Lala Forrest

Lala Forrest, MD is a Tribal citizen of the Pit River Nation and a descendant of the Modoc and Wintu people, born on her ancestral lands and growing up in a suburban setting, she considers herself a rural-urban straddler. She was the first in her family to graduate from a university, obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego, and obtained her medical degree at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine with a concentration in medication education and received the Excellent Performance Award in Psychiatry and was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Dr. Forrest is currently completing her residency in psychiatry, with a deep interest in decolonizing psychiatry and psychotherapy. Her clinical approach highlights informed consent, relationship-building, and the dismantling of colonial frameworks that shape mental health systems. She is committed to advancing holistic approaches to well-being by bridging standard-of-care, evidence-informed practice, lived experience, and cultural/community-based healing.

She serves as an At-Large Director for the Association of American Indian Physicians and Co-Chairs its Policy and Legislative Committee. She also collaborates on the Indigenous School of Medicine, an initiative to reimagine medical education through Indigenous leadership and traditional knowledge systems. As a mentor with We Are Healers, she supports the next generation of Indigenous leaders across education, advocacy, and planetary health.

Looking ahead, Dr. Forrest is interested in building an independent practice that integrates relational, culturally responsive, and community-centered psychiatric care—blending clinical integrity with Indigenous frameworks of healing.

Outside of work, she enjoys CrossFit, running, swimming, learning her Tribe’s language, and lovingly spoiling her pit-boxer mix.