Aurianna Santos, MD

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Maxine Zhou, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Zhou is a board-certified psychiatrist who has more than 4 years of experience practicing in various clinical settings with an emphasis on mental health care in outpatient settings. She practices a holistic approach to developing an individualized plan to work toward a patient's goals. Dr. Zhou is experienced in treating depression, bipolar spectrum disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, and other related psychiatric disorders. Dr. Zhou received her medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and completed her adult psychiatry residency training at LSU Health Shreveport. Dr. Zhou's background and experiences have broadened her understanding of cultural stigmas and the relationship it plays in psychiatric care. She incorporates a multitude of treatment modalities such as supportive therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness practices as an adjunct to pharmacotherapy. Dr. Zhou recognizes the value of a multifaceted approach to wellbeing and may recommend treatment modalities that are complementary to medication management.

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Shilpa Amara, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Amara (She/Her) is an American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology certified psychiatrist. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and arts from the University of Albany. She then graduated from St. Matthews University's School of Medicine in the Grand Cayman Islands. After completing her residency at LSUHSC-Ochsner program in 2016, she worked at Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans for 7 years. Her roles there included working with patients in the field of Consultation Liaison psychiatry. In addition, she was the medical director of the behavioral medical unit (IOP) and the lead of the transcranial magnetic stimulation clinic. Dr. Amara has been very involved in academics and won the Faculty Member of the year, Adult Psychiatry Program, LSU-Ochsner 2021, Teaching Excellence Award in Psychiatry University of Queensland 2019 and Roger Hatchette Award of Excellence in Emergency Psychiatry 2016. She then served in her community at Crescent Care FQHC clinic in 2023. Her interests include providing care for various behavioral health concerns, including Adjustment disorder, Mood disorders, including Treatment resistant depression, Anxiety disorders, PTSD, Neurodegenerative illnesses, Somatic disorders, Gender Dysphoria, and LGBTQIA2S+ community inclusive care. Dr. Amara's practice is focused on the functionality of a person in their life, including relationships, career, physical wellness and living a robust life. She provides primarily medication management but also includes Supportive therapy, Action Oriented therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational interviewing when appropriate. Her style is very approachable, inclusive and always grounded in humanistic values.**THIS PROVIDER CANNOT PRESCRIBE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES FOR LOUISIANA PATIENTS**

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Darius Robinson, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Darius Robinson is a board-certified psychiatrist who is passionate about providing patient-centered, evidence-based mental health care. He specializes in diagnosing and treating a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Dr. Robinson combines evidence-based medication management with supportive psychotherapy to help his patients thrive. Dr. Robinson earned his undergraduate degree from Southern University at New Orleans. He later completed a Master's of Medical Science degree at Mississippi College in Clinton, MS. He went on to obtain his medical degree from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and completed his psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University in New Orleans. Dr. Robinson is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and Kansas. Dr. Robinson believes in fostering a collaborative approach to care, partnering with his patients to create tailored treatment plans that honor their unique needs and goals. Dedicated to lifelong learning, he stays at the forefront of advancements in psychiatric care to ensure his patients receive the best possible outcomes. Above all, he is committed to empowering individuals to achieve lasting mental health and well-being.

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Lindsay Legnon, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Lindsay Legnon is board-certified in Psychiatry and has 15 years of experience in outpatient clinical psychiatry. Her focus is primarily on medication management, but she does incorporate brief cognitive behavioral therapy and supportive therapy when appropriate. If more extensive psychotherapy is felt to be beneficial, she will recommend a therapist and collaborate with them for optimal care. She completed her medical degree at Louisiana State University in Shreveport and her residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she served as Chief Resident. After completing her residency, she worked primarily in outpatient clinics treating a wide range of mental health disorders. She has extensive experience treating major depressive disorder, a variety of anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, and bipolar disorder, among others. Medication is felt to be an important tool for many in achieving wellness, and she encourages a holistic approach to improve outcomes. Her hope is to provide relief and help people achieve their goals in their journey back to wellness.

