About
Paul Puri
Dr. Paul R. Puri is a board-certified psychiatrist, Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA, award-winning educator, TV writer, and third-generation entrepreneur whose career bridges the worlds of medicine, media, and mental health innovation. Known for his multidimensional approach to solving complex human problems, Dr. Puri brings together deep clinical expertise, narrative storytelling, and systems-level thinking to help individuals and institutions better understand the human mind.
With advanced training in more than ten different psychotherapies, Dr. Puri is recognized as a rare breed in psychiatry: a physician who integrates distinct therapeutic modalities (including hypnosis, psychodynamic therapy, Gestalt, CBT, and mindfulness-based approaches) with a comprehensive understanding of psychopharmacology. He has worked across a spectrum of clinical settings—from academic hospitals to VA centers, street medicine with people experiencing homelessness to private practice—while championing individualized, integrative care over one-size-fits-all solutions.
Dr. Puri also brings his psychiatric insights to the screen. A staff writer and former executive story editor on NBC’s Chicago Med, his screenwriting career includes consulting on over 25 TV and film projects, including Marvel’s Moon Knight, where his expertise in mental health and character development has helped shape accurate, nuanced portrayals of psychological complexity. His creative journey began with short stories and theater in college and has grown into a respected parallel career in Hollywood. His work has been featured in Vulture, HuffPost, New York Magazine, and MSNBC, among others.
In the tech world, Dr. Puri founded WellDAO, an early-stage public benefit startup reimagining how people access mental health support. With a mission to correct the structural failures of the mental health system, including lack of personalization, data opacity, and misaligned incentives, WellDAO seeks to match individuals to the right resources through a blend of technology, research, and human insight. He was also the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of OOTify and developed one of the first mental health apps on iPhone, PsychDx, which served over 8,000 professionals.
Dr. Puri’s work has earned him accolades such as the UCLA Outstanding Teaching Award and the John A. Majda Foundation Award for Suicide Prevention. He has been featured on numerous podcasts and platforms, including The Mental Illness Happy Hour, Modern Minds, MindSet, and Therapy Reimagined.
Dr. Puri also serves on the Executive Committee of the Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association (PCFA), a nonprofit organization of UCLA clinical professors dedicated to teaching and mentoring psychiatry trainees at the Semel Institute.
Biracial (half Indian, quarter Italian, quarter Irish) and deeply committed to authenticity, creativity, and compassion, Dr. Puri draws on his own lived experiences—whether through early meditation and yoga practice, his work in hospice care, or his storytelling in writers’ rooms—to illuminate the intricacies of the human condition. A simple but powerful goal drives him: to reduce suffering and improve lives by blending wisdom from multiple worlds.
Latest articles from my blog
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