ABOUT ME

Combining Science with Kindness is what drew me to psychiatry. My approach is to combine rigorous clinical evidence with careful, thoughtful listening and compassion to find the right balance for your unique biology, history, and goals. My practice focuses on expert medication management, consultation, and diagnostic clarification. My style is warm, collaborative, and direct.

I grew up in India until the age of 11, when my parents made the fateful decision to immigrate to New Jersey. The experience of growing up in two cultures imbued me with an innate curiosity about how human beings find meaning and community in their lives.

I was fortunate to be accepted directly into the Brown University Program in Liberal Medical Education (P.L.M.E) directly from high school. I became fascinated with the mind and I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Cognitive Science. In medical school I fell in love with psychiatry almost immediately, and I valued the fact that it celebrated medicine as both an art and as a science. After graduating from medical school I emigrated to California to start my psychiatry residency at the University of California - San Francisco (UCSF).

I have been serving as the PTSD Psychiatrist at the VA Oakland Behavioral Health Clinic since 2000. My work involves treating PTSD in combat veterans and victims of military sexual trauma. I am also an Clinical Associate Professor at UCSF. I decided to start my private practice in 2019.

I view treatment as a shared journey. I am excited to collaborate with you (and your therapist) to build a great team. This process of trying different medications can be frustrating and anxiety provoking, but the results can also be amazing and life-changing. I am deeply invested in you as a person and my goal is to help you live your best life.