transformed into leadership and action. The archetype of the spiritual warrior who fights for what’s sacred.

✨ How do you imagine harnessing this energy? What kind of steam engine are you ready to power? Share your reflections below!

01/20/2026

Neptune enters Aries (Jan 26, 2026): When dreams become action

Neptune, planet of dreams, mysticism, and collective longing, is preparing to leave Pisces and enter Aries. When Neptune changes signs, the dreams of an entire era shift with it.

From 1998-2012, Neptune in Aquarius brought the internet revolution, smartphones, and digital identity. Then in 2012, Neptune entered Pisces, ushering in mainstream meditation, yoga, astrology, psychedelic therapy - but also collective grief and ecological awareness.

On January 26th, 2026, Neptune enters Aries, beginning a new chapter lasting until 2039. Weeks later, it conjoins Saturn at 0° Aries - a rare moment when dream meets reality and new collective stories emerge.

What happens when the planet of dreams enters the sign of fire, courage, and beginnings? The collective dream may shift from dissolution to ignition, from drifting to asserting, from grieving to action.

We may see spiritual warriors emerge - devotion expressed through activism, protest, daring, and risk. The shadow could be holy wars or glamorized violence. But the highest expression is devotion that organizes and love that defends what’s sacred.

Neptune in Aries asks not only what we believe in, but what we’re willing to stand for, protect, and begin.

✨ What do these reflections awaken in you? Share below!

01/17/2026

Finding peace in compassionate neutrality

“That is their journey” - a sentence that brings me surprising peace. Recently, I was talking with a friend about a relative caught in an on-again, off-again relationship that’s clearly abusive. Yet she feels unable to resist re-engaging.

Because we both care deeply about her, it’s painful to witness this cycle and the suffering it brings. When my friend said, “That is their journey,” I felt immediate relief.

It’s profoundly true. On some level, her soul is trying to learn something through this repeated, traumatic engagement. It may be necessary for her growth, even if deeply uncomfortable to watch. Perhaps childhood dynamics are being reenacted, or something unresolved reaching even further back across lifetimes - something she’s trying to master or complete.

When a pattern is so clearly harmful yet so compelling, this is often not about lack of insight. She knows it’s hurting her. It’s about something deeper that hasn’t yet loosened its hold.

Remembering “this is her journey, her curriculum” helps me step into compassionate neutrality - where I can care and witness without trying to rescue, love without heartbreak.

There’s profound wisdom in accepting that we cannot walk another’s path for them, no matter how much we love them. We can offer support, presence, and unconditional love - but the journey itself belongs to them.

Have you experienced this with family members or friends? How do you navigate the tension between care, concern, and letting go? Share your reflections below!

Ready to explore more about boundaries and compassion? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

01/15/2026

How do you stop the bleeding? The arrow parable and two paths to healing

Have you heard the Buddhist parable about the man shot with an arrow? Instead of immediately removing it, he becomes consumed with questions: Where did this come from? Who shot me? Why? What did I do to deserve this? How will I get revenge?

Meanwhile, he’s bleeding to death. His suffering could have been relieved so much more quickly by addressing what was happening right now - removing the arrow rather than chasing explanations.

This parable illuminates something essential about Buddhist psychology, which privileges immediacy, attention, and direct contact with experience. The emphasis is on training the mind, stabilizing awareness, and relieving suffering in the present moment.

By contrast, psychoanalysis and much of traditional psychotherapy are deeply interested in the whys and hows - origins, meanings, histories, and unconscious dynamics that shape our pain.

These approaches can be profoundly valuable, especially for understanding patterns, healing developmental wounds, and restoring narrative coherence. But when we’re in acute distress, insight alone doesn’t always stop the bleeding.

Sometimes the most compassionate act is not interpretation, but presence. Not explanation, but attention. Not asking “Why is this happening?” but “What is needed now?”

I don’t see these approaches as contradictory, but as complementary. Depth without immediacy can become rumination. Immediacy without depth can become spiritual bypassing.

The art is knowing when to pull out the arrow and when to explore how it got there. Both have their place in the healing journey.

What does this discussion bring up for you? How do you relate to these different paths of working with suffering? Share your reflections below!

01/15/2026

Capricorn New Moon (Jan 18, 2:53 PM): When the sea goat teaches us sacred endurance

We meet the first New Moon of 2025 in Capricorn - a sign often misunderstood as merely about ambition and productivity. But Capricorn’s deeper symbol is the sea goat, a mythical being with both hooves and a fish’s tail, bridging material and spiritual worlds.

At this lunation, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, and Mars all gather in Capricorn while forming supportive aspects to Saturn and Neptune in the final degrees of Pisces - the last sign of the zodiac, a place of endings, grief, and reckoning.

This isn’t light astrology. It speaks to a collective moment where old systems lose coherence and new structures struggle to emerge. Saturn calls for responsibility and ethical clarity. Neptune asks us to remain human and compassionate despite brutality and exhaustion.

This New Moon invites a particular kind of magic - not dazzling spectacles or dramatic awakenings, but the quiet holiness of making tea, keeping promises, tending our bodies, speaking carefully. Returning again and again to what’s essential.

