Psychopharmacology
I have a strong background in psychopharmacology services, research and teaching. I trained at Columbia University where antidepressants were first systematically studied. I continue to participate in an online community of colleagues from Columbia. In addition I was on the faculty at UCSF/Langley Porter where I created the psychopharmacology teaching services and have supervised hundreds of cases in that clinic over many years. My approach to medication treatments in psychiatry is to be as parsimonious as possible to use medications as sparingly as possible, ie. at the lowest effective dose. People are constantly bombarded by pharmaceutical advertising and this has lead to a culture of misinformation as well as exaggerated expectations. I do not receive any financial support from any pharmaceutical firm, nor do I participate in any pharmaceutical industry sponsored activities. Consultation with a skilled psychopharmacologist offers patients choices about what medications are safe and clinically indicated. I provide a detailed assessment of whether medications could be helpful and a selection of medications to use. My training and experience helps me to understand how to use medications and to thoughtfully monitor whether they are beneficial or not.