GW Center for Integrative Medicine: Mission Statement and Director’s Message

“Integrating Science and Tradition into the Highest Quality Medical Care of the 21st Century”

  • Create a true medical home for our patients providing expertise, time, and compassion.
  • Address the root causes of diseases, moving beyond traditional medication-based models.
  • Combine evidence-based conventional, complementary, and lifestyle approaches.
  • Focus on three key aspects of health: healing, maintaining health, and preventing illness.
  • Offer clinically effective interdisciplinary programs, including mental health support.
  • Educate about both new medical science and traditional healing wisdom.
  • Research Integrative Medicine practices to advance and refine our approaches.

Message from our Medical Director, Mikhail Kogan, MD

Dear friends,

I would like to welcome you to the GW Center for Integrative Medicine and share my vision of our work together towards better health.

During my medical training I worked in different settings: hospitals and large and small clinics. I have worked in an upscale neurology office in Philadelphia, a busy emergency room in the Bronx, and an open ward with dying patients in Kisoro, Uganda. While healthcare delivery is so varied in different parts of the world, each location has something in common: the people who attend to those suffering, the medical team.

I still remember an idealistic vision I had during my years of medical school: “I will become a primary care doctor and will  take care of almost all of my patients’ issues.”  That was  naïve. However, that passion, which I still cherish, developed into: “I will become a member of a team that can take care of almost all of my patients’ issues.” I did my utmost  to become a member of a team that creates space and time for each patient walking into the clinic so that their individual healing path can be honored and followed no matter how complicated the task at hand is.

So, what is the healing path, and what does it have to do with medicine? Everything and nothing.

Everything, because the process of treatment and healing often involves medical steps such as taking natural or synthetic prescription medications, changing the diet, or engaging in mind-body, physical, or energy therapies. These steps are grounded in theoretical and evidence-based knowledge, which is continually evolving.

Nothing, because the path itself is a journey of self-discovery for the patient. It is an opportunity to understand what is out of balance and why. This imbalance may stem from any aspect of life or wellness—spiritual, emotional, mental, social, physical, or environmental. This guided process of self-discovery often leads to a re-evaluation and transformation of one’s beliefs, attitudes, and actions within the affected domain.

At GWCIM I’m honored to be a part of dedicated experienced team and grateful to all of our past, current, and future patients, who let our team SERVE you humbly and professionally.

Mikhail Kogan, MD

Photo of Dr. Mikhail Kogan GWCIM medical director.

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GWCIM believes in bringing the benefits of integrative medicine to everyone. For that reason, it donates a part of its earnings to AIM Health Institute, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization created to serve terminally ill and low-income patients regardless of ability to pay.

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