Recommended doctors, therapists, and clinics

[Altostrata]

Recommended to me by Dr. Sally Satel, author and Yale faculty member http://psychiatry.yale.edu/people/SLS2%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20.profile the following "are all in the DC area and are very savvy."

 

Julia Frank MD

http://www.gwupsychiatry.org/bios/frank-julia.shtml

http://juliafrank.md.com/

 

George Washington University

2150 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037

(202) 741-2888

 

David Pickar MD

http://www.davidpickar.com/

 

6500 Seven Locks Rd Ste 220 Cabin John, MD 20818 (301) 263-1313

 

Removed from list, see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/?p=81615

 

Eric Taswell MD

1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 603 Washington, DC 20036

202) 452-9002 (Office)

(703) 847-5791 (Fax)

Edited March 23, 2014 by Altostrata
updated

[Altostrata]

As Iggy suggested up above:

 

Peter Haddad, MD

http://www.psychiatrynorthwest.co.uk/general_adult_psychiatry/spr_posts/salford-haddad/index.html

http://www.bap.org.uk/councilmemberdetails.php?memberID=5

 

Author of Haddad, 2001 Antidepressant discontinuation syndromes.

 

Cromwell House Community Mental Health teamHope HospitalStott LaneSalfordGreater Manchester M6 8HD

 

Hope Hospital catchment.

[PMD]

Dr. Michelle Barwell, Pittsburgh PA   She's  a little tough to get an appt with ~ 3 month wait, but for me she was worth it.   Immediately recognized my symptoms as withdrawal or discontinuation syndrome and provided options for coping.   She did caution me that without the Effexor onboard I was very likely to have a recurrence of depression given my history, but did not push me to commit to staying on the med.  What she offered as a taper schedule is a little more aggressive than what is advocated here but I had the firm impression that should I want to move more slowly she would be supportive of that.

 

Admin note: I've added Dr. Barwell's contact information below from http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Michelle_Barwell/office-locations

 

Cranberry Psychological Center

1378 Freeport Rd Ste 2A Pittsburgh, PA 15238

(412) 406-8080 Cranberry Psychological Center

 

Western Psychiatric Institute Clinic

3811 O Hara Street Pittsburgh, PA

15213 (412) 624-1000

 

Also see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/?p=174451

Edited August 10, 2015 by Altostrata
updated

[Altostrata]

Dr. Sandy Steingard, who runs a clinic in Vermont, recommends:

 

Alice H. Silverman, MD

179 North St Montpelier, VT 05602

(802) 224-1144 (Office)

 

Dr. Silverman speaks in favor of single payer health care in the US in this video

 

More from Vermont Public Radio here http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/89874/doctors-come-to-statehouse-support-single-payer/

Edited February 15, 2014 by Altostrata
fixed text

[Altostrata]

Hope, please see the list in the first post in this topic.

 

Andrew Pundy, MD is a doctor who offers benzo tapering http://drpundy.com/benzo-addiction/

 

His office is also accepting patients for tapering of antidepressants and antipsychotics as well as benzos.

 

Andrew Pundy, MD

http://drpundy.com/

1875 Dempster Street

Suite 490

Park Side Center Park Ridge, IL 60068

Phone: 847-518-8490

Fax: 847-518-8492

Edited February 15, 2014 by Altostrata
fixed text

[Altostrata]

Windhorse Integrative Mental Health offers inpatient and home care services (not outpatient services) in Massachusetts and California locations. From Jeff Bliss, MSW, Director, Northampton, MA:

We do, at times, work with clients to reduce and in some cases eliminate medications and yes, I agree, it is a very slow process in most cases with a variety of qualitative twists and turns in the “client’s” experience of their mind state. We are very slow with this process in general.

