Healthy Within, Dr. Kakaiya’s brain health center, incorporates treatment modalities that are on the cutting edge of brain neurocircuitry, gut-brain axis, and biochemistry issues. As an Integrative Psychologist, she has been utilizing Neurofeedback at her treatment center for the last 12 years and is a daily witness to the tremendous progress her patients display. Her patients at her treatment center range from age 4 to 89 years old.  Having a Post-Doctoral Degree in Psychopharmacology equips her with the knowledge and understanding of working with all aspects of brain health via integrative modalities.

Dr. Kakaiya wears numerous hats within the teen world and parenting, ethnic communities, and the addiction world. Her extensive background makes her an expert in Gaming Addictions, Screen Dependencies, Asperger’s, Autism, Concussions, Pain Conditions, Fibromyalgia, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, and Learning Disorders. As a cancer survivor herself, Dr. Kakaiya has used neurofeedback for many cancer patients for anxiety, depression, and the memory loss that comes with the introduction of chemotherapy. Her role as a Neuroscientist makes her knowledgeable about the effects of trauma, drugs, and other neurotoxins in the brain. Mindfulness and working on regulating the brain in a non-medicative way is a pillar of Dr. K’s toolbox for her patients. She recently published her first book on Neurofeedback just as COVID-19 began in 2020.

Dr. Kakaiya has received numerous awards for her service to the community. She is a Psychologist who truly lives up to her Rotarian motto of “Service Above Self.” In August of 2003, Dr. Kakaiya won the KGTV 10 News Leadership Award, which honors leaders in the community who make a difference. Dr. Kakaiya was also the Symposium Co-Chair and Presenter for the “Healthy Girls, Healthy Lives” initiative of San Diego County Girl Scouts for 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2009 Dr. Kakaiya received an award from the Girls Scouts Council that named her one of the “Top 10 Cool Women of San Diego.” Being a parent of a son who has obtained the Boy Scout Eagle Award and a daughter who has received the Girl Scout Gold Award makes her a scout for life. The Poway Chapter of Soroptimist International honored Dr. Kakaiya with their annual “Making A Difference for Women” Award in May 2009 for the work she does for girls and women. In April 2010, Dr. Kakaiya received the KPBS/Union Bank Local Hero Award for Cultural Diversity for her work with the Foundation. She has been a plenary speaker at numerous conferences and is highly regarded in the field of prevention and brain health at a national level. In February 2017, The International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians awarded her The Cliff Dochterman Award for her distinguished service to Scouting. Being a Rotarian is a HUGE part of her life and she serves on numerous committees with her San Diego Rotary Club 33, which is the 4th largest Club in the world! She also served on the Board of Girl Scouts, San Diego Psychological Association, and is currently on the board of San Diego Crimestoppers, and San Diego Rotary. She is also very active in working with anti-sex trafficking initiatives in San Diego through HT-RADAR.  She is a 2017 graduate of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce’s LEAD Impact Program which is dedicated to raising civic-minded leaders. Dr. Kakaiya also is a graduate of the Founder First Business Bootcamp which allowed her to expand her vision of cultivating neurofeedback franchises all over the United States and the world.

Since 2010, Dr. Kakaiya has become a popular speaker on “The Teen Brain,” “Impulse Control Disorders and Trauma” and “Raising Respectful, Resilient Teens.” She presents frequently to both clinicians as well as middle and high school parents and is often in high demand for repeat presentations. Dr. Kakaiya believes in empowering clinicians to see the damaging impact of social media, violent video games, unmonitored Internet use, and rapid technology on the development of the teen brain. In 2013, Dr. Kakaiya presented “Neurofeedback with Eating Disorders” one of the first presentations of its kind in the Neurofeedback and the Eating Disorder community. Healthy Within was one of two Eating Disorder programs in the country that utilized Neurofeedback. The success with Neurofeedback made her pivot her entire practice to brain optimization as her primary treatment modality. Since then, she has pivoted completely away from eating disorders and no longer treats them. Her practice encompasses Neurofeedback only which allows her to treat a much wider range of all brain conditions that may have a biological basis.