Meet the Team: Aliya Pasik

Meet the Team: Aliya Pasik

The Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine is made up of a passionate, dedicated team of professionals here to assist you. Here’s your chance to learn more about the faces you see around our office every day.

RCBM physician assistant and director of addiction medicine, Aliya Pasik, wasn’t born in Michigan, but she has spent most of her life in the suburbs of Detroit. She was born on a Naval base in Bethesda, Maryland when her father was working as an officer in the US Navy. Her family moved to Michigan when she was just four years old. Aliya says from an early age, she knew she had a passion for behavioral medicine.

“As far back as high school, I studied general psychology and advanced placement neurobiology,” Pasik said. “I was taught by a remarkable woman who further enriched my love of the field. She was a Holocaust Survivor, who escaped Nazi Germany.”

Aliya earned her bachelors degree in French language and literature at Columbia University with multiple courses in developmental psychology. She received her master’s degree from the University of Detroit School of Health Professions. But before she became a physician’s assistant, she was a TV news reporter at the NBC affiliate in Traverse City and a reporter and fill-in anchor at the CBS affiliate in Dayton, Ohio.

“I found it difficult to stand on the sidelines and just talk about what was happening in the news, rather than rolling up my sleeves and helping those in need,” Pasik said. “Being cussed out, thrown out, and shot at, during my career as a TV news reporter also hastened my departure from the field!”

Aliya says she chose a career in mental health for many reasons.

“This is a field that requires empathy on a level that many are unable to achieve, yet its importance cannot be underestimated when helping people with behavioral problems,” Pasik said.

During her time in the field, Aliya says she has found there are great misconceptions about mental illness. Many people think it’s a choice or just something people must get over. But mental illness is really a biological problem that is no different than a diabetic who’s incapable of making usable insulin. Each needs medical help to correct imbalances.

“Sometimes brain chemicals need to be replaced with medication, and it is not a weakness but a strength,” Pasik says. “In many cases, people who have struggled with, and gained control over mental health disorders, are the strongest people. Being able to recognize the need for help and ask for it is a skill that serves everyone well in life.”

Pasik has chosen to further specialize in addiction medicine with the current opioid crisis facing the nation. She was one of the first 800 physician assistants in the country to receive additional licensing in the medically assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. As the director of Addiction Medicine at the Rochester Center, she can medically assist patients with detoxification and help them live a sober and more fulfilling life.

“I find nothing more rewarding than being able to give patients the gift of sobriety, because in turn, they often reunite with family members, and go onto successful careers and fulfilling lives,” Pasik said. “In my experience, I’ve found that addicts tend to be the most brilliant and creative members of society.”

When she’s not at work, Pasik loves to cook and travel. She has visited four of the seven continents and plans to continue to explore the world one country at a time. She can speak French, German, Italian, Spanish and modern standard Arabic.

“The beauty of travelling is learning the culture and communicating with the people,” Pasik says. “I feel there is so much to be gained from learning about others and how they live. I feel that wisdom is gained by learning, and some of the best knowledge comes from life experience.”

Back in the U.S.A., she truly loves being at work with the staff and patients at the Rochester Center for Behavioral Medicine.

“Overcoming addiction takes a village,” Pasik says. “In my opinion, we have the best village anywhere.”

Interested in visiting the office? Call for an appointment today: (248) 608-8800 or fill out our New Patient Form here.