 

Windhorse Integrative Mental Health

http://www.windhorseimh.org/

 

211 North Street, Suite #1 Northampton, Massachusetts 01060

Jeff Bliss, MSW, Director, Admissions & Marketing:   413.586.0207 extension 103

Eric Friedland-Kays, MA,  Admissions Manager:   413.586.0207 extension 333 or 106

 

1411 Marsh Street, Suite #103 San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Lisa Teague, Director, Admissions & Marketing: 805-548-8942

 

For outpatient services, contact to see if they can recommend anyone in your area.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Altostrata
updated

[Altostrata]

Recommended by Jeff Bliss of Windhorse:

 

Bruce I. Goderez, MD

8 River Dr

Hadley, MA 01035

(413) 582-1839

Edited February 15, 2014 by Altostrata
fixed text

[Altostrata]

Suggested by Dr. Dan Siegel http://drdansiegel.com/  

 

Allen T. Pack, MD

11633 San Vicente Blvd Ste 202

Los Angeles, CA 90049

310-820-9123

 

Linda D Moghtader, MD

153 S Lasky Dr Ste 8 Beverly Hills, CA 90212

310-286-7204

 

Brett D Shurman, MD

12401 Wilshire Blvd Ste 303

Los Angeles, CA 90025

310-979-7335

Edited February 15, 2014 by Altostrata
fixed text

[Altostrata]

In the Netherlands, 22 psychiatrists have been studying the feasibility of adhesive strips in graduated doses for tapering paroxetine and venlafaxine. Their names and locations are listed at the end of this post: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/5195-tapering-strips-to-be-produced-for-paroxetine-and-venlafaxine/?p=66738

[stan60]

Does anyone know a GOOD tapering doctor in Honolulu?

[Altostrata]

ADMIN NOTE Members have had difficulty with Dr. Ahmad. He is not recommended for tapering anymore.

 

---

 

Dr. Samoon Ahmad
http://www.samoonmd.com/
Integrative Center for Wellness
800 5th Ave, New York, NY 10065
Phone: (212) 207-4500
 
Dr. Ahmad was quoted in this Al Jazeera article http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/22/patients-mostly-womenfindtroublegettingoffofantidepressants.html
 
Dr. Ahmad's education and publications: http://www.med.nyu.edu/biosketch/ahmads01
 
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/SamoonAhmad
 
I've corresponded with Dr. Ahmad, who seems very interested in gradual tapering techniques. He knows about our Tapering forum. If you see him, you can discuss the tapering methods you find there.

Edited January 13, 2016 by Altostrata
updated

[JanCarol]

Cooper Riis was just discussed on Mad In America (discussion on Whitaker's blog) as drugging against will and using restraints.  They have many positive features, but when questioned, will state that if circumstances call for it, they will drug against patients will, and they will use restraints, if situation calls for it.

 

That, coupled with their high monthly fee, should give anyone pause.

[btdt]

Maybe before you contact doctors any doctors you should check them on Dollars for Docs

http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/

only in the USA

[Altostrata]

If a doctor understands how to taper and is open to working with patients, that's all that's needed for this list. We cannot require ideological purity as well.

[btdt]

ok just thought the chance of being redrugged would be less if there was less pharma money in the doctors hand... I could be wrong of course was just what I was thinking at the time of posting may well be wrong for myself I would check not saying you should check to put their names here saying I would check before I went to see one on the list. A personal choice. 

[Altostrata]

Pat Bracken, MD

West Cork Mental Health Service

Department of Psychiatry, Bantry General Hospita

Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland

Pat.Bracken (at) hse.ie

 

Dr. Bracken frequently publishes articles calling for reform of psychiatry and is a member of the UK Critical Psychiatry Network. He writes to me:

Thank you for your kind words and your support. I'm afraid that I can
only provide a service to people who are living in the catchment area I
serve so I'm really not open to referrals from elsewhere. I agree
entirely that some people require very, very gradual tapering of psych
drugs.

[Altostrata]

See the excellent news about Dr. Rob Purssey -- he will support tapering via Skype anywhere in Australia http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/?p=47108
 

Australia Medicare will pay for part of his fee.

 

Dr. Purssey has also organized a group of doctors to assist with tapering off psychiatric drugs. More to come about that.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Altostrata
updated

[Marissa]

I emailed David Pickar in Cabin John, MD. He said he didn't know how he got on the forum and that he wasn't able to help me. Also noted that ssri withdrawal is a "nuisance."

[Altostrata]

He was recommended by Dr. Sally Satel. Oh well, struck off the list.

