Rachel Norris, MD, MA

Welcome! I am Dr. Rachel Norris, founder of Imagine Healthcare. We are so happy you have found us and hope we can help you on your journey to better health.

I started my medical career a bit later in life. My college days were spent as a student-athlete at UCLA, playing volleyball and studying art history. After college, I pursued a career in art restoration and conservation, interning at several museums in Los Angeles. A trip to Cuba in 1995 changed the course of my life. I no longer dreamed of restoring art. I wanted to restore people.

I pursued the required coursework to apply to medical school and completed a second bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from UCSB. The next step was a master’s in Bioethics at Case Western in my mom’s hometown of Cleveland before starting medical school at thirty. After four years of studying at the University of Pittsburgh, I was ready for a move and fell in love with Chicago. I completed my residency in Emergency Medicine at Northwestern and then accepted a job as an attending physician at Evanston Hospital (now Northshore University Healthsystem).

My years in the ER were exciting and rewarding. I forged lifelong friendships during this time, my friendship with Chrissa being one. But working in the ER also illuminated many problems with our healthcare system. Western culture often focuses on “quantity” rather than “quality” of life. I underwent fellowship training at the University of Chicago in Hospice and Palliative Medicine with my friend and colleague, Dr. Heather Costello, to understand how to provide all under my care with better quality of life.

Palliative care is often associated with end-of-life, but I believe this is only because it is misunderstood. Palliative care can and should, be provided to anyone suffering from a chronic illness. Severe depression and anxiety disorders cause significant suffering, as do chronic pain conditions. Our goal at Imagine Healthcare is to relieve that suffering and help clients on their journey to a better quality of life.

I’m privileged to do what I do, but I believe my duty to those seeking better health extends beyond the clinic's doors. As a board member of the Illinois Psychedelic Society, I hope to help expand treatment options for ailments of mind, body, and soul. Partnering with organizations such as STIGMA and Balanced Veterans grants our team the opportunity to reach more people in our efforts to destigmatize the conditions we treat every day while spreading a message of hope.

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…”

Education & Training:

  • B.A. in Art History - University of California, Los Angeles

  • B.A. in Biological Sciences - University of California, Santa Barbara

  • M.A. in Bioethics - Case Western Reserve University

  • M.D. - University of Pittsburgh

  • Residency in Emergency Medicine - Northwestern University

  • Fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Medicine - University of Chicago

Advanced Training & Continuing Education:

  • Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy Training - Polaris Insight Center

  • Ketamine Medical Provider Training - Integrative Psychiatry Institute

  • Building a Psychedelic Medicine Clinic - Psychedelic Research and Training Institute 

  • Psychedelic Psychopharmacology - Fluence

  • ASKP3 Annual Conference 2019 & 2020

  • Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research 2020 & 2022

  • Sana Symposium 2021 & 2022

  • MAPS Psychedelic Science 2023

  • Illinois Psychedelic Society Symposium 2023


Organizational Involvement:

  • Board Certification - American Board of Emergency Medicine

  • Board Member - Illinois Psychedelic Society 

  • Board Member - Entheo IL

  • Scientific Advisory Board - Brain Health Restoration, LLC

  • Member - American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

  • Member - American Society of Ketamine Physicians, Psychotherapists & Practitioners 

  • Member - Psychedelic Medicine Association

  • Member - Illinois State Medical Society