About Me

It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to introduce myself and tell you about my work as a physician at Kaiser Permanente. I am a board-certified adult psychiatrist and currently serve as chief of service in the Department of Addiction Medicine here at Downey Medical Center. I have the unique opportunity to work in both addiction medicine and psychiatry.

Biography

I am a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 5, after listening to my mother's heartbeat through a stethoscope, I knew I wanted to become a physician. I was blessed to have parents who nurtured my interest in medicine. Consequently, I was able to attend an accelerated medical program and achieve my dream. While in medical school, I enjoyed studying all aspects of medicine but soon discovered my talent and interest in listening to the life stories of patients grappling with mental health issues. Through my work, I became intimately acquainted with the social stigma of mental illness and began to advocate for patient and family education, timely diagnosis, and treatment. I've dedicated my life to providing compassionate, high-quality mental health care to all of my patients.

About my practice

To have a career in psychiatry and addiction medicine is my good fortune. It allows me to address the issues and needs of the whole person as I help to facilitate healing of the mind, body, and spirit. I believe that behavior makes sense, and making sense of behavior is a challenge that I welcome. I help patients make sense of their own lives. Treatment strategies often include the adoption of healthy lifestyle changes, medication management, and participation in group and individual therapies.

How I thrive

I strive to maintain a healthy lifestyle to model for my patients. I enjoy my work here at Kaiser Permanente immensely and try to balance it with other activities, such as spending time with family and friends, watching football (Go Steelers!), physical exercise (cycling and running), and nurturing my spirit (listening to music, meditating, and reading inspirational literature).