[Altostrata]

Sami Timimi, MD

http://oocamhs.com/index.php/who-are-we

 

Consultant child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Director of Medical Education
Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation NHS Trust
Visiting Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/shsc/visitingprofessors/
Faculty of Health and Social Sciences
Lincoln University

International Critical Psychiatry Network
See my Author’s page on the ICPN website
Join the ‘No More Psychiatric Labels’ International campaign
Project Leader for Heart and Soul of Change Project
Co-Founder of Outcome Orientated CAMHS (OO-CAMHS)
and Outcome Orientated Approaches (OO-AMHS)

 

 

Dr. Timimi is a prolific writer about reforming psychiatry and founder of the International Critical Psychiatry Network.

 

He wrote me

I don't currently see adult patients, but I could do and it may be possible to persuade my employers to run a discontinuation clinic under my supervision if there was sufficient demand. Best wishes,
Sami

 

[Altostrata]

Daniel Z. Lieberman, M.D.
http://www.vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Daniel_Lieberman.html#ixzz2wuyNT1Lj

Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs
George Washington University
Medical Faculty Associates
2150 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-741-2888

 

Dr. Lieberman responded to my e-mail right away. With a subspecialty in addiction medicine, he is very interested in helping people get off drugs safely and comfortably. He seems like a very considerate doctor.

 

He does not take insurance.

 

[Muddles]

The telephone number here is in-correct.

Dr Healy - 01492860926

[Altostrata]

Holly Major, RN, MSN,ANP-BC,QTTT

 

Adult Nurse Practitioner
Griffin Faculty Practice
Integrative Medicine Center http://www.imc-griffin.org/
Patient Safety/Evidence Based Care Manager
Therapeutic Touch Coordinator
Griffin Hospital, Derby, CT
203-732-7104

 

From e-mail:

Hello,

At the Integrative Medicine Center, we have helped a few people taper off psychiatric medications using slow tapers along with Integrative support. Modalities such as acupuncture and Therapeutic Touch will help and we usually work with a holistic psychotherapist to support the patient during the taper to support the person during this difficult process.

As you discussed, withdrawal symptoms can last for years .... In these situations, support via an Integrative approach is very useful as it will help a person to manage these symptoms and can often help to improve them.

I am not aware of any specialists in the area that specialize in tapering although I am familiar with other NPs that will work with patients through this long and difficult process. As you know, this is hard work for the person coming off the medication and providers need to remain very supportive and willing to make very small changes over a long period of time, based on the person's response.

 

[Altostrata]

From a member, who recommends this doctor for tapering benzos ONLY. He does not believe the other drugs have withdrawal issues.

 

Kent E Rogerson, MD

2522 Grand Canal Blvd, #1

Stockton, CA 95207-8213

209-951-4666

 

Hours for Dr. Rogerson are  Monday through Thursday. 8-6pm

Staffing answering phones begins at 9 am until 12 noon, then 2pm until 5pm.

 

Staff is limited during other times.

 

This doctor also returns his own calls, if he is available, within 24hrs if not sooner.

 

Call to see if he accepts your insurance plan.

[Altostrata]

ADMIN UPDATE

On 8/12/2017 at 1:20 PM, Marsha said:

I just wanted to say that Jon Keyes is wonderful and very knowledgeable. He has helped me through some very tough times. Does not prescribe but has recommended in the Portland Oregon area Amenda Clinic for tapering, prescrubing,  nutrition etc. Jon's website is Hearthside Healing.  Very good counselor.

 

For holistic support and psychotherapy:
 

Jonathan Keyes
Hearthside Healing
25 SE 75th Ave.
Portland, OR 97215

503-890-3138
 
http://www.hearthsidehealing.com/individual-therapy/
Jon is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC),  a Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), and a certified Health Coach. He is also knowledgeable about herbal therapies and works with an acupuncturist.

 

He wrote an article about the difficulties of psychiatric drug withdrawal on MadinAmerica.com https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/04/invisible-pain/‎

Edited April 17, 2019 by Altostrata
Added admin note

[Rhiannon]

Thanks for the reminder about Dr. Garodia, Rhi. I'll add her to our list.

