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Why Mental Health?
I became a psychiatrist and developmental neuroscientist because this is who I am at heart. My family upbringing, my own struggles as an adolescent/young adult with depression and anxiety, the joy of serving others who are suffering from feeling ill and vulnerable, and a deep scientific and spiritual curiosity about the human brain, consciousness, meaning, and existence all led me to discover my true passion and to do what I love to do.
My Professional Background
Expertise
• Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Anxiety, Depression & Mood Disorders, ADHD, Autism)
• General Adult Psychiatry
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
• Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Psychosis Risk and Schizophrenia
• Brain Development and Neurobehavioral Genetics
Credentials
• BS, Neuroscience, with Departmental Highest Honors and College Honors, UCLA
• MD, Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
• PhD, Developmental and Molecular Neuroscience, Dissertation Title: Development of Cortical GABA Circuitry: Identifying Periods of Vulnerability to Schizophrenia, University of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon University
Training
• General Psychiatry, Chief Resident of the Psychiatry Research Pathway, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and UCLA
• Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
• Neurobehavioral Genetics, UCLA
Affiliations
• Adjunct Assistant Professor, UCLA
• Previously: Assistant Professor in Residence, UCLA
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Why This Approach?
I provide comprehensive, integrative mental health care for children, adolescents, and adults by focusing on holistic, strength-based approaches. Combining medical and psychological frameworks with the latest research in neuroscience, genetics, and brain development allows me to develop a deeper biological understanding of both healthy behaviors and those that cause functional impairment. I believe in using every available tool to prevent and treat illness while promoting long-term health and well-being. My approach includes prescribing medications when necessary, offering psychotherapy grounded in humanistic principles such as motivational interviewing, providing lifestyle coaching and mind-body medicine, and delivering transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Fun Facts
I have played soccer since I was 4 years old and guitar since I was 8.
I love the ocean and tide pools, especially the intelligent and amazing octopus.
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Story Time
From the moment I received my first Fisher-Price physician kit at age 5, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. The kit—complete with a stethoscope, oto-ophthalmoscope, reflex hammer, and other tools—became my gateway to a world of discovery. My mom, always the willing patient, let me use the tools to check her health, sparking a fascination with medicine that never left me. In kindergarten, when my teacher asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I confidently answered, “A doctor.”
Fast forward (more years than I care to admit), and that dream has become my reality. Today, I am a physician-scientist and psychiatrist-neuroscientist, captivated by the complexity and creativity of the human brain. This extraordinary organ is a conduit to our humanity, enabling consciousness, self-awareness, creativity, intelligence, and empathy. It allows us to tell stories, invent languages, create music, cuisine, and culture, and to dream. Yet, the brain also harbors the darker aspects of our nature, and when it becomes ill, it can distort perception, thought, and behavior in profoundly challenging ways.
My curiosity about these altered states of mind—combined with personal experiences—led me to study the brain scientifically and pursue psychiatry clinically. My passion for understanding the dynamic processes of human growth and change inspired me to specialize further in child and adolescent psychiatry, developmental neuroscience, and neurobehavioral genetics.
But I believe the brain doesn’t exist in isolation. It is deeply interconnected with the body, spirit, and environment. The interplay between the world acting on us and our actions shaping the world is where the magic of growth and transformation happens. This reminds me of the vital importance of nurturing our body, brain, and spirit to maintain health and live a fulfilled life.