Nikhil Gupta

I’m a systems thinker who thrives on deep conversations and constantly seeks new knowledge to connect ideas and solve problems. I aim to add value and find meaning by listening with genuine curiosity and asking the right questions. My formal training in psychodynamics allows me to listen deeply and speak only when I have something true and useful (or humorous) to add. I love solving complex problems, and am interesting in consulting and mentoring.

I am fortunate to help treat and triage complex psychiatric patients while contributing to systems improvement as an MD at Kaiser Permanente. I specialize in collaborative and acute care, consulting daily with primary care, hospital, and ER physicians. My rigorous training in the bio-psycho-social model with some of the best minds at Yale Psychiatry is complemented by specialized courses in population mental health at Columbia and the Maudsley, and a deep interest in clinician and algorithmic decision-making.

Outside of medicine, I have done strategy consulting with McKinsey&Company and briefly with a mental health startup. During my time at Yale, I took courses in Interpersonal dynamics, negotiation, and financing at the School of Management. I am an autodidact with a voracious appetite- primary interests being the working of the human mind and drivers of group behavior. Nature fascinates me, and so does history and technology. Philosophically, I align with existentialism, and non-duality (advaita). I lean toward political centrism, preferring to make decisions based on specific issues rather than rigid ideologies. Some of my favorite contemporary thinkers are Sir Danny Kahneman, Nassim Taleb, Sam Harris, and Yuval Harari. I also enjoy fs.blog, waitbutwhy, and New Yorker opinion pieces. I don’t engage with social media, and do not have an online presence on LinkedIn/ X etc.

I align my life to experiential enjoyment, and mostly enjoy what I do (and vice versa). With a background in yoga and mindfulness, I strive to stay present in the here and now—toddlers notwithstanding! You are as likely to find me lounging in a camping hammock as charging on the soccer field. I believe in values, food, puns, punctuation, and parsimony. Embrace Istigkeit (is-ness)!