 

Her bio is here http://qcinstitute.org/garodia.html

 

Contact info from http://www.ucomparehealthcare.com/drs/prachi_garodia/offices.html :

Dr. Prachi Garodia

551 Lone Pine Blvd

The Dalles, OR 97058

(541) 506-6920

 

Please let me know if you get any recommendations from Will Hall.

 

Dr. Garodia has moved to Medford, Oregon, so this contact information is now out of date.

[Altostrata]

Do you have new contact info for her?

[chicken]

ADMIN UPDATE

On 6/13/2018 at 10:26 AM, arwilliams said:

If you can edit the post Daniel Johnson, MD, Asheville, North Carolina currently works in Forest City,  NC and is in patient only according to the office (828) 248-1117.  I tracked down where he works and was rather disappointed.  They would not give me his personal phone number.  Most in the South East are not accepting patients currently which I called unfortunately but I know this may change for others. 

 

Daniel Johnson, MD
100 Central Ave.
Asheville, NC 28801

Office phone: (828) 708-7001

 

Please check him out at http://danieljohnsonmd.com/ if you live in the NC/TN area.

 

Check out this news article about him

http://mountainx.com...t_mainstream_t/

here is an excerpt from the article, very encouraging.

 

Asheville psychiatrist Daniel Johnson didn’t set out to transform his profession. But he’s now part of a growing movement, both locally and nationally, that’s challenging the most fundamental assumptions about mental illness.

Dr. Johnson launched a private practice here in 2010 and, like most psychiatrists, he prescribed medications for his patients. But a controversial article he read nearly a year and a half ago got him thinking and eventually led to a profound shift in the nature of his work (see sidebar, “By the Book(s)”).

By the book(s)

In 2011, The New York Review of Books published a two-part essay by Dr. Marcia Angell that would have a profound impact on Asheville psychiatrist Daniel Johnson and others who are championing new approaches to treating mental illness. Angell, a harsh critic of the pharmaceutical industry who’s now a lecturer in Harvard Medical School’s Division of Medical Ethics, reviewed three books deploring the use of psychiatric drugs.

Two of those books proved particularly influential for Johnson. Both Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness by journalist Robert Whitaker and The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth by psychologist Irving Kirsch reject the theory that chemical imbalances in the brain cause mental illness, challenging the usefulness of the drugs routinely prescribed to treat such problems.

Kirsch, noted Angell, merely “concludes that antidepressants are probably no more effective than placebos.” Whitaker, on the other hand, “concludes that they and most of the other psychoactive drugs are not only ineffective but harmful.”

“Unfortunately, and sadly, more often than not, medications do more harm than good,” Johnson now maintains. “And of course I had contributed to all that in my own practice. I had a lot of soul searching and reckoning to do on a personal level.”

Nonetheless, Johnson — a graduate of the UNC School of Medicine who spent several years working in Mission Hospital’s inpatient psychiatric unit — says he did “a lot of apologizing” to clients, including those who later experienced a difficult withdrawal from a particular antidepressant he’d prescribed: “They put a lot of trust in me, and I feel like I led them astray.”

Many in the field would disagree with that position. And while Johnson says he’s gotten some support from colleagues, psychiatrists who help patients safely withdraw from psychiatric drugs are few and far between.

Asheville resident Faith Rhyne, a former patient of Johnson’s, says, “There’s something very reductionist about the conventional approach to mental health, which … really is that you have a chemical imbalance, and it’s a disease, and you have to take medication in order to fix that.”

With Johnson’s help, she’s been off psychiatric meds for more than a year. “I feel so much better,” she reports.

Rhyne belongs to the Asheville Radical Mental Health Collective, one of several local alternative support networks (see sidebar, “Helping Hands”). “You are more than your diagnosis,” she declares. “You are more than whatever quick answer might have been handed to you.”

What started Johnson on his revisionist journey was an essay by Dr. Marcia Angell, a former editor at The New England Journal of Medicine, that reviewed three books condemning the use of drugs to treat mental illness.

Although the essay sparked push-back from the medical establishment in the form of letters to the editor, for Johnson, those books’ conclusions “opened my mind to a line of thought which challenged a lot of my convictions but also made a lot of sense, and presented a very compelling argument for re-examining the work I do.”

