Dr. Mcdermott walking along a dirt road in Carbondale, Co with mountains behind him

Who Heals the Healer?

You went into this work to care for people.
The system asked you to become everything else.

Healing Intelligence brings you back to what called you here.

Dr. Robert McDermott walking outdoors beneath mountain foothills in Carbondale, Colorado.

Who Heals
the Healer?

You went into this work to care for people. The system asked you to become everything else.

Healing Intelligence brings you back to what called you here.

TRUSTED BY AND FEATURED IN

You became a healer because something in you knew

it mattered.

You studied for years.
You sacrificed weekends, holidays, sleep.

You earned the privilege of caring for people at their most vulnerable.

You studied for years.
You sacrificed weekends, holidays, sleep.

You earned the privilege of caring for people at their most vulnerable.

And somewhere along the way, the system made you forget why. If you’re reading this, you already know something needs to change.

You’re in the right place.

Over 60%

Over 60%

of healthcare providers
report burnout.

of healthcare providers
report burnout.

1 in 4

1 in 4

physicians considered leaving medicine entirely in the last year alone.

physicians considered leaving medicine entirely in the last year alone.

What We've Been Missing

For decades, we've measured human capability in two dimensions: how well we think (IQ) and how well we feel (EQ). But there is a third intelligence — one that science is only beginning to understand and that healers, teachers, first responders, and parents have always known in their bones.

A doctor holding a patients hand caring for them
Dr. Rob McDermott uusing his stethoscope to check out a patient

The Intelligence That Heals

Healing Intelligence® (HiQ™) is the ability to process and integrate verbal and nonverbal cues, in an emotional state of empathy balanced with compassion and conscious awareness, in order to co-create a compelling future of health, acceptance, and well-being.

Icon of a red heart surrounding an icon of a brain.

It is not IQ. It is not EQ. It is what happens when presence meets purpose and it is a teachable skill.

It is not IQ. It is not EQ. It is what happens when presence meets purpose and it is a teachable skill.

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How You Can Work With Dr. McDermott

How You Can Work
With Dr. McDermott

How You Can Work
With Dr. McDermott

Icon of red heart surrounding a brain

Testimonials

EXPLORE THEIR STORIES

Headshot of CEO Brian Murphy in a blue collar shirt and suit jacket
Headshot of Dr. Erica Kesselman with a white shirt, blazer, and blue glasses
Headshot of Dr. Erin Kempe in a teal blouse and black blazer
Headshot of Dr. Jonathan Holmes
Headshot of Brooke M. Halliwell, DO
Icon for the Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Valley View Hospital
"Dr. McDermott’s presentations to our medical staff have equipped them with invaluable tools and techniques to reconnect with patients, enhance operational efficiency, and rekindle their passion for their careers. I firmly believe that Healing Intelligence will spearhead a movement to revolutionize the healing experience in medicine."

Brian Murphy, MD

CEO Valley View

Headshot of CEO Brian Murphy in a blue collar shirt and suit jacket
Headshot of Dr. Erica Kesselman with a white shirt, blazer, and blue glasses
Headshot of Dr. Erin Kempe in a teal blouse and black blazer
Headshot of Dr. Jonathan Holmes
Headshot of Brooke M. Halliwell, DO
Icon for the Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Valley View Hospital
"Dr. McDermott’s presentations to our medical staff have equipped them with invaluable tools and techniques to reconnect with patients, enhance operational efficiency, and rekindle their passion for their careers. I firmly believe that Healing Intelligence will spearhead a movement to revolutionize the healing experience in medicine."

Brian Murphy, MD

CEO Valley View

Coaching client Dr. Jonathan Holmes at Colorado ski slope

What Is Healing Intelligence?

IQ measures how well your brain processes data. EQ measures how well you read and manage emotions. But neither explains why a doctor orders a test that saves a life when every objective measure says the patient is fine. Neither explains why a teacher reaches a child who's been written off by everyone else. Neither explains why a police officer de-escalates a crisis that was seconds from violence.

 

That's Healing Intelligence — a distinct form of human intelligence that integrates intuition, attunement, emotional regulation, and conscious presence into a capacity for healing that transcends what IQ or EQ can achieve alone.

Icon of red heart surrounding a brain

HiQ™ Is Built On Three Pillars

01

Nonverbal Safety

The ability to create an environment of trust through tone, distance, silence, and breath — before a single word is spoken.

02

Emotional Regulation

The capacity to ground your own nervous system so that others can regulate theirs. You cannot attune to another person unless you are grounded yourself.

03

Healing Without Fixing

The understanding that presence is often more powerful than intervention. Sometimes the most healing thing you can do is listen.

