I am an osteopathic trained medical doctor that is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry and board certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I am a Distinguished Fellow with the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. My scope of treatment begins with early childhood through adulthood. 

I began my professional journey into psychiatry as a psychology major in undergrad at UCLA. As my understanding of people and the influence of genetics and experiences grew, my desire to treat the whole person expanded and I pursued a career in medicine. I attended medical school at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, where osteopathic philosophy is understanding the whole person and exploring beyond the symptoms. The role of an osteopath is to explore the causes, vulnerabilities, disease symptoms and their interplay to promote wellness; to give a person the tools for them to help themselves and unleash the wellness that is innately within us. They with this information treat the individual not the disease. The treatment is person centered.   

I then went off to Residency in adult psychiatry where a similar belief exists in understanding the biological, psychological and social influences that protect us and or make us more vulnerable to mental health issues. I continue in my osteopathic approach to helping people reach wellness by using the tools that a person has within themselves and assisting them with understanding the dynamics involved in achieving wellness through education, therapy and medication as needed.   

Once completing my adult residency, I trained in the development of a healthy adult and manifestation of mental health issues in children and adolescents. Always working to find ways to help others help themselves; to address each person’s individual situation and create a plan that fits them. I worked on inpatient and in outpatient programs for years and eventually decided that I needed a change. 

I have been in private practice in Mathews since 2010. I left corporate medicine to allow myself and my patients to have more control over the treatment they needed and deserved. I have continued to focus on wellness and continued my training in ways to manage stress and anxiety outside of just medication management. I continue to use therapy as a source of treatment and believe that psycho-dynamically minded therapy, CBT and mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and other forms of non-pharmacologic treatments have a huge benefit for stress management, anxiety and depression. I continue to practice and learn new techniques regularly, so that I can teach them effectively to others. 

Although in private practice, I have been able to preserve the joy of teaching by lecturing at various conferences and programs. My approach with my patients and their families is also based on an interactive teaching model as I help them understand the intricacies of their diagnoses, treatment options, prognoses and plans as they evolve throughout care. 

I have always been an advocate for myself and others. Whether it was in medical school when I became politically involved with student government to advocate for myself and my peers, or when I advocate for my patients in providing what they need and not limiting it to what insurance dictates. I am past president of the Charlotte Area Psychiatric Society. Although not a political group, it is a forum for colleagues to get together and share experiences and learn about current issues that affect them in medicine. Strength is found in numbers. I am currently the North Carolina Council for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's assembly liaison to AACAP, the co-editor of the Newsletter. I am slated to be their next president-elect. I have recently had the honor of becoming a bestselling author related to entrepreneurship.

My passion for food and cooking began at an early age. In a Jewish-Moroccan home, culturally - food is love and we had plenty of it. My childhood home was full of dinner parties and large events for family and loved ones. The door was always open to visitors and family from all over the globe. I became a sous chef once I was able to walk, at my mom’s side helping her cook. I was often the gatherer and chopper for her mise en place and/or the taster. More salt? More cumin?...  As I got older, I began to branch out beyond my mom’s style and learned wherever I could. From my Italian friend’s mom with her 27 different tomato sauces, my Korean aunt with her Kimchi and other delicious treats, or in college from my Japanese landlord who lovingly taught me her native country’s cooking. In Greece I worked as a prep cook for a season. In medical school my Indian friends would teach me their unique regional cuisines and how they differ. I wanted to learn from anyone and everyone who was willing to share. When I travel, one of my favorite activities is visiting the local markets to see what cool foods or spices they sell. I love to try new flavors and tastes. I have taken cooking classes to learn and master more. I have catered friends’ engagement parties, weddings and Bnei Mitzvahs. 

Food is love and I enjoy sharing that with others. 

Arts and crafts have always been a part of my life. Sewing, crocheting, painting, drawing, jewelry making, candle making. I’ve painted temporary tattoos at fashion shows for the runway models, for fundraisers. If there is some kind of art, I want to do it. I sometimes walk through the aisles of a Michaels looking at the crafts and fantasize about owning a craft store, so I have unlimited supplies at my fingertips. I have tried to convince my daughters to work at one, so I have access to their discounts. Of all the arts I have tried, Ceramics is the one. My pottery journey began in medical school with my lifetime BFF Pam. We took a class at the local community college, and I was hooked. Life became busy and I had to put this relationship with clay aside. 

When I moved to Charlotte, I learned that my local community center had a pottery class. I was looking for a community, newish to the area and I wanted to go back to this art I enjoyed so much. Over the course of fifteen years, I have managed to make a close group of friends in that pottery studio and continue to learn from my pottery teacher, Celina, with her magic hands and patience. I am a member of the Charlotte Pottery Guild, Carolina Clay matters, so I can learn more and expand my repertoire of pottery techniques. I have slowly built my own studio out of my garage. I have a kiln, a wheel and all kinds of tools and molds I use for hand building. When I have time to get away from work demands and caring for my family this is where I go. This is my safe place. This is where all the stress of my day to day leaves me. As a physician in mental health, I am privy to lots of sorrows and traumas and pottery is one of my ways where I can ground that energy and transform it into something else. 

I am a functional potter. This means I create work that can be used in everyday life like cups, bowls, cheese boards or platters. I enjoy using them with the food I make and giving pieces to people I care about. They are often donated to fundraisers or pieces that are commissioned. My family and I joke that my pottery productivity often reflects the stress level in our lives and that of the people I care for. 

In the past few years, I have become concerned with the progression of burnout in our community. Other similar/overlapping terms are moral injury, disengagement and compassion fatigue. Reading article after article about its meaning, prevention, treatment and resilience, evidence based and otherwise. It occurs in medicine and is affecting many of my colleagues, it is also relevant in so many other professions and is impacting great minds and their ability to be productive and contribute their gifts to society. I want to help stop this from plaguing people. It has become a passion of mine to incorporate evidence-based tools for professionals who are struggling with managing the business of day to day life, stressors and expectations (internal and external). 

• Life has the capacity to be busy and fulfilling without being overwhelming and stressful. 
• Finding meaning and purpose in one’s work allows for resilience and wellness. 
• Being appreciated and appreciating those around us is important. 
• We deserve that. 
• We are all fallible. 
• I am thankful that I have through life experience been exposed to ways to keep this beast at bay. 
• I want to share these tools with others. 
• I want to help them feel their passion, their joy, their excitement in their worlds and prevent burnout, stop it from happening and/undo its harm, if it has begun to affect them. 
• I want to help them connect with their colleagues, so they don’t feel alone and help them find ways to advocate for themselves in their professions. 
• Change starts somewhere and there is strength in community. 
• I want to facilitate those communities where change and strength and growth and wellness and resilience thrives. 

With my therapeutic training as a psychiatrist, my own personal experiences with burnout, my practice in mindfulness and meditation, my joy of cooking, experience in art and love of teaching, I plan to do that for those who are open to the opportunity. 

Together we can be stronger.