Meet Dr. Ishani Dalal, Medical Director of the Continuing Care

Ishani Dalal, DO is the Medical Director of Continuing Care Outpatient Program at Positive Sobriety Institute. Dr. Dalal provides comprehensive psychiatric care to patients who have completed Substance Use Disorder Treatment, helping in the continued management of co-occurring mental health issues with a focus on avoiding relapse. This ongoing support is crucial for maintaining long-term recovery and wellness.

Meet Dr. Ishani Dalal

A board-certified psychiatrist, Dr. Dalal received her medical degree in 2009 from Midwestern University’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency in general psychiatry at Palmetto Health/University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 2015, and her fellowship in addiction psychiatry at Northwestern University in 2016.

At Positive Psychiatry Institute, Dr. Dalal collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to provide the support patients need post-treatment to maintain sobriety. She also works to remove barriers to psychiatric treatment for patients in need of ongoing mental health care. Dr. Dalal and the clinical team also meet weekly to discuss patients’ progress and alerting one other to emerging issues.

Treating More Than Mental Health Issues
Dr. Dalal became interested in addiction psychiatry during her residency. Often, her patients who had major depression, anxiety, bipolar or schizophrenia also struggled with addiction. By gaining expertise in treating addiction issues, she felt she could better treat the whole person.

“I felt like I was going a fantastic job at treating their depression, or anxiety, or biopolar, but I knew less about treating the addiction,” says Dr. Dalal, who is preparing to take her addiction psychology board exam. “And Addiction psychiatry subspecialty allows me to comprehensively treat the patient. I felt like it made me a more complete psychiatrist.”

Dr. Dalal is also committed to reducing the stigma associated with both addiction and mental health disorders. “There is so much stigma, and so many people are suffering,” she says. “We need to break down stigmas and comprehensively treat patients, so they can maintain sobriety, but also live a more functional, fulfilling life.”