Anastasia Ruiz, MD

Background and credentials

Dr. James is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with 32 years of clinical experience. She earned her medical degree from Tufts University, Boston’s affiliated program and completed her residency training at Steward St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Boston, where she initiated the residency program and received the Resident Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Throughout her career, she has served in various leadership roles, including as Chief of Psychiatry at Pro Medica Healthcare Company.

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Treatment approach

Dr. James specializes in community adult psychiatry and is deeply invested in providing comprehensive care for individuals and families. She has extensive experience working in outpatient, inpatient, consult-liaison, and emergency room settings, allowing her to tailor treatment to diverse patient needs. Her approach prioritizes holistic, patient-centered care, ensuring that each treatment plan aligns with a patient’s specific challenges and goals.

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What you can expect in a first visit

During the first visit, patients can expect a thorough psychiatric evaluation where Dr. James carefully reviews their symptoms, medical history, and treatment objectives. She fosters a compassionate and collaborative environment, ensuring that patients feel supported in their journey toward better mental health. Her extensive experience allows her to provide personalized treatment strategies, which may include medication management and therapeutic interventions tailored to each individual’s needs.

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Why Talkiatry?

We’re a virtual mental health practice that makes it easy to find great care. We combine quality and convenience to help you thrive—faster. Our providers, like this one, are highly trained experts who specialize in medication management and collaborate with you on a treatment plan that fits your needs and comfort level.

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Dr. Megan Wynne is board certified in adult psychiatry and completed fellowship training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (Psychosomatic Medicine). She has been in practicing psychiatry since 2006. Dr. Wynne completed her medical degree at Drexel University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, her psychiatric residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA and her consultation/liaison psychiatric fellowship at Long Island Jewish Hospital in Queens, NY. She continued to work in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry at North Shore Hospital in NY, before working for nine years at Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital as a staff psychiatrist and associate at the University of Pennsylvania University Hospital. During this time, she worked closely with patients struggling with Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression and Anxiety. She acted as an attending psychiatrist in training medical students, psychiatric residents and fellows. Following a move to New Zealand, she worked as lead psychiatrist for Te Puna Waiora, Maori Mental Health team (Indigenous Person mental health clinic) at Counties Manakau District Health Board. She worked with multiple patients facing cultural challenges, as well as psychosocial stressors (poverty, family fragmentation, poor education). During this time, she worked within the indigenous system of mental health, which treats not just emotional or physical issues for a person, but spiritual and familial as well. She has incorporated this into her treatment approach for all patients. Dr. Wynne has always believed that medication must be used in conjunction with psychodynamic therapy, and medical and social supports to most appropriately treat a patient. She offers 30-minute sessions consisting of medication management and brief therapeutic support. She specializes in treating victims of trauma, medical comorbidity.

Dr. Rayal Gorrepati is double board certified in both adult and geriatric psychiatry. He has been practicing for over 12 years. Dr. Gorrepati's practice focuses on medication management. Typically, he offers this in conjunction with supportive psychotherapy in 30-minute follow-up visits. However, occasionally Dr. Gorrepati may believe that additional therapy is also needed and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best possible outcome. He received his medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. His general psychiatry residency was completed at Cooper University Hospital in New Jersey. He then completed a Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Hawaii. After completing training, he returned to his hometown of Chicago and began working at a Federally Qualified Health Center providing care to an underserved low-income population for nearly 12 years. While at the clinic, he treated a wide range of diagnoses, the most common ones being depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc. His primary clinical focus is treating adults with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Dr. Lauren McClairen is a psychiatrist board certified in General Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. She completed her medical and psychiatric training at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN and a fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Baptist Memorial Hospital in collaboration with IAC (Integrated Addiction Care) in Memphis, TN. Dr. McClairen has clinical experience and practice working with other specialties and disciplines in treatment teams and integrated care models both in the inpatient and outpatient setting. She has held an academic appointment at Baptist Memorial Hospital where she enjoyed teaching and supervising medical residents and fellows in training. She most recently served as the Regional Behavioral Health Medical Director for a group of mental health clinics throughout Tennessee, and as the Chief of Psychiatric Services for a residential treatment facility in Mississippi that also had Partial Hospital and Intensive Outpatient Programming (PHP/IOP). She is experienced in treating patients with a variety of mental health diagnoses including but not limited to depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD, OCD, PTSD, and those with a history of substance use disorders. Dr. McClairen works collaboratively with her patients to provide treatments tailored to each patient's individualized needs. She prioritizes building trusting relationships and fostering open communication. Patients can expect a compassionate approach often with utilization of supportive therapy, mindfulness, and at times cognitive behavioral and psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques to address their psychosocial stressors and unique needs.

Justin Jones is a board-certified adult psychiatrist based in Las Vegas, NV. Originally a Mississippi native, he completed undergraduate studies at the University of Mississippi. He subsequently completed medical school and post-graduate residency training at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His practice focuses on making progress towards therapeutic goals by utilizing a specifically tailored combination of medication management and psychotherapy depending on any given individual's needs. He understands how difficult it can be to begin seeing a new psychiatrist, and does his best to create a safe, welcoming environment that patients can feel comfortable in.

Jackie LaVe' is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She is also dually certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She received her master’s degree and post-master’s certificate from Vanderbilt University. Jackie has 12 years of experience as a nurse and over 7.5 years of experience as a Nurse Practitioner. Jackie is licensed to practice in Montana, Arizona and New York.

Jackie LaVe’ offers a patient centered approach, working with individuals aged 18-65. She believes in engaging patients in the decision-making process. Jackie has professional interests in treating a wide range of adult psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, trauma, ADHD, OCD, panic, autism and bipolar disorder.

She provides psychiatric assessments and medication management along with brief supportive psychotherapy. She believes in educating patients, so they are empowered to work together to create treatment plans that improve their health and quality of life. Jackie has additional education and experience in cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and motivational enhancement. Jackie can also review if adding a therapist to your care team could improve outcomes.