Dr. Moses Nasser has a double board certification in Family Medicine and Addiction Medicine. His experience in addiction medicine goes back to when he started meditating in medical school over 20 years ago. The adventure of spiritual growth that followed led to the study and use of holistic healing, music for meditation and healing, guided meditation, and guided imagery, and understanding the deep physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual reasons that we turn to addictive substances and behaviors. This led to a medical weight loss practice where he integrated a complete mindfulness program for emotional eating and food addiction.
Dr. Moses continued to practice Family Medicine, including Osteopathic Manipulation and meditation, and teaching spirituality and natural healing. He also practiced urgent care medicine and created a large-scale mindfulness-based customer service program for a large medical group, training hundreds of health care workers in how to treat patients with compassion and empathy.
Dr. Moses then fully transitioned out of family medicine, urgent care, and customer service to practicing Addiction Medicine. He attained his “MAT” certification (Medication Assisted Treatment) and so prescribes medications for cravings, notably buprenorphine (Suboxone, Subutex) and naltrexone (Vivitrol). He gained his board certification in Addiction Medicine through the American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine. He also underwent a fellowship training to build up his psychiatric skillset (TNT-Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship), treating clients with addiction for their underlying mental health needs, especially depression and anxiety. He is now the medical director of multiple addiction recovery centers in southern California.
In 2017, Dr. Moses found himself in the midst of a terrible divorce and needing to take the same medications he was prescribing for his patients, but now for his own depression and anxiety. This experience brought a new depth of compassion and empathy for his patients. Thankfully, in October of 2019, he had a spiritual conversion and became radically healed. Now, free of medications, he has gained an even deeper understanding of the nature of addiction in relation to God, including the concepts of forgiveness, guilt, shame, faith, hope, peace, and spiritual power. He is seeing his clients healed and walking in victory and freedom from guilt and shame, making great progress in conquering their addictions, and gaining full possession of the beauty and richness of life that is their inheritance.
Here Dr. Moses describes his approach to care:
“It is imperative that I take the time to listen carefully to every client, for as long as you need, until you feel heard and understood and seen, and until I fully understand where you are coming from, what you need, and what it is that I can offer to help you on your journey of healing. I am a partner with the client; I don’t tell you what to do. We work together to figure out a plan that we are both happy with in moving forward in the healing adventure. I also make sure to explain how each medication works, the possible side effects, and the possible dosages that we can use. I prefer not to overmedicate my clients; I would rather help you find that sweet spot where your symptoms are relieved, but you still feel like you are yourself, and you can function at your absolute best for your family, your work, your friendships, and in every area of life. And as the medications help you to be your best, we must realize that the medications don’t heal you! Healing takes work. So, we will explore, together, what types of healing resources will work best for you, from therapy to fellowships and meetings, and I will encourage you to pursue your healing through those means while monitoring your medications the whole time. In time, as you pursue your healing, you may not need a certain medication anymore! And maybe you will. Either way, I’ll be excited to walk alongside you and take the journey with you! Even as you read this, I declare VICTORY over you! You are a mighty warrior, and you will conquer every addiction that has held you down! You will live a life filled with the abundance and peace that God has planned for you! Bless you!”
