Dr. Doreen Fukushima on Why Mental Health Matters as Much as Physical Health

October 15, 2025

Hawaii psychiatrist Dr. Doreen Fukushima: "I never wanted to be a psychiatrist." Now she's bringing TMS to isolated Pacific islands with year-long wait lists. 


In this raw, unfiltered conversation on The Kind Revolution Podcast, Dr. Georgine Nanos interviews Dr. Doreen Fukushima, a Kauai-based psychiatrist who's revolutionizing mental health access in Hawaii through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Dr. Fukushima discusses the brutal reality of psychiatric care in isolated communities - where wait times stretch to a year and she's the only psychiatrist serving entire islands. 


Dr. Fukushima breaks down critical topics most doctors avoid: cannabis-induced psychosis in the 2% with genetic predisposition, why psychiatrists need mental health checks too, and how drug-induced symptoms can trigger permanent psychiatric conditions in developing brains under 25. She reveals why the ExoMind device is changing patient experiences from intimidating to spa-like, and how TMS applications are expanding beyond depression to stroke recovery, chronic pain, and preventive brain health. 


 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: 

✓ Reality of psychiatric care in isolated island communities 

✓ How cannabis can trigger permanent psychosis in 2% of users 

✓ Why brain development under age 25 matters for drug use 

✓ ExoMind device vs traditional intimidating TMS machines 

✓ TMS applications beyond depression: stroke, pain, prevention 

✓ Why psychiatrists should collaborate with primary care 

✓ Mental health access crisis statistics 

✓ Drug interactions with TMS and surgical anesthesia 

✓ Breaking the "crazy" stigma around psychiatric care 

✓ Future vision: TMS as first-line prevention 


ABOUT DR. DOREEN FUKUSHIMA: Hawaii-born psychiatrist serving Kauai's Wilcox Medical Center. Founder of Ho'omana Brain Health and Wellness Spa. Specializes in interventional psychiatry including TMS, esketamine, and ECT. Graduate of University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. 


HEALTH AND WELLNESS SPA 

📍 Kauai, Hawaii 

🏥 Interventional psychiatry and TMS 

🌺 Serving Hawaii's island communities 


This conversation strips away the polished veneer to reveal the real challenges and breakthroughs in psychiatric care - from island isolation to cannabis risks to the future of preventive brain health. 


SHARE THIS VIDEO: Essential viewing for anyone who's ever felt "crazy" for needing help or waited months for psychiatric care. If you're experiencing mental health crisis, call 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This content is educational and not a substitute for professional mental health evaluation.

Meet the Author

About Dr. Nanos

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