I am a person of many interests and passions. I love being with my family and friends, staying active in one of the greatest cities in the world, Chicago, and meeting with the individuals who have chosen me to be their guide through some of life’s most painful and challenging impasses.
In graduate school, I was blessed to be able to combine my passions for health, psychology, and psychotherapy. I immersed myself in learning how to obtain the best possible results for my clients. When working with clients I noticed many people had concerning diets, were overweight, and would infrequently exercise. I wondered how poor nutrition and lack of exercise negatively affected their mental health. When talking to clients, I discovered my clients were eager to learn how they could improve their physical health while also learning how to cope with their bad memories, anxiety, or depression.
Through my research, I discovered there was an overwhelming amount of evidence out there that showed how diet and exercise affect your mental well-being and long-term risk of disease. With so much evidence to support these notions, why weren’t more clinicians incorporating this into their practice?
I created Healthy Life to encourage individuals who have trusted me with their emotional pain, how to live a fuller and more joyful life.
If you are someone who is struggling with anxiety, depression, and/or has recently been diagnosed with a medical condition, please feel free to schedule your free consultation today to see if Healthy Life services are right for you!
Background
Dr. Cassandra Kandah, founder of Healthy Life, has her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Rosalind Franklin University where she majored both in health and neuropsychology. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral medicine from Loyola University Medical Center and is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Illinois.
Dr. Kandah is a health psychologist, which means she specializes in helping her clients learn how to manage their emotional concerns while also teaching them how to prevent disease and illness through healthy lifestyle changes. She has also dedicated her career to guiding people and their caregivers through the emotional difficulties related to managing conditions such as: mild cognitive impairment, dementia, traumatic brain injury, stroke, cancer, kidney, heart, and lung failure, pregnancy/fertility concerns, Parkinson’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and diabetes.
In addition to her work at Healthy Life, Dr. Kandah is also a professor at Roosevelt University and pioneered a mental health clinic located in Uganda, Africa. This program has successfully helped African refugees and Ugandan Nationals who have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Learn more about her work in Africa here.
Dr. Kandah’s Publications
Physical activity reduces hippocampal atrophy in elders at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease
Recognition of famous names predicts cognitive decline in healthy elders
