With more than 30 years of medical experience — including over two decades dedicated to Addiction Medicine and Psychiatry — Dr. Rasha Lawrence brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge, compassion, and insight to her patients. Board-certified in Addiction Medicine, she completed her psychiatric residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Her diverse background in psychiatry, addiction medicine, immunology, and rheumatology, combined with a strong interest in spirituality, allows her to integrate the mind, body, and spirit in a truly holistic and comprehensive approach to healing.

When Dr. Lawrence began treating patients with addiction, she realized that most did not want to die — they were using substances that could kill them simply to feel “good” temporarily and escape invisible emotional pain. This realization led her to approach her patients with empathy rather than judgment, seeking to understand the emotional wounds driving their behavior. Over years of treating thousands of individuals struggling with addiction and dual diagnosis, she came to see addiction not merely as a brain disease but as a manifestation of deeper dysfunction — often rooted in family, social, and emotional patterns that leave individuals feeling unloved, unseen, or unworthy.

Dr. Lawrence founded and serves as the Medical Director of The Lawrence Wellness Center, where she provides evidence-based medical and psychological therapies for addiction, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma, OCD, panic disorder, PTSD, and personality disorders. Her focus is not only on treating addiction but on helping patients heal the emotional wounds — particularly those of the inner child — that perpetuate suffering and relapse.

Her patients describe her as deeply compassionate and intuitive. She believes that recovery begins with emotional healing and the rediscovery of one’s inherent worth and resilience. For Dr. Lawrence, the most rewarding aspect of her work is witnessing lives transformed — helping patients find hope, purpose, and a renewed chance at life in recovery.