About

Dr. Rapaport specializes in the treatment and care of individuals suffering from complex conditions. 

• Mold illness: Dr. Rapaport has been treating patients for mold illness since 2010 and in 2014 was the first person on the East Coast certified by Ritchie Shoemaker, MD in the CIRS protocol. She founded and was the first president of the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness in 2017 and along with Dr. Neil Nathan, coordinated the first International ISEAI conference in 2019. Dr. Rapaport has spoken about the effects of mold exposure on health internationally and across the US and is considered a leading expert in this field.
• Lyme and Tick-borne illnesses: Dr. Rapaport started treating Lyme disease in 2009 and has been a voting member of the International Lyme and Associated Disease Society (ILADS) since 2014. She attends their annual conference yearly and presented a lecture on the immune system at the 2019 ILADS conference. 
• Complex Conditions: Since 2016, Dr. Rapaport’s primary focus has been the treatment of complex conditions, helping patients identify the cause(s) of their symptoms and treating them effectively. Since the majority of those she treats are sensitive to medications and supplements, she understands how to support her patients and manage their care to reduce the likelihood of reactions. 
• Dysautonomia (and POTS): Dr. Rapaport has studied and treated dysautonomia for the past 23 years. She helped to coordinate and was a speaker at the NIH Conference on Hereditatry Dysautonomias in 2002. In 2001, she founded Familial Dysautonomia Hope Foundation and served twice as president, and as vice president for research. She understands the day to day impact of dysautonomia on individuals and families. 
• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS): Dr. Rapaport has been actively treating individuals with MCAS since 2018 and presented at the second Mast Cell Workshop coordinated by Dr. Larry Afrin in 2019. She continues to explore the causes of secondary mast cell activation. 
• Functional Medicine: Dr. Rapaport has been practicing and lecturing on functional medicine since 2001. She became a member of the Institute of Functional Medicine in 2016 and has completed the coursework for certification as IFMCP. 
• Narrative Medicine: In 1986, Dr. Rapaport received a Master’s of Arts degree in Anthropology, with a focus on medical anthropology, from American University, and in 2007, a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Spalding University, with a focus on character development from a medical perspective. These degrees, along with her training in Family Medicine, advanced her interest in Narrative Medicine. She lectured on Narrative Medicine at the 2nd Medicine and Writing Conference in 2009, at the Heal Thy Practice conference in 2008, and in 2019 she was interviewed by Terry and Joe Graedon of The People’s Pharmacy on “How Do Patients’ Stories Shape Their Care?”. She is the author of A Density of Ghosts, a poetry chapbook and was the Medical Editor for Health and Healing, a Research Triangle Area journal. 
• Additional Studies: Dr. Rapaport is a life-long learner, focusing her studies on topics that will benefit her patients. She trained with Patricia Kane, PhD on lipid metabolism and cell membrane health, with Dale Bredesen, MD on dementia and the RECODE protocol, and with William Walsh, PhD on the effects of minerals and neurological health. She is a Reiki Master, obtained Master level training for SCENAR therapy and is a Level I to III trainer, studied Trigger Point Injections, and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). In 2017 she became a Tea Sommelier as well as a Tea and Health Expert, and lectured on Tea and Health at the 2019 World Tea Expo. 
• Medical Education: Dr. Rapaport graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where she received the Best Medical Student Award from the UVa medical school alumni association and where she was a finalist for the prestigious excellence in clinical medicine award. At Virginia, she learned to see patients through a wide-angle lens. Completing her Family Medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center further strengthened her whole-person approach to patient care. 
• Education (non-medical): Sonia Rapaport graduated with Honors and Distinction from the University of Virginia with a BA (Anthropology and Religious Studies). Dr. Rapaport has Master’s Degrees from American University (MA in (Medical) Anthropology) and Spalding University (MFA in Creative Writing). Before attending medical school, she worked in the intelligence community, serving for a year at the US Embassy in Jamaica, and at the NSA.