By Sharon Brock, MS, MEd

Shaliza Shorey, PsyD, has always been fascinated with the brain and psychology. She was born in New Delhi, India, and as a young child, she spent a lot of time with her grandmother who helped her see things in new ways. For example, her grandmother taught her that the word “kismet” has a deeper meaning other than fate or destiny.

“My grandmother explained that if you dissect the word kismet, ‘kis’ means ‘type of’ and ‘met’ means ‘brain’. So, having a predetermined fate is not the whole story; rather, what happens in our lives can be influenced by our brain and psychological health,” says Dr. Shorey. “Growing up, my grandmother and I had many conversations like this, which sparked my interest in psychology and neuroscience at a very young age.”

Today, Dr. Shorey is working as a neuropsychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She still believes that the health of her brain determines the outcomes of her life; therefore, she continually challenges her brain by taking on new hobbies.

“I love to dance. As a child, I did Indian dancing and today, I love to choreograph dances and get groups of people together to perform for children in hospitals or for fundraising projects,” says Dr. Shorey. “Since it’s important for brain health to try new things, I just started taking Latin dance classes. I do it because I don’t know how to do it, and that’s what makes it fun.”

Career Path of a Neuropsychologist

At the age of 11, Dr. Shorey moved to Edmonton, Alberta, and spent the rest of her school years in Canada. She earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral psychology from the University of Alberta and then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology.

“I chose to study clinical psychology because I wanted to work with people and not in a lab,” says Dr. Shorey. “And since I’m such a curious person, I knew my job would always be interesting since every human brain is different.”

Dr. Shorey completed a fellowship in Neuropsychology and Pain Management at the University of California, Davis Medical Center, and then worked at Kaiser Permanente as the clinical director of their pain management program. After seven years at Kaiser, she started a private practice as a neuropsychologist in Palo Alto.

“Working with pain management can be stressful, so I stay balanced with regular yoga and meditation,” says Dr. Shorey. “The work I do can be quite heavy. I see a lot of trauma, and it can get overwhelming. But as a spiritual person, I’m able to meditate and find compassion within, which gives me strength.”

Sharing Lifestyle Medicine with Veterans

After 12 years, she left her private practice to work as a Clinical Psychologist at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. In this role, she provides direct patient care to those with neurocognitive disorders, including traumatic brain injuries, headaches, sleep disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Shorey incorporates tenets of lifestyle medicine into her practice. Growing up in India, she was exposed to Ayurveda—an ideology of medicine that focuses on balance and holistic health. Therefore, when working with psychiatric patients at the VA, she takes a whole-person approach to their care, offering a variety of lifestyle medicine recommendations, such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep protocols, along with cognitive therapies.

“Every single day, with every single patient at the VA, I offer lifestyle medicine practices,” says Dr. Shorey. “And what they give back to me is inspiration. I’m constantly encouraged and learning from my patients. They face great adversity yet continually show up to overcome it and thrive again in their lives. It is such a gift to work with them.”