Around the same time, Johnson decided he was tired of fighting with insurance companies, so he stopped accepting insurance altogether. That, he says, forced him to listen more closely to what his patients were actually saying rather than trying to align what they told him with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders so he could get reimbursed for services rendered.

Johnson’s quest to learn more about the subtleties of medication withdrawal led him to the work of Dr. Peter Breggin, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist basaed in Ithaca, N.Y., who’s written extensively about the dangers of psychiatric drugs and electroconvulsive therapy. Breggin’s website (breggin.com) warns that psychiatric drugs are dangerous both to start and to stop, and the latter should be “done carefully under experienced clinical supervision” to avoid “life-threatening emotional and physical withdrawal problems.”

To safely taper patients off their medications, Johnson works with two compounding pharmacies in town, which create successively smaller doses of the drugs, rather than the standard dosages available from pharmaceutical companies. Depending on the number of meds involved, the process may take a couple of years. In addition, individual and group therapy help patients process what they’re feeling.

Once they’re weaned from the drugs, says Johnson, they can get a clear view of their inner self and are better able to do grounded bodywork with some of the many alternative and complementary medicine practitioners in town.

“When people start believing that there’s hope that they can live off of meds, that sense of self-empowerment … can be transformational,” he reports.--------------------------

 

I will be seeing this doctor in July of 2014. I will keep you informed in my introduction thread. God Bless you all on your journey.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Altostrata
Added admin note

[Altostrata]

Added to our list in #1.

[Hexal]

Danish psychiatrist Lisbeth Kortegaard is opening a clinic September 1st, aimed at helping children and youths taper off psychoactive medicine. She confirmed this via email.

 

ADMIN NOTE: Dr. Kortegaard is currently practicing in Hoejbjerg, Denmark.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Altostrata
updated

[Barbarannamated]

cross debra London off the list for PA, she's moving to CA!!!

Do you know what part of CA?

[Abriton]

I can recommend Dr Paul Conti in Portland, Oregon. He is a great psychiatrist , (Harvard and Stanford), and a wonderful human being. He founded Hazelden, for rehab, and just sold it to the Betty Ford Clinic, and has his own new practice, Pacific Premier Group, in Portland, on SW Maine. Call his assistant, Amber, on 503 720 4359, for an appointment. He may negotiate a fee if you have no insurance.

[Altostrata]

Thank you very much, Hexal and Abriton.

 

Too bad Debra London is moving from Pennsylvania, ANH. I hope we don't lose track of her.

 

moodyblues78 got these recommendations for tapering from Aku Kopakkala, a psychologist in Finland:

 

Dr. Jeremy Wallace in Vantaa, Finland

Dr. Hasse Karlsson in Turku, Finland

[Jen]

Hi All,
I'm a new member and wanted to share a doctor that I'd recommend. His name is Henry Emmons. He wrote the books Chemistry of Calm and Chemistry of Joy. He is based out of MN but sees patients for phone/Skype appointments. He's helping me with my taper & natural ways to deal with anxiety. He also works with a dietician, Carolyn Denton, who helped me with GI issues and an elimination diet. Their practice is called Partners in Resilience.
 
Admin note:
 
Henry Emmons, MD
http://www.partnersinresilience.com/who-we-are/henry-emmons/
Partners in Resilience
1409 Willow Street #305
Minneapolis, MN  55403
612.874.8608

Edited September 6, 2014 by Altostrata
added contact info

[BlueMonster]

Just to update folks on the contact info for Prachi Garodia, my Google-foo found her here: http://www.medfordmd.com/index.php?/MMC/Our_Providers/prachi-garodia-md

[crazykatie]

I just came across this site for STL, MO. I'm not sure if they have providers but it is the only type of website for people in this area. http://www.cchrstl.org/

I just changed shrinks. My new one is part of a so called alternative medicine psych care group. However, the guy I see just wants me to go back on my medication or take another instead of the panic induced by the ct discontinuing.

I made it clear to him when I first saw him that I wanted off these meds. I had been on invega for three weeks then n had cut my wellbutrin dosage by 2/3. I know I'm not a md but when you want to be free of these meds, at least I am willing to deal with the w/d. I am going to look for another doc.

I wish you all the best. Everyone have a good evening whatever time of day you are in!! Hugs