Ilene Naomi Rusk, PHD, C.PSYCH

Addresses: Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs

Dr Ilene Naomi Rusk began her career in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology. She completed her post doctoral fellowship positions in the Neuropsychology of psychiatric illness and neurodegenerative disease at the University of Birmingham in Great Britain and at the Royal Ottawa Hospital in Canada. She worked for the British government assessing children with multiple neurologic and emotional disabilities. Rusk was awarded the Parkinson’s Disease Fellowship position in Canada investigating mental health changes in movement disorders and dementias. Her integrative approach to clinical work as Director of the Healthy Brain Center at the Brain and Behavior Clinic in Colorado includes her emphasis on positive neuroplasticity, building resilience in the nervous system, and healing personal and intergenerational trauma. She is trained in various trauma resolution techniques and in cognitive rehabilitation. Dr Rusk blends these approaches into her resilience-based work and is guided by a functional medicine approach which looks for the root causes of cognitive decline and emotional trauma. Her work focuses on blending personalized integrative healthcare and psychological wellness to individuals and communities within a scientist-practitioner model. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers and speaks all over the world about Polyvagal theory, brain health, stress resilience and nervous system wellness. Being a mother has greatly informed her international humanitarian service work and her role as a community health educator.

Dr Rusk has woven spirituality, mystical texts and mindfulness into her practice for over 35 years.