The World
Needs a Third Intelligence

Healthcare providers are burning out at record rates. Teachers are leaving the profession. First responders are in crisis. Our political discourse has lost the capacity for empathy. And artificial intelligence is accelerating faster than our wisdom can govern it. 

We don't need more data. We don't need more technology. We need a deeper human capacity — one that reconnects us to the healing power of presence, attunement, and conscious awareness.

Healing Intelligence is that capacity. And it is teachable, measurable, and universal.

A doctor smiling as he's outside on a rotation break
A doctor smiling as he's outside on a rotation break
A doctor smiling as he's outside on a rotation break
Dr. McDermott shaking hands with a patient in his Carbondale office.
Dr. McDermott smiling at a desk in a conference space

Why Work With
Dr. Robert McDermott

I'm not a former physician who left practice to become a coach. I'm still in the exam room.

I still run a practice. I still deal with insurance companies and staffing challenges and the daily grind of clinical medicine. That's what makes this work different — I'm not observing the problem from the outside. I'm living it alongside you and building solutions in real time.

Board-Certified Allergist/Immunologist
Nearly Two Decades in Clinical Practice
National and International Speaker to Thousands of Physicians
Executive Producer of Suck It Up, Buttercup
Creator of the CPR for Leaders™ Framework
Author of the Forthcoming Book Healing Intelligence: The Third Intelligence Beyond IQ and EQ
Endorsed by Health System CEOs Who’ve Seen the Work Firsthand
Grey texture
Dr. McDermott smiling at a desk in a conference space

Why Work With
Dr. Robert McDermott

I'm not a former physician who left practice to become a coach. I'm still in the exam room.

I still run a practice. I still deal with insurance companies and staffing challenges and the daily grind of clinical medicine. That's what makes this work different — I'm not observing the problem from the outside. I'm living it alongside you and building solutions in real time.

Board-Certified Allergist/Immunologist
Nearly Two Decades in Clinical Practice
National and International Speaker to Thousands of Physicians
Executive Producer of Suck It Up, Buttercup
Creator of the CPR for Leaders™ Framework
Author of the Forthcoming Book Healing Intelligence: The Third Intelligence Beyond IQ and EQ
Endorsed by Health System CEOs Who’ve Seen the Work Firsthand
Dr. McDermott shaking hands with a patient in his Carbondale office.
Dr. McDermott smiling at a desk in a conference space

Why Work With
Dr. Robert McDermott

I'm not a former physician who left practice to become a coach. I'm still in the exam room.

I still run a practice. I still deal with insurance companies and staffing challenges and the daily grind of clinical medicine. That's what makes this work different — I'm not observing the problem from the outside. I'm living it alongside you and building solutions in real time.

Board-Certified Allergist/Immunologist
Nearly Two Decades in Clinical Practice
National and International Speaker to Thousands of Physicians
Executive Producer of Suck It Up, Buttercup
Creator of the CPR for Leaders™ Framework
Author of the Forthcoming Book Healing Intelligence: The Third Intelligence Beyond IQ and EQ
Endorsed by Health System CEOs Who’ve Seen the Work Firsthand
Cover of new book written by Dr. Robert McDermott with title "Healing Intelligence: The Third Intelligence Beyond IQ and EQ"

COMING SOON

THE BOOK

Healing Intelligence

The Third Intelligence Beyond IQ and EQ

The Third Intelligence — Beyond IQ and EQ

WRITTEN BY DR. ROBERT MCDERMOTT

"I'm really thrilled about your work — it's so needed. I encourage you to get it out there as fast as possible."

- JACK CANFIELD

AUTHOR OF CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

A DOCUMENTARY FILM

Suck It Up, Buttercup

Healthcare • Trust & Betrayal

This work goes beyond the clinic into a documentary examining trust, betrayal,
and the growing crisis in American healthcare.
This work goes beyond the clinic into a documentary examining trust, betrayal, and the growing crisis in American healthcare.
This work goes beyond the clinic into a documentary examining trust, betrayal, and the growing crisis in American healthcare.

Dr. Robert McDermott serves as Executive Producer alongside Dr. Nicole McDermott, Dr. MaryAnn Wilbur, and Dr. Todd R. Otten.

The film is produced by an Emmy Award-winning production team at ONE80 Visual, led by Creative Director Scott Pressler (five National Emmy Awards for work with NBC Sports and the Olympic Games).

Start a Conversation

You do not have to figure this out alone. Whether you are a clinician looking for support or a leader ready to invest in your team, the next step is simple.

Start a Conversation

You do not have to figure this out alone. Whether you are a clinician looking for support or a leader ready to invest in your team, the next step is simple.

Start a Conversation

You do not have to figure this out alone. Whether you are a clinician looking for support or a leader ready to invest in your team, the next step is simple.