"As a physician, I know the importance of considering the whole person," she says. "What goes on outside the body can often be just as important as what's happening inside the body and understanding that can often help lead to the correct diagnosis for a patient."
Dr. Shafai has helped patients with a wide range of issues, including weight loss, diet, stress/anxiety, and sleep. She also has experience helping patients with things like hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, leaky gut, toxin exposure, bioidentical hormones, thyroid disorders, and chronic fatigue.
Overall, Dr. Shafai's goal is to not just treat her patients' symptoms, but find the actual root cause and provide the care needed to address it.
"Getting to the root cause is so important, and it takes time," she says. "I don’t want to just treat your symptoms. I want to find the root cause and help you fix it so you can live a healthier life."
"The most important thing is communication," she says. "This is a partnership. And communication is the foundation of the success that comes after."
Outside the office, Dr. Shafai enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, watching movies, reading, and listening to music.
An Iranian native who is fluent in Persian, she is even known to sing a few Persian songs every now and then.
Dr. Shafai went to medical school in Ohio and moved to the Northern Virginia area for her residency at Georgetown and has come to love the multicultural aspects of the area, particularly the diverse cuisine available.
“People ask me how I deal with the traffic. I just tell them the food makes it worth it,” she says.