The luminous doesn’t always arrive in visions. Sometimes it shows up as devotion to the ordinary.

As Saturn and Neptune approach their rare conjunction at 0° Aries in February, opening a new historical cycle, we’re crossing a threshold out of an old story whose institutions and myths are visibly crumbling. Capricorn reminds us that endurance itself is spiritual practice - that building something viable in a broken world is sacred work.

I think of the Council of 13 Grandmothers, whose decisions consider their impact on seven generations ahead. Leadership rooted not in extraction or speed, but in continuity and care for lives not yet born.

This New Moon asks us to plant steady, durable seeds. To keep showing up even when we’re afraid, tired, or uncertain about the future. Because presence itself has become resistance, and caring has become leadership.

✨ What does showing up look like for you right now? Share below - I’d love to hear from you.

01/13/2026

Choosing wonder over cynicism as we enter 2026

My father once told me a story about weekend trips he and my mother would take with friends to beautiful places in Washington state. As they stood before pristine lakes and sweeping landscapes, one friend would sigh and say, “Ah, okay, another lake.” He couldn’t appreciate the beauty, the miracle of it.

I think about that often - how easily familiarity flattens what is actually extraordinary. How common it is to see without truly seeing.

In the tarot, the card that embodies wonder for me is the Fool. The Fool is open and unguarded, not cynical. He approaches the world with innocence - not ignorance, but a willingness to be surprised by what emerges.

This feels especially relevant as we prepare for late April, when Uranus enters Gemini. Uranus is the planet of awakening, disruption, and liberation. Gemini governs the mind, perception, and the stories we tell ourselves. This transit invites a new way of seeing - a return to beginner’s mind, a loosening of mental habits, and openness to insight arriving sideways.

As we step into another new calendar year, may we choose innocence over cynicism. Not naivety, but a refusal to let the harshness of the 3D world harden our hearts.

The friend who could only say “another lake” had trained himself out of wonder. But wonder is a choice - a practice of allowing ourselves to be moved by beauty, even when we’ve seen it before. Especially when we’ve seen it before.

May we meet 2026 with the Fool’s fresh eyes and open-hearted curiosity. May we remember that every sunrise is the first sunrise, every face we love is a miracle, every moment an opportunity to witness the extraordinary disguised as ordinary.

How do you cultivate wonder in your own life? What practices help you see with fresh eyes? Share below - your words might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Ready to embrace beginner’s mind? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

01/13/2026

🌼 Flower essences for turbulent times

Given the mounting turmoil of our time - the intensity of cruelty, intimidation tactics, and systemic dysfunction - many of us are feeling internally jangled and raw. It simply feels like too much.

During periods of massive change such as these, there's a deep collective need for soothing, for nurture, and for restoration of coherence between our emotional body and etheric body. Coherence means our feelings and nervous system are in harmony - that our bodies can safely hold, process, and recover from emotional experience rather than fragment under strain.

Two flower essences immediately come to mind that can help:

Chamomile gently gathers the scattered fragments of our attention and calms the young, distressed parts of us that long for safety, softness, and the simple relief of being held. It brings comfort to the nervous system and tenderness to places that have grown brittle, braced for the next impact.

Walnut is one of the great remedies for transition. It supports us through endings and beginnings, thresholds, and identity shifts. It strengthens our capacity to change without losing ourselves.

Collectively, we're moving through rare and sweeping metamorphosis. Pluto is now firmly in Aquarius. Neptune and Saturn will enter Aries and conjoin at 0° in February, marking a powerful collective initiation. In late April, Uranus moves into Gemini.

None of us can fully imagine what this new world will look like, but what's certain is that a new paradigm is being born. Chamomile - carrying the archetypal medicine of the Great Mother - and Walnut - guardian of thresholds - offer containment and steadiness as outer structures dissolve and something unfamiliar begins to take shape.

To prepare: Place 5 drops of each essence into a 1-ounce bottle filled with water, adding a little brandy or glycerin as preservative. Before taking, pause, breathe, and gently attune to yourself. Take 4 drops, 4 times daily for as long as it feels supportive.

How are you feeling in this moment? How are you caring for yourself during these intense times? Share below - your words may be the medicine someone else needs today.

Ready to explore more healing practices? Grab your copy of Sacred Psychiatry (link in bio) 📚

DISCLAIMER: Content shared is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or establish a doctor-patient relationship. Astrological insights are offered as complementary perspectives, not as diagnostic tools or medical treatment. Always consult with appropriate healthcare providers regarding medical decisions.

01/10/2026

🌌 My episode just dropped on Gaia! 🌌

What if your deepest anxieties aren’t chemical… but cosmic?

I joined Regina Meredith on Open Minds (Season 32) to explore the soul’s role in healing. From my Chiron Return to my work with astrology, nutrition, and nervous system retraining — this is psychiatry beyond the mind.

🎥 Watch “Cosmic Psychiatry: Healing Beyond the Mind” now:
👉 https://www.gaia.com/video/cosmic-psychiatry-healing-beyond-the-mind?utm_source=ambassador&oid=645&affid=3338

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