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Amanda Wright, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Amanda Wright is a board-certified adult Psychiatrist who has been in practice for ten years. Her practice offers in-depth evaluations for new patients, personalized medication management, and supportive and motivational therapy within 30-minute follow up visits. Dr. Wright's professional interest is in mind-body wellness; she believes in psychotropic medication management as one of the tenants of overall wellness and also recognizes that non-medicinal interventions such as psychotherapy can enhance patients' ability to reach their full potential. To that end, if Dr. Wright feels you would benefit from working with a therapist in conjunction to medication management, she welcomes collaboration with your therapy provider. Dr. Wright is a graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where she completed her psychiatric internship and residency training in 2013. From 2013 through 2022 she practiced Psychiatry in Louisiana. While practicing with Ochsner Health System, Dr. Wright was recognized locally (within her practice region) as "Provider of the Month” and later, "Provider of the Quarter” for the larger system of Ochsner. These awards were based primarily on patient feedback and highlight her warm and open approach as well as her genuine care for each patient's best long-term outcomes. In 2022, Dr. Wright and her family moved back to her home state of Texas where she has been practicing both in- and outpatient Psychiatry within a hospital system in the Rio Grande Valley. The broad scope of her professional experience lends itself to working with a variety of Psychiatric issues ranging from mood to anxiety spectrum disorders. Dr. Wright looks forward to returning her focus to outpatient Psychiatry and providing compassionate, individualized care for those seeking treatment.

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Paula Wilt, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Wilt is board certified in adult psychiatry. She earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, where she also completed her four-year residency in psychiatry. Dr. Wilt takes a biopsychosocial approach to mental health and has over 13 years of experience with an array of mental health diagnoses including Depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and sleep disorders. Dr. Wilt enjoys spending time getting to know her patients and working hand in hand with them to accurately diagnose and treat the symptoms they are experiencing. Dr. Wilt employs a holistic approach to mental health with a focus on incorporating medication management and supportive therapy to improve her patients' quality of life.‍

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Other Clinicians

Diana Veliz, LCSW

Staff Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Diana Veliz, LCSW, obtained her MSW from Fordham University. Diana has over 3 years of experience providing client-centered therapy. Her practice is sensitive to race and culture, and trauma-informed. Diana has experience working with adults, and adolescents experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders. She has worked in outpatient/inpatient clinics and in an educational setting supporting children with social emotional learning. Diana believes that the best approach is to work collaboratively with the client while also considering that each person's experience is individual to them. The client is an expert in their lives, and as a clinician, she is there to meet the client where they are at and begin the healing journey through non-judgment and compassion. Diana uses cognitive behavioral therapy, solution focused approach, and psycho-education. She also considers the client's place in society and how culture and race can contribute to challenges. Diana takes passion in working with clients to improve self-esteem, recognize schemas, regulate emotions, and develop self-awareness.

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Marc Whaley, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr Marc Whaley is a Board Certified Psychiatrist in Adult Psychiatry, with extensive clinical experience over the past 50 years, mostly in outpatient treatment, and some in-patient settings, in addition to Forensic (legal) ones. He received his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and his medical degree at Tufts Medical School in Boston, and then went on to train at Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston, for his psychiatry residency. He has held leadership roles, Chief of Department of Psychiatry in a community hospital, President of the local Psychiatric Chapter of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, and founder of a private group outpatient psychiatric practice on Cape Cod called The Psychiatric Collaborative. In 2018, he closed his private practice, seeking more free time in the later years. It did not take long, however, to get back to active practice, first by reviewing files for insurers around the issue of medical necessity, disability, and other psychiatric determinations. He got his first experience in Telepsychiatry when working remotely for a community hospital, far from his home, evaluating patients presenting to their busy ER; He experienced this as a practical and efficient way of delivering psychiatric services. When that contract ended after 3.5 years, he learned about and joined Talkiatry to work as a Staff Psychiatrist, in their well-organized comprehensive program. Dr. Whaley has been recognized by his peers for his career achievement, and he was the 2022 recipient of the Outstanding Psychiatrist Award for Clinical Psychiatry from the MA Psychiatric Society. He has also been a regular panel member, over the past 13 years, for a monthly NPR Radio Talk Show, ( WGBH Cape Cod affiliate, WCAI), The Point with Mindy Todd, focusing on multiple mental health topics.

