Student of the Month - Traci Carroll
Traci Carroll insists that she’s not a risk taker, but her life story to date suggests otherwise, revealing a person drawn to challenge, who embraces change with determination, and whose natural equilibrium serves her well—whether she’s balancing work and family, staying steady in Tree Pose, or gliding down a river on a paddleboard.
Raised in Kingsport, TN, Traci describes her young self as a brainy kid who played the clarinet well, but felt awkward in her body. She was working towards a B.M. (Bachelor of Music) from Northwestern University when she realized that she was not likely to find work in a major orchestra. She transitioned into a Ph.D. program in English at the University, and, after graduation, she landed a job teaching African-American literature at Rhodes College in Memphis.
Married, with two young sons, Traci was drawn to complementary medicine as a way to keep herself and her family healthy, which led her to attend massage school at night during the second year of her three-year contract at Rhodes College. When the teaching job ended, she began work as a massage therapist, and did so for 10 years. A long-time yogini, she completed a teacher-training program with Lilliah Schwartz at Lighten Up in Asheville in 2003. Upon completion, she opened her own yoga studio, called Kudzu Yoga in Johnson City, TN, where she lives.
“I was envisioning building a movement center that offered various modalities in addition to yoga,” Traci explained. “However, from a financial perspective, massage and teaching yoga were not the best ways to help support my family, although I loved what I was doing. I knew I needed to make a change. I was skilled at being a student. I have always enjoyed school, I perform well on tests, and I can memorize information easily. So it just made sense to me to become a doctor and I applied to med school, thinking I’d be a surgeon.”
Clarinetist, English teacher, massage therapist, yoga instructor, and now surgeon-in-training? Yes, at age 40, entered med school and spent the next four years studying at East Tennessee State University James H Quillen College of Medicine, in Johnson City, during which time she decided surgery was not her calling, and instead went on to complete four years of residency in the school’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. In 2014, she completed her certification and licensure in Psychiatry, certified in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Traci Carroll currently practices at James H Quillen Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Mountain Home, which serves the healthcare needs of thousands of veterans who live in a 41-county area of Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky.
“I provide counsel and medication treatment to patients with a wide range of psychiatric diagnoses, including PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse,” Traci explained. “Some are at the Mountain Home VA for a 30-day residential treatment program to get sober, and others I see as outpatients for a range of mental health issues, including addiction. I use a variety of approaches, depending on my patients’ needs and their level of self-awareness. Some see me monthly for a refill of their Suboxone prescription, which they may take long term to relief drug cravings without the dangerous side effects of other opioids. For others with PTSD symptoms, I offer a combination of talk therapy, plus medications, when appropriate. Most patients are incredibly grateful to receive treatment and a listening ear. My work with these men and women who have served our country is extremely rewarding.”
Like other VA centers around the country, Traci’s workplace has expanded its offering to include a range of non-pharmacy treatments for pain management and trauma, including acupuncture and mindfulness training, as well as classes in asana and yoga nidra, which Traci teaches once a week, bringing two of her passions into alignment.
Yoga is an essential practice for Traci, helping her go inward to quiet her mind and connect body and breath. When she’s called to a more exciting way to experience her physical self, Traci enjoys activities that involve water, gliding, and rolling. “I’m competitive but not that competent as an athlete,” she admitted, laughing, “and was kicked out of ballet as a child.” Some years ago she bonded with a group of women who played roller derby. “Skating with Little City Roller Girls was the best time of my life and totally worth breaking my ankle. The Sisterhood of the Wheel cannot be broken!”
Traci has since moved on to standup paddleboard, and acknowledges she enjoys falling off the board into the river nearly as much as she enjoys staying on the board. Recently, she’s been learning to roll on a OneWheel on dry land, which has led to some bruises—but not to her sense of fun and determination, which she displays in equal measure.
To deepen her yoga practice, Traci joined several other Iyengar Yoga Asheville students to study at the Iyengar Institute in Pune, India, in 2019. “My main discovery while I was there is that I am much more capable of physical effort than I realized, and that my limitations, for the most part, are mental, not physical,” she shared. “It’s usually my mind that prevents me from feeling at ease. That insight helps me endure the rigors of practicing medicine. It also helps me understand that it’s possible to be tired and stressed and still be self aware, and to have know that external circumstances don’t have to determine my mental state.”
Roll on, Traci. Roll on.