Finding Your Path: A Therapist's Journey Through Autism, Toxicity, and Functional Medicine with Marina Livis

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a health crisis leads to profound personal and professional transformation? Marina Livis' path from speech therapy student to holistic psychotherapist illuminates how conventional medicine can miss crucial connections between body imbalances and mental health symptoms.Marina's story begins with a suspicion about her own neurodivergence while studying at Northwestern. During a period of debilitating symptoms that felt like "dementia, ADD, and depression in one," conventional psychiatry offered only medication after medication without improvement. Her breakthrough came through functional medicine, which identified mercury toxicity combined with a genetic mutation affecting detoxification pathways—root causes entirely missed by traditional approaches.This experience fundamentally reshaped her understanding of mental health conditions. "Depression is not a chemical imbalance in the brain," Marina explains, "it's a body imbalance that affects the brain." Now specializing in working with late-diagnosed autistic adults, she combines evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches like EMDR and hypnotherapy with functional medicine principles addressing nutrition and lifestyle factors.Her work reveals critical gaps in conventional care for autistic individuals, who often have underlying medical imbalances creating symptoms labeled as anxiety or depression. Without addressing these root causes through appropriate testing and treatment, patients remain caught in what Marina calls "a hamster wheel" of medication trials. The American insurance system creates additional barriers, making truly integrative care inaccessible to many who need it most.Marina's practice represents a powerful alternative model where mental health treatment doesn't separate mind from body. By combining psychological approaches with functional medicine insights, she offers clients a path toward healing that addresses the whole person rather than just managing symptoms.Have you considered how unexplored body imbalances might be affecting your mental health? The connection might be stronger than conventional medicine has led us to believe.Guest BiographyMarina Livis, LCSW is a holistic psychotherapist, certified hypnotherapist, and passionate advocate for functional medicine. Drawing from her own lived experiences with mercury toxicity and a late autism diagnosis, Marina helps neurodivergent adults navigate mental health with compassion and depth—without overreliance on psychiatric medication. Her integrative approach blends EMDR, hypnotherapy, trauma-informed care, and functional wellness strategies. Marina is based in the U.S. and works with clients virtually through her private practice.Contact Details🔗 Website: www.marinawellness.com📧 Email: [email protected] In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinalivis/📱 Phone: +1 (561) 877-0517Subscribe on SubstackVoices in Health and Wellness is published on Substack, as part of The Diagnostician. Every episode lands there with written notes and reflections you won't find in the podcast feed. Free to subscribe.👉 https://thediagnostician.substack.com/s/voices-in-health-and-wellnessAbout the podcastVoices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.About Dr Andrew GreenlandUK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.