Dr. Eric Arzubi is the co-founder of Frontier Psychiatry, a Montana-based psychiatry practice that is accelerating and expanding access to high-quality psychiatric care for rural communities. - By many metrics, Montana can be described as the epicenter of the United States’ mental health crisis. The large, mostly rural state is home to many vulnerable populations who are disproportionately affected by mental health concerns. And given Montana’s sprawling, lightly populated landscape, easy access to specialized and high-quality mental health care has been a significant challenge. But thanks to technological advancements and ubiquitous internet access, Eric and his team have successfully used telepsychiatry to reach underserved communities throughout Montana. - Eric’s path to becoming an innovator in rural medicine and psychology is as unexpected as it is inspiring. After graduating from college, he spent most of his 20s working as a Wall Street bond trader for Morgan Stanely, earning a great living and traveling the world. But despite his material success, he was unfulfilled with his career and felt a deep longing to do work that made the world a better place. So, at age 29, he decided to walk away from Wall Street and begin the long process of becoming a doctor– pre-med courses, medical school, residency, and a fellowship in child psychiatry. At age 44, he finally began practicing psychology in Billings, Montana, where he fell in love with the people and place, and he started working to find solutions to the mental health crisis that plagues the rural West. - Mental health is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, so it was a real honor to have to opportunity to chat with Eric and learn about his innovative approach to solving such a complex societal challenge. We started out discussing his path to medicine, specifically why he decided to walk away from Wall Street and his path to becoming a psychiatrist. We discuss the factors that have made Montana the epicenter of the mental health crisis and what makes Frontier Psychology uniquely qualified to help. We discuss approaches to scaling mental health care throughout the West, how Eric’s business and entrepreneurial background have helped him find solutions to such a complex problem, and why it’s important for all of us to be advocates for mental health. He also describes one of Frontier Psychiatry’s newest initiatives, a partnership with the USDA and Montana Department of Agriculture to provide free, confidential counseling to men and women working in agriculture in Montana. - Eric’s life story and his current work are incredibly inspiring, so I know you’ll enjoy this episode. Thanks to Eric for taking the time to talk, and thanks to you for listening. I hope you enjoy. --- Frontier Psychiatry Dr. Eric Arzubi Full Episode Notes & Links: https://mountainandprairie.com/eric-arzubi/ --- 4:00 – Eric describes what he was doing when he was 28 6:00 – Eric talks about his change of heart at age 29 12:00 – Eric discusses his friends’ and family’s reaction to his career shift, and how one staff member at Morgan Stanley gave him the courage and space to pursue his medical career 16:00 – Eric talks about how psychiatry caught his attention 21:45 – Eric explains how he ended up in Montana 32:30 – Eric talks about what makes Frontier Psychiatry special 37:30 – Eric discusses how his nontraditional career path may have helped him challenge established practices in the field of mental healthcare 41:45 – Eric talks about the balance in his work between addressing distinct issues and deep, underlying problems 48:45 – Eric discusses what gives him hope that there are scalable solutions for mental health challenges, especially in rural communities 55:00 – Eric explains the role that untrained citizens can play in advocating for/supporting mental health 1:02:45 – Eric’s book recommendations 1:07:30 – Eric’s parting words of wisdom --- This episode is brought to you by The Arthur M. Blank