Hala Mouneimne, DO

Dr. Velda Pugh-Kinsey is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist with over three decades of experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings. She earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed her psychiatry residency at University Hospital. She has previously served as Chief of Mental Health at a VA Hospital and has maintained a successful private practice focused on medication management and supportive therapy.

Dr. Pugh-Kinsey values open communication and believes in building a warm, respectful environment where patients feel heard. She works collaboratively with patients to set clear treatment goals and tailors her approach to meet each person’s unique needs. Her practice emphasizes both medication management and supportive therapy to promote long-term well-being.

During initial sessions, Dr. Pugh-Kinsey takes time to understand each patient’s history, concerns, and goals. She uses a team-based approach, partnering with patients in treatment planning and decision-making to ensure care is both effective and aligned with their values.

Dr. Mendez-Maldonado is double board-certified in general psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry. She received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She then moved to New York to complete her residency training at Mount Sinai Beth Israel where she stayed to complete her fellowship in geriatric psychiatry. After her fellowship, she proceeded to work at Woodhull Hospital where she worked as an attending before becoming unit chief and running their Special Pathogens Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. She focuses on medication management and offers this in conjunction with supportive therapy, cognitive-behavioral techniques, a focus on nutritional psychiatry, and 30-minute follow-up visits. Dr. Mendez-Maldonado focuses on integrating nutrition, physical activity, and mindfulness techniques alongside pharmacotherapy to achieve a well-rounded approach to mental health.‍

Dr. Tahira Akbar specializes in adult psychiatry, she completed her four years of residency training at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus NJ and additional two years of geriatric psychiatry fellowship from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. During her final year of the of residency training, she was appointed as the chief of research. She utilized her extensive research experience to guide and mentor her fellow residents. Under her supervision the program submitted maximum number of research papers and presented medical posters to various psychiatric platforms including American Psychiatric Association.

Dr. Akbar was introduced to tele-psychiatry during the second year of her fellowship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She appreciated that tele-psychiatry allowed her to continue to serve her patients in the comfort of their own homes. During the challenging times of social distancing, she recognized the importance of collaborative care involving family members, social workers, medical team, and therapist to work together in the best interest of her patients while protecting their privacy and individuality.

Dr. Akbar has excellent communication skills, she believes that an open communication is essential for any relationship to prosper especially that of doctor-patient relationship. She provides a comforting environment for her patients to be able to express their needs and encourages feedback while preparing their individual treatment plan. She is experienced in providing psychiatric care to all age groups while her clinical interest focuses on taking care of adults and geriatric population. Dr. Akbar emphases on medication management utilizing a multidisciplinary methodology when treating each patient based on their requirements and tailoring treatment appropriately.

Dr. Routhier was born in Quebec, Canada. She attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine and graduated in three years with high honors. She trained as a psychiatry resident at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH where she served as a junior attending and the medical student coordinator. She then was recruited by Monterey County Behavioral Health, CA as a clinical psychiatrist where she provided medication management and psychotherapy services to over 400 patients over the course of five years. She also created and led two dialectical behavior therapy groups for teens and young adults while training therapists and social workers to become group facilitators.

Dr. Routhier firmly believes in the mind-body connection. She feels that when the mind suffers, the body hurts as well and vice versa. As a result, she has developed a holistic approach to psychiatry and is comfortable offering a wide array of treatment modalities such as breathwork, dialectical behavior therapy, guided meditation, supportive psychotherapy, behavioral activation and medication management. She maintains that autonomy and a thorough understanding of one’s diagnosis and prognosis are critical for progress and healing. Her broad range of worldly experiences gives her the ability to work in a non judgemental, open-minded and authentic fashion. She connects with clients with ease and is passionate about self-awareness, constant evolution and empowering people so they can find their own way to happiness and health. She pushes her clients to find ways to build a life worth living, way beyond the goal of symptom resolution typical to psychiatry.

1. Getting to know you/understanding your “why”. Why are you seeking mental health treatment and why now? 2. Establish a list of issues and improvement zones. 3. Creating therapeutic goals. What do you want to work on? 4. Choosing treatment modalities to directly address these goals within a specific time frame. I provide updated and evidence-based information, and YOU choose what we do. 5. Figuring out the root causes to problems, symptoms and maladaptive behaviors/habits. How did this all start? Where does it come from? 6. Regular check-ins on how the treatment plan and therapeutic relationship are working for you. Are we a good fit? Are we meeting your goals/expectations? If not, back to the drawing board!

Dr. Stansberry holds the position of staff psychiatrist at Talkiatry. He is board-certified in Adult Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Stansberry's practice focuses on medication management and also incorporates supportive therapy techniques, typically in 30-minute follow-up visits. In some cases, Dr. Stansberry may believe that additional therapy is also needed and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team. Dr. Stansberry received his medical degree from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. He completed his residency training through the Louisiana State University/Ochsner Health Foundation Psychiatry Residency program. He has experience working in inpatient, emergency, and consult-liaison psychiatry but particularly enjoys the opportunity to work longitudinally with patients in the outpatient setting.**THIS PROVIDER CANNOT PRESCRIBE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES FOR LOUISIANA PATIENTS**

Zakiyyah Weatherspoon is a dual-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of experience. Since 2011, she has worked in family medicine, and since 2013, she has focused on mental health care across the lifespan. Her background includes treating children, teens and adults in hospitals, private practices, and community settings.

Since 2017, Weatherspoon specialized in helping individuals manage depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, ODD, eating disorders, and substance use. She uses supportive therapy, solution-focused therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy to help clients feel heard, understood, and empowered.

Weatherspoon is passionate about breaking the stigma around mental health. She encourages her clients to speak up, get help, and take control of their mental wellness. Her approach is based on the Mental Health Recovery Model, which focuses on hope, healing, and building a life beyond diagnosis.

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