About
Psychiatry is the ideal synthesis of my interests in science, human narrative, and the biological & psychological treatment of conditions affecting thought and emotion.
I completed my undergraduate and medical education at the accelerated BA/MD program at The George Washington University. I pursued an education that encompassed both scientific study and the humanities. During medical school, I spent a year as a researcher in a laboratory, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that was devoted to the discovery of vaccines for tropical disease.
I completed residency training in Adult Psychiatry at the world-renowned Payne Whitney Clinic at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. As a resident, I helped establish psychiatric treatment for victims of the Asian Tsunami in Sri Lanka in 2005 and worked as a chief resident of the inpatient psychiatric unit during my final year. Following residency training, I pursued advanced fellowship training in Forensic Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center.
In 2014, I received the Nancy C.A. Roeske Teaching Award, a national award given each year to a small number of psychiatrists who have made outstanding and sustaining contributions to medical student education.
Over the past 10 years, I have presented at numerous national conferences and psychiatric training programs on various topics in Psychiatry and Mental Health. While working for Janian Medical Care, an award-winning organization devoted to the treatment of homeless individuals, I and my colleagues created a documentary film about psychiatric illness and homelessness intended to convey the importance of high-quality care for all people.
Services
My philosophy
Effective psychiatric treatment is truly life-changing. Thoughts, emotions, relationships with others, pain, and distress are not abstract concepts, but real phenomena that can be explored, understood, and, most importantly, changed.
Initial evaluation
I devote 90 minutes to the initial evaluation, which focuses on your reasons for seeking treatment. During the evaluation, we will work together to clarify and understand your current difficulties.
I prioritize curiosity, warmth, and a thoughtful approach to ensure that people feel comfortable during their initial visit. Most people are surprised by how much relief they feel from being able to speak openly to a person who is specifically trained to understand psychological and emotional distress.
Treatment
I offer years of training and expertise in different forms of therapy and the use of medication, when necessary, to treat psychiatric complaints. Depending on the exact nature of your difficulties, we will determine the most effective treatment plan. Session frequency can vary from weekly to every 3 months, and medications may or may not be included in your treatment.
I emphasize the importance of avoiding communication delays and will quickly return phone calls and emails.
Medication management
Many of my patients have started a course of medications during their treatment. Some have continued therapy following the completion of a successful medication trial. Ultimately, it really depends on you, what you’re going through, and what I think is going to help the most.
I understand the confusion caused by the mixed messages surrounding the use of medications. My approach to medication can be summarized in this way: I believe that medications can be very effective for some people, are more effective in combination with therapy in others, and are not necessary for others. I prescribe medication thoughtfully and avoid their unnecessary use. I value honest communication with all of my patients, and I am receptive to their concerns about medications when considering that option.
Therapy
People new to treatment typically have many questions about therapy. How is it going to help me? Isn’t it enough to talk to friends or family?
The simplest answer is that therapy involves speaking, in a detailed but focused way, about what’s happening in your life that is causing your current distress. The process of communicating your difficulties leads you and the therapist to make important connections between events in your life.
Making these connections is transformative. It allows you to truly appreciate the impact of past and current events and the ways these events have impacted your thinking, perceptions, emotions, and choices. It also empowers you to make new choices, some of which you may not have realized you had.
Research has demonstrated that therapy is not “just talking”: it is a biological treatment that causes extraordinary, beneficial, and long-lasting changes in different structures in the brain.
Expertise
I specialize in the psychiatric treatment of the following diagnoses:
- Depression
- Bipolar I and II Disorder
- Anxiety and Stress
- Panic attacks
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Adult Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Substance-Related Difficulties, particularly cannabis and alcohol overuse
- Chronic insomnia
As a therapist, I have particular expertise in treating people struggling with the following:
- Major life changes, including work changes, marriage, a recent move, or the birth of a child
- Identity conflicts, including cultural identity and sexual identity
- Difficulties communicating with colleagues or family members
- Chronic difficulties with assertiveness and expression of needs
- Transitioning out of college or graduate school into the working world
- Low self-esteem
- Relationship difficulties, including romantic relationships, work relationships, and family relationships
- Long-term mood changes and mistrust of others caused by difficult childhood experiences, including abuse and bullying
I tend to work well with people who have long considered seeking treatment but have not done so until now.
