St. Louis, August 2021 - Dr. Arturo Taca Jr is the founder of INSynergy, a St. Louis-based alcohol and drug treatment medical practice that specializes in personalized, medically-based, innovative solutions to addiction treatment.

Doctor Taca’s leadership in the field of addiction medicine is fueled by his empathy for patients and his belief that addiction is a mental health diagnosis that should be treated like any other medical issue.

“It is very emotional when people come to me and look me straight in the eye and say you saved my life,” Doctor Taca said.

“Many people don’t understand why people wake up and want to use or drink,” Doctor Taca said. “I wanted to get to the bottom of that.”

When it comes to saving the lives of patients with drug or alcohol addiction, Dr. Taca is a revolutionary who came to America thanks to a different kind of revolution.

“I was born in Manilla, in the Philippines,” Doctor Taca said. “In 1972, the president, Ferdinand Marcos, who was a dictator at that time, declared martial law.”

Dr. Taca’s father, who was also a doctor, was an outspoken opponent of the Marcos regime. After being arrested and threatened with torture, Dr. Taca and his family fled to the United States.

The Taca family ended up settling down in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, where Dr. Taca Junior grew up.

It was during his last year of medical school that Doctor Taca had his first encounter with a psychotic patient. It made such an impression, he sought out training as a psychiatrist at St. Louis University.

“It brought up this emotion in me to say what is this, what kind of sickness is this person suffering from?” Doctor Taca asked himself. “That kind of mystery appealed to me.”

In 2006, Dr. Taca opened INSynergy, applying his belief that addiction is not flaw in character but is rooted in medical conditions that involve a dysfunction of the brain that can be treated.

“It was a leap of faith,” Dr. Taca said. “But I had some good mentors.”

“Some people zig, he likes to zag” said Jack Cavanaugh of Restore Brain TMS Therapy. “There is a little of that rebellious spirit in his blood. He’s a true innovator.”

Cavanaugh has been friends with Dr. Taca since their freshman year at DeSmet High School. Today, they also share a professional relationship in the field of behavioral health and addiction treatment.

“He is beyond any measure of any physician in the United States that I know in engaging patients, getting them to emotionally buy-in” Cavanaugh said. “He connects with them, his staff connects with them and that is very rare.”

“He is looking for innovations, looking for ways to stabilize patients,” Ashley Halker, MHA, Director of Operations of INSynergy said. “He is looking for patients to have the ability not to create a dependency on us but to give the power of their recovery to them.”

Under Dr. Taca’s leadership, INSynergy offers patients innovative options, including injections of an anti-craving medication called Vivitrol.

INSynergy has also helped pioneer the use of neurostimulation devices to treat the side effects of withdrawal. And they offer DNA testing to look for genetic factors contributing to addiction, mood disorders and medication response.

But Dr. Taca’s patients say his caring nature has been a huge part of their path to sobriety.

“He respects me. He’s all about taking care of people with addiction,” Bruce, a patient of Doctor Taca said. “He made me feel good about myself. “

“I find myself being an activist for addiction treatment,” Doctor Taca said. “I get that from my father.”

“People who are struggling with addiction are looking for people who understand, we have to be there for them,” Doctor Taca said. “You can’t not be passionate about this.”