A Psychiatrist is a physician (medical doctor) who specializes in the medical workup, diagnosis, management and prevention of conditions such as ADHD, depression, anxiety amongst others. Psychiatrists are trained in the biological, psychological, and social components of mental, emotional, and behavioral conditions and utilize a broad range of treatment modalities, including diagnostic tests, medical workup and management. This can include, when indicated, prescribing medications, psychotherapy, and helping patients and their families cope with stress and crises.

Psychiatrists are the only Physicians equipped with the medical knowledge required to tease out and treat the medical causes of Psychiatric conditions (i.e.: Epilepsy, Concussions, genetic causes, low Testosterone, low thyroid amongst others). We are also able to recognize what are normal responses that do NOT require treatment (i.e.: Grief, normal response to stressors, etc.). In order to be able to do this, a broad depth of knowledge is required in every specialty of Medicine.

Educational Requirements
Physicians who specialize in Psychiatry must complete an M.D. degree from an accredited Medical School. Such training includes rotations in every subspecialty of medicine including Surgery, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Internal and Family Medicine, Radiology amongst others.

All Physicians are licensed to practice both medicine and surgery. Licensure requires Physicians to pass the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) – a multi-part professional exam jointly sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners. This exam series requires that all Physicians have a working knowledge of the presentation, diagnosis and initial steps in management of medical conditions of every specialty.

After successfully completing the USMLE series, Physicians specializing in Psychiatry must then complete an additional 4 years of accredited Residency training. Psychiatrists wishing to sub-specialize must complete additional years of Fellowship Training. For Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, two additional years of Fellowship training are required.

Only Psychiatrists are Physicians (Medical Doctors with a license to write prescriptions). In order to become a Physician, one must have completed Medical School. Upon completion of Medical School, Physicians will choose a specialty such as Internal or Family Medicine, Neurology, Surgery or Psychiatry amongst others. Physicians who choose to specialize in Psychiatry have completed Residency Training in this field.

In Residency, he or she received specialized training in the field of Adult Psychiatry which includes additional training in Internal Medicine and Neurology. As Physicians, Psychiatrists have achieved a rigorous medical education and abide by the medical traditions of professional ethics and medical responsibility for providing comprehensive care.

Psychologists play a different role in healthcare. A psychologist may have completed a Master of Arts degree (M.A.), or may have done additional training and hold a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) or a Doctor of Psychology degree (Psy.D.). Psychologists use standardized tests and interviews to diagnose mental and emotional disorders. They may choose to offer treatment in the form of psychotherapy. This can be extremely useful when numerical data is required by a third party or to monitor progress in treatment or the decline of cognitive abilities.

Physicians use a variety of medications to target different symptoms and/or conditions. Ideally, if we can target several issues with one medication, then that is ideal (i.e: Wellbutrin can be used for depression, ADHD and tobacco cessation). That being said, each patient is very unique and no two are alike. As such, a careful and thorough evaluation is required to determine if medical intervention is warranted and, if so, what that would entail.

If the etiology of a problem is found to be from another cause, It’s typically best to treat that issue first. For example, men who present with depression and certain risk factors, may need to be assessed for low testosterone. If this is an issue, the treatment for the depression would be testosterone supplementation, not an antidepressant.

Often other interventions can be instituted to decrease the number of medications needed and decrease the dose required to treat a particular condition. For example, simply adding a particular preparation of Zinc combined with Vitamin C, can cut the dose of medication required to treat ADHD by 50%. Other options include specific formulations (but not all) of omega 3 fatty acids, multivitamins, iron supplementation amongst others.

The phrase “psychotropic” describes a medication that primarily affects the brain. However, this distinction is somewhat artificial, since medications go through the entire body, and are often used for several different purposes. For example, bupropion is used to stop smoking (Zyban) and for depression (Wellbutrin). All medications have intended or desirable affects, and secondary, undesirable effects, usually called “side effects.”

Ridgefield Psychiatry does not work directly with health insurance companies. You will be provided with an invoice that includes all information needed to submit a claim to your insurance company for out-of-network benefits. Upcoming legislation changes make it mandatory for all insurance companies to provide out-of-network coverage.

Yes, we strive to provide care at a time that is convenient for you and your family. Saturday and evening appointments are available.

The intake (first) appointment is scheduled for 90 minutes.  Follow up appointments are typically scheduled for 20-30 minutes. Please contact us for information on current fees.