What Mental Health Looks Like When You Treat the Whole Person – Exclusive Interview With Dr. Elizabeth Ssemanda

EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE  | ELIZABETH SSEMANDA

Dr. Elizabeth Ssemanda is a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of New U Psychiatry. Rooted in both African and African American cultural traditions, she integrates a soul-centered, holistic approach to healing with a mission to challenge stigma and redefine mental wellness.

Navigating the space between two cultures shaped Dr. Elizabeth Ssemanda’s life in profound ways. As the daughter of Ugandan refugees, her upbringing was infused with resilience, history, and silence—particularly around the traumas of war. It’s from this intersection of inherited pain and the search for healing that her passion for psychiatry emerged.

Her journey began with a fascination for people and science, blossoming into a desire to understand and support others on their healing journeys. Through psychiatry, she found a language to engage with suffering, resilience, and transformation. After working in a range of settings—from emergency care during COVID-19 to boutique practices—she became disillusioned by a model focused primarily on symptom suppression. It was then that New U Psychiatry was born.