Arwen Podesta, MD is a board-certified adult psychiatrist based in New Orleans, with subspecialties in addiction medicine, forensic psychiatry, and integrative medicine. A nationally sought-after speaker and educator, she lectures widely on Addiction Medicine and Integrative Psychiatry, while maintaining active clinical practices in both Louisiana and North Carolina.
Dr. Podesta earned her medical degree from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, completed her psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University, and went on to complete a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry at Tulane University.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Podesta became deeply engaged in expanding access to psychiatric care for underserved populations—an effort that earned her recognition as one of Gambit’s “40 Under 40” in 2009. Since then, she has served as Medical Director for multiple addiction treatment centers and as a consultant to the Orleans Criminal Court, Drug Court, and Re-entry Services. She continues to provide expert witness testimony and consult in Addiction Medicine.
An active contributor to academic psychiatry, Dr. Podesta holds faculty appointments with the Tulane and LSU psychiatry residency programs, as well as the Tulane Addiction Medicine Fellowship. Her commitment to clinical excellence and medical education has been recognized with Distinguished Fellow status in both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. In 2017, she was nominated President of the Louisiana chapter of ASAM.
Dr. Podesta is also the past president of the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association and serves on national committees for both ASAM and the APA. In addition, she sits on the advisory board of the Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force, contributing her expertise to statewide policy and strategy.
In 2012, she founded Podesta Psychiatry, a multidisciplinary practice consistently recognized among New Orleans Magazine’s Top Doctors. The clinic embodies her integrative, collaborative model of care—grounded in whole-person wellness and evidence-based treatment.