What is Integrative Psychiatry?
Integrative Psychiatry is a patient-centered approach to health and wellness that aims to rebalance mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and community function. It blends conventional “Western” practices with complementary approaches in an effort to understand and optimize mental health.
As an MD, I can prescribe medications (or taper and suggest eliminating medications) and do therapy. But as an integrative psychiatrist, I incorporate treatments such as nutrition, exercise, good sleep, meditation, yoga, breath work, pets, community, etc. I believe in the interdependence of these in establishing optimal health and wellness.
What is your education and why is that important?
I attended medical school for 4 years and received my MD degree. I then did another 5 years of specialized and supervised training in adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry. I then completed a clinical/research fellowship in forensic psychiatry. To top it off, I received a Masters degree in Human Nutrition. That comes out to 12 years of training AFTER finishing college. When choosing who to prescribe medications, training and experience are very important issues to consider.
I am a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and am Board Certified in all three of my psychiatric specialties.
What ages do you see?
I’m board certified in both Adult Psychiatry and also Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (and Forensic Psychiatry, fwiw). I can see any age, but do not accept Medicare.
What sorts of things do you (or don’t you) treat?
I have training and experience treating the whole gamut, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, panic attacks, insomnia, bipolar disorder, ADHD, anger, OCD, social phobia, separation anxiety, eating disorders, mood dysregulation, and mild to moderate tics/Tourettes. Some people who have personality disorders may benefit from medications (always in conjunction with therapy.). I don’t provide Ketamine treatment.
I can treat substance abuse disorders, but typically when the co-occur with other psychiatric conditions. I don’t have the office staff or resources of IV/IM treatment, so I don’t treat people needing Suboxone, Buprenorphine, or Naltrexone.
Die to my limited office resources, I don’t see people who are actively psychotic, acutely suicidal, or who have been recently hospitalized. Such people are best served in larger clinics with more resources including 24-hour crisis management.
Exceptions will be treated on a case-by-case basis.
Do you prescribe medication to everyone you see?
No, I don’t. I perform a thorough assessment and only then do I decide on the best treatment. In many cases, people come to me if they think their medications aren’t working. In those cases, I may suggest stopping medications (carefully and under supervision), or changing medications. That is something we will discuss.
Since many people come to me by referral from local therapists who have felt that medications are part of the puzzle, it’s pretty common that starting, stopping, or changing medications will be one of my recommendations.
Do you do therapy?
Since most people I see already have therapists, not usually in that traditional sense. However, there is always a therapeutic component to what I do, even if you have your own traditional psychotherapist.
I am trained as a therapist and can do therapy if you don’t have a therapist already. I do that in certain instances. That’s something we can discuss further if you’d like.
Do you take my health insurance?
Like many other small private practices, I am not on insurance panels. You may be able to receive partial reimbursement by submitting my bills to your insurance company for out of network benefits.
Insurance companies often dictate the type, frequency, or duration of treatment. Psychiatrists often have waiting lists of many months and Child & Adolescent psychiatrists are even harder to get into, Thus you may be encouraged to see a nurse who can prescribe meds or others with a lot less training and experience than me. If you are able to get in to see an MD, these doctors often need to see lots of people in a short period of time.
Not taking insurance means I can spend more time with you so you can receive the care you need and deserve. Oftentimes this means you can get better, faster.
The mental health of you or your children may be one of the most important investments you can make. Only you can decide if now is the time to perhaps pay more for a service that isn’t easily obtained elsewhere.
What is your cancellation policy?
If you need to cancel, I ask that you do so with at least 48 (business) hours notice. That is, if you have a Tuesday 2 PM appointment, you should cancel by Thursday at 2 PM. If you have an appointment on Tuesday at 10 AM, you should cancel by Friday at 10 AM. Otherwise I will need to charge you the full amount of the appointment.
Also, I reserve your time just for you. Because of this, if you show up late, we can still meet, but will still need to stop at the scheduled stop time. Other people are counting on me to stay on schedule.
What if my situation is an emergency?
In an emergency, you must call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also follow specific instructions your therapist may have provided you. I do not provide emergency services and don’t have my phones staffed 24/7. In all cases, I will try to get back with you as soon as possible. If you think you may need emergency services, it’s really best to be seen in a larger clinic with more resources.
How can we get started?
Please reach out to me through the contact information on this website. I am happy to speak with you for a complimentary 15 minute phone call before you schedule an appointment so you can ask me anything you’d like or just get to know me a bit. Hopefully you’ll get a good sense if we would be a good fit through this website or through that (optional) phone call.