Why I Chose Psychiatry
During medical school, I discovered a fundamental mismatch between how I wanted to practice and what most specialties offered. Rotation after rotation showed me the same pattern: brief encounters, quick prescriptions, barely time to learn a patient's name—let alone their story.
This wasn't the kind of doctor I wanted to be. When I told my mentors I wanted to truly understand my patients—their experiences, their struggles, what shapes them—not just treat symptoms, they all pointed me in the same direction: "You belong in psychiatry." They were right. From my first psychiatry rotation, everything fell into place. Patients opened up naturally. The depth of connection, the privilege of sitting with someone through their pain and growth—this was medicine as I'd envisioned it. Psychiatry gave me permission to practice with presence and purpose. I've never looked back.
Transforming Pain Into Purpose
I was born in Russia, where mental health was unspeakable—a society that demanded suffering in silence. Growing up, I watched family members, relatives, and friends struggle with mental illness behind closed doors, trapped by stigma that made seeking help impossible. These early experiences taught me a fundamental truth: mental health isn't a luxury—it's essential to human survival and our ability to find peace. The Russian-Ukraine war brought this lesson into sharp focus. I witnessed how conflict doesn't just destroy cities—it tears apart the fabric of communities and shatters families across borders, including my own. Watching this devastation unfold from afar reinforced my commitment to breaking the silence around mental health. Working across several different healthcare systems revealed another hidden crisis. I saw brilliant physicians battling depression alone, terrified that seeking psychiatric help could end their careers or cost them hospital privileges. This epidemic among healers—the very people we trust with our care—compelled me to specialize in physician wellness and suicide prevention. Through these experiences, I've discovered that true healing doesn't mean returning to who we once were. It means emerging transformed—with deeper wisdom, authentic compassion, and an expanded understanding of what it means to be human.
What My Work is for
I'm a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in chronic illness, medical trauma, and disability, with a particular interest in illness trauma: the lasting psychological impact of a frightening diagnosis, intensive treatment, or a body that no longer feels predictable. I also work with high-functioning professionals who want to maximize their quality of life and daily performance.
The people I see are thoughtful, often high-achieving, and ready to move beyond surface-level fixes, whether they're facing illness, navigating transitions, processing loss, or feeling empty despite outward success. I help them reclaim their authentic voice, set healthy boundaries, and break free from the patterns keeping them stuck.
My training spans Sechenov University in Russia, postgraduate work in the UK, and psychiatry residency at UMKC School of Medicine. I hold a doctorate in psychology and a Master of Public Health, have advanced training in palliative care and integrative health, and am pursuing fellowship training in integrative and functional medicine at UC Irvine. I serve as faculty in clinical psychopharmacology, am trained in esketamine, TMS, and ECT, and have published research on somatic symptom disorders, psycho-oncology, and functional recovery. I'm also a Qualified Medical Evaluator for the California Division of Workers' Compensation, with expertise in occupational psychiatric evaluation and disability assessment.
Every intervention I offer is chosen to improve your daily functioning and quality of life. My care is measurement-based, using standardized outcome measures and computerized neurocognitive testing alongside medical, nutritional, psychosocial, and complementary-therapy factors, so we can track real progress and adjust as we go.
I'm there for you. If you need me, I'll make myself available, and I won't turn you away unless I truly can't help. I'll also be honest: I won't recommend anything I believe could harm you, even if it's not what you hoped to hear. When answers aren't simple, I'm always willing to seek a second opinion and work with other specialists to find them together.
Professional Background & Training
Board Certification
- The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Psychiatry)
- The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (Psychiatry)
M.D.
I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Residency in Psychiatry
UMKC School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO
Fellowship Program in Contemporary Forms of Psychoanalysis
Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy+Psychoanalysis, San Diego, CA
Fellowship in Integrative & Functional Medicine
Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California, Irvine
Postgraduate Diploma Program in Clinical Psychiatry
University of South Wales, UK
M.P.H.
Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, AL
Psy. D.
CalSouthern University, School of Behavioral Sciences, Chandler, AZ
Interprofessional Graduate Certificate Program in Palliative Care
Graduate School at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