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Krista Alexander , MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Krista Alexander is a board-certified psychiatrist who loves equipping her fellow human beings to feel and function better. She studied medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed her residency at Duke University. She has worked in both private practice and integrated primary care/behavioral health care settings. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the North Carolina Psychiatric Association. Krista offers medication management and supportive psychotherapy for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, ADHD, substance use disorders, and other mental health issues. She strives to embody "relational prescribing” and believes that med management is most effective in the context of a relationship of mutual trust, emotional safety, and shared decision-making between provider and patient. She has trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy and various forms of cognitive behavioral therapy, and tailors her approach to each patient's individual strengths and needs. Krista understands that the needs of the whole person must be addressed in order to facilitate growth and healing. She enjoys collaborating with fellow medical/mental health providers to address a patient's complex needs as an integrated team.

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Emily Goncalves, MD

Staff Psychiatrist

Dr. Emily Goncalves is a board-certified adult psychiatrist who earned her undergraduate degree at Syracuse University and medical degree from the American University of Antigua. She holds an MBA from Plymouth State University focusing on health care administration. She completed her adult psychiatry residency at Delaware Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, where she was chief resident and completed her fellowship in consultation liaison psychiatry at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami. Dr. Goncalves specializes in treating patients with psychiatric disorders with complex medical illnesses, cancer, and also has expertise in reproductive psychiatry. She is experienced in treating mood disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, psychosis, substance use disorders, and adult ADHD. Dr. Goncalves had the opportunity to work in various settings with a diverse patient population including veterans, inmates, cancer patients, and perinatal and postpartum patients. Dr. Goncalves provides medication management along with psychotherapy.

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Alicia Lakin, LPC

Staff Licensed Professional Counselor

Alicia Lakin has been counseling for over 20 years. She possesses an LPC-MHSP license. Alicia earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Tennessee. She then went on to earn her Master's Degree, with a focus on Guidance and Counseling, at Lincoln Memorial University. Alicia has been trained in Trauma Focused � Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Motivational Interviewing. Alicia's professional career has provided her with the opportunity to work with individuals in a variety of settings. She has provided treatment in residential care programs for children and adolescents, in the family home, community-based mental health center, and substance abuse treatment outpatient services. In these settings, Alicia has been afforded the opportunity to treat all ages, dealing with a wide range of issues including trauma, substance abuse and recovery, and mood disorders such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therapeutically, Alicia describes her approach as "person-centered”, strength-based, and collaborative. She believes in providing a safe space for individuals to be able to express themselves openly, as well as explore any changes they desire to make in their lives. She believes in building a trusting relationship so that she and the individual can work together to help create change. Her style is reality-based, and she views herself as having many roles as a therapist, including that of a support, teacher, advocate, facilitator, and listener in the treatment relationship.

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Ashlyn Tellers, PMHNP

Staff Nurse Practitioner

Dr. Ashlyn Tellers is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She received her Doctorate degree in nursing with an emphasis in psychiatry, in 2020 from the University of Arizona. She has been caring for mental health patients for twelve plus years in the long-term care, inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings. She specializes in treating adults with depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and OCD with medication management and supportive therapy. She focuses on educating her patients to build a therapeutic and safe treatment plan with every patient. Dr. Tellers encourages her patients to discuss their past mental history and current stressors to finding the root cause of their triggers and identify healthy coping skills, while also referring patients to therapists for more specialized therapies.

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Aurianna Santos, MD

Education and training

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