Erich Goetzel, MD, MA, IFMCP

Dr. Erich Goetzel was raised in Vienna, Austria, in a deeply artistic and culturally enriched family. His father was a first violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic, and his brother later became a world-renowned conductor. Immersed from an early age in the discipline and beauty of classical music, Dr. Goetzel’s worldview was shaped not only by this rich cultural legacy but also by his travels around the globe as a young member of the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

From childhood, he dreamed of becoming a physician—not only to treat illness but to contribute meaningfully to a more compassionate world. After graduating from the University of Vienna, he began his medical career as a licensed family physician before relocating first to Rio de Janeiro, and later to New York City. In 1997, he began a second residency in Psychiatry and Interpersonal Psychoanalysis at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Montefiore Medical Center and the William Alanson White Institute.

Following his residency, Dr. Goetzel served as a Consultation-Liaison Fellow at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, where he was on the frontlines during the events of September 11, 2001.

Committed throughout his career to serving marginalized and underserved communities, he drew on earlier volunteer experience from the early days of HIV care in Vienna and Brazil. At Bellevue and its affiliated HIV clinics, he supported patients with complex psychiatric and emotional challenges to adhere to the demanding antiretroviral therapies of the time.

In 2002, he moved to Boston to help pioneer one of Massachusetts’ first PACT (Program for Assertive Community Treatment) teams—an innovative, community-based model for the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals with severe mental illness. In 2010, he was appointed Chief Medical Officer of Eliot Human Services, Inc., one of the state’s largest nonprofit psychiatric service organizations, overseeing multiple clinics and a comprehensive network of residential and community-based treatment programs.

Since 2009, Dr. Goetzel has been a leader in integrating Acupuncture, Functional Medicine, and Lifestyle Medicine into psychiatric practice. He earned his Master’s degree and licensure in acupuncture from the New England School of Acupuncture (NESA) in 2011 and that same year founded My Health 101: Integrative Psychiatry & Acupuncture—a pioneering initiative combining Eastern and Western healing systems.

In 2013, he became one of the first certified graduates of the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), helping advance the movement toward systems-based, whole-person care that addresses the root causes of disease and imbalance.

Dr. Goetzel’s work in psychedelic medicine is grounded in deep personal experience and rigorous professional training. He has undertaken regular pilgrimages to Peru to study with indigenous teachers and master plant traditions. He is a graduate of the Synthesis Psychedelic Practitioner Training Program and the CIIS Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies and Research. He was also an early adopter of ketamine treatments for individuals with severe psychiatric conditions—offering these therapies well before the FDA’s approval of Spravato.

In recent years, Dr. Goetzel has expanded his practice to include ceremonial and psychedelic-assisted healing retreats, drawing from sacred plant medicine, depth psychology, and transpersonal healing traditions. In addition to offering Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in both group and individual formats, he organizes international retreats in locations where psychedelic medicines can be used safely and legally, and in accordance with sacred ritual frameworks.

He is also the lead facilitator of Transpersonal Astrological Healing Retreats, inspired by the pioneering work of Dr. Stanislav Grof and Dr. Richard Tarnas, who began integrating depth psychology, archetypal astrology, and expanded states of consciousness in the 1950s. These retreats combine psychedelic-assisted therapy, sacred ceremony, and astrological insight to catalyze deep personal transformation. Participants explore how planetary archetypes—reflected in their birth charts and transits—mirror their inner healing journey, often illuminating the hidden meanings behind trauma, illness, life crises, and spiritual emergence. These retreats offer not only deep healing but a return to cosmic belonging and soul alignment.

Dr. Goetzel’s ceremonial work is rooted in profound respect for ancestral traditions, the wisdom of the body, and the sacred intelligence of nature. Through psychedelic integration, ritual-based healing, and soul-centered retreats, he supports individuals in accessing their inner healer, reclaiming luminous awareness, and discovering the deeper purpose of their soul’s unfolding journey. His life’s work is devoted to helping others transmute suffering into awakening—restoring wholeness in self, community, and the living world.