Dr. Beam
Meet Dr. Beam
I’m a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and scientist who aims to understand the whole person through an interdisciplinary perspective. My training has spanned more than a decade at Stanford University, including MD/PhD studies in neuroscience, psychiatry residency, and ongoing research. I have also completed training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy through the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis and the American Psychoanalytic Association. My work is guided by the belief that we can best understand who we are and how we move forward when we consider biological, emotional, relational, and cultural dimensions together.
At the center of my clinical work is the conviction that stories matter. The stories we tell about ourselves, and the stories we cannot yet tell, shape how we experience our lives, relationships, and symptoms. I'm interested in how personal narratives intersect with the ways our bodies function, how we are shaped by families and cultures, and how unconscious patterns can influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In psychotherapy, I strive to create a space where these connections can be explored with curiosity, compassion, and respect for each person's unique experience.
My research has focused on understanding how the brain gives rise to the mind. During my doctoral training, I developed computational approaches to synthesize the neuroimaging literature, creating a knowledge framework for understanding relationships between brain function and mental function. Today, my interests continue to bridge neuroscience, language, and psychiatry, including research that uses speech and language to better understand brain circuits related to mental health concerns. While science offers powerful tools for understanding human experience, I believe it is most meaningful when integrated with the lived realities, relationships, and stories that make each person unique.
2009 - 2013
Duke University
Thesis in Neuroscience
Advisor: Scott Huettel
BS
2009 - 2013
Duke University
Thesis in English
Advisor: Deborah Pope
BA
2017 - 2021
Stanford University School of Medicine
Thesis in the Neurosciences
Advisors: Amit Etkin, Russ Poldrack
PhD
2015 - 2022
Stanford University School of Medicine
Medical Scientist Training Program
MD
Education
2025 - 2026
American Psychoanalytic Association
Psychoanalytic Fellowship Program
2024 - 2026
San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program
2025 - Present
Stanford Health Care
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy Clinic
2022 - 2026
Stanford Health Care
Residency in Psychiatry
Clinical Training
Key Publications
01
Beam, E.H., Potts, C., Poldrack, R.A., & Etkin, A. (2021). A data-driven framework for mapping domains of human neurobiology. Nature Neuroscience, 24, 1733-1744. DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00948-9.
02
03
Siless, V., Davidow, J.Y., Nielsen, J., Fan, Q., Hedden, T., Hollinshead, M., Beam, E.H., Bustamante, C.V., Garrad, M.C., Santillana, R., Shaw, E., Hamadeh, A., Snyder, J., Drews, M.K., Van Dijk, K.R.A., Sheridan, M., Buckner, R.L., Somerville, L.H., & Yendiki, A. (2020). Registration-free analysis of diffusion MRI tractography data across subjects through the human lifespan. NeuroImage, 214(116703). DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116703.
Beam, E.H., Appelbaum, L.G., Jack, J., Moody, J., & Huettel, S.A. (2014). Mapping the semantic structure of cognitive neuroscience. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 26(9), 1949-1965. DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00604.
2025
Inaugural Research Training Program Certificate
American Psychoanalytic Association
Honors & Awards
Trailblazing Trainee Award
Stanford University, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
2024
Leah J. Dickstein Medical Student Award
Association of Women Psychiatrists
2017
Graduation with Distinction in Neuroscience
Duke University
2013
Graduation with Highest Distinction in English
Duke University
2013
Summa Cum Laude
Duke University
2013
Schutt Senior Award for Outstanding Contributions in Creative Writing
Duke University
2013
Terry Welby Tyler, Jr. Award for Poetry
Duke University
2012, 2013
Critical Essay Award
Duke University
2012
Student Incentive Award in Science Education
Duke University
2012
Anne Flexner Poetry Award,
2nd Place
Duke University
2011
Angier B. Duke Full-Tuition Memorial Scholarship
Duke University
2009 - 13
