Hala Mouneimne, DO

Dr. Mark Varela is a board-certified psychiatrist joining Talkiatry directly out of residency. He focuses primarily on medication management, often accompanied by brief cognitive, motivational, or supportive therapy. He may request that you also meet with a therapist regularly for your benefit. Dr. Varela received his medical degree and general psychiatric residency training both from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in West Texas. He treats young adults and adults with a wide variety of mental health concerns, including ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD.

Dr. Farias is a board-certified physician in both adult and child & adolescent psychiatry, with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma- and stressor-related disorders, and ADHD. Dr. Farias graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Houston, majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. She then pursued her medical education at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, earning her Doctor of Medicine degree. Dr. Farias completed a three-year psychiatric residency at TTUHSC, followed by fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry. She completed her first year of fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and her second year at TTUHSC. With a diverse clinical background, Dr. Farias has gained experience in a variety of settings, including academic psychiatry, consult liaison psychiatry, intensive outpatient programs (IOP), partial hospitalization programs (PHP), emergency psychiatry, and outpatient psychiatry. This broad range of experience allows her to provide comprehensive, individualized care to patients at all stages of life. Dr. Farias takes a holistic approach to treatment, incorporating both medication management and psychotherapy. She utilizes principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and supportive psychotherapy, recognizing that a combined approach leads to better outcomes for patients.

Dr. Kevin Lu is a board certified adult psychiatrist. In addition to medication management, he integrates elements of psychotherapy, psychoeducation, lifestyle changes, and relationship skills into his approach. He enjoys working with a variety of individuals and conditions, with particular experience with veterans, immigrants, and university students. He has a friendly and casual style, and prioritizes strong therapeutic relationships in his work. Dr. Lu completed his undergraduate studies at New York University's Stern School of Business, and after a short career in finance, he made a transition into medicine. He received his medical degree from the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and completed residency training in psychiatry at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Dr. Julia Trice, MD, has experience across outpatient, intensive outpatient, residential, and inpatient settings. She earned her medical degree and completed psychiatry residency and child and adolescent fellowship training at accredited institutions, developing expertise in comprehensive, evidence-based care. She is double board-certified in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.

Dr. Trice values openness, collaboration, and clear communication. She builds strong therapeutic rapport by creating a warm, supportive space where patients feel heard and respected. When working with children and adolescents, she ensures they understand that their voice and perspective are essential to shaping treatment and understanding their symptoms.

Dr. Trice begins by thoroughly understanding each patient’s history, concerns, and goals. She uses this foundation to guide treatment from the first session onward. Throughout care, she develops individualized, goal-aligned treatment plans that integrate evidence-based approaches tailored to each patient’s unique needs.

Dr. Bakhtier is certified in Adult Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. Dr. Bakhtier has been practicing for over 15 years and has been working in the field of Telemedicine for over 10 years. Dr. Bakhtier has been working to make easy access to mental health treatment for everyone and believes that Telemedicine is a great option for more access to mental health treatment.  After completing residency training and a master’s in public health, Dr. Bakhtier started practicing as a staff Psychiatrist and later promoted to the medical director position. He had the privilege of working as the Chief Resident during his residency training and worked with a diverse population, treating many people with different types of mental illness at Lincoln medical and mental Health Center in affiliation with Downtown Bronx Medical Associates P.C. and Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Although he is focused on medication management, he is also very interested in therapies like Motivational interview, Supportive therapy to include in the treatment plan. He is very grounded in humanistic values. He likes to work very closely with his patients to build a treatment plan, and he believes in listening to patients and believing that the best outcomes are possible only by working together with patients. He will make decisions after consultation with you and with your approval first regarding adding or changing medication.

Dr. Bakhtier will spend at least 60 minutes on the initial visit and then 30mintues for follow-up appointments where he will develop a treatment plan with you and will be very open to listening to your preferences regarding medication management.

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Dr. Whitehouse is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with a strong background in neuroscience and psychopharmacology who has been in practice for over 25 years. At the heart of Dr. Whitehouse's clinical approach is a strong emphasis on establishing trust, building a therapeutic relationship to help patients achieve their goals, and helping people better understand their brain, its strengths, and vulnerabilities and how to use assessment and training to maximize everyone's unique emotional and cognitive capacity. Dr. Whitehouse's practice focuses on medication management. Typically, he offers this in conjunction with supportive or emotionally focused therapy in 30-minute follow-up visits. Occasionally Dr Whitehouse may believe that additional therapy is also needed and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best outcome. He received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School and went on to complete his residency in psychiatry at MGH in Boston. After completing training, Dr. Whitehouse has worked in every setting from a Community Mental Health Center in rural VT, a General Hospital Department of Psychiatry in Waterbury CT, and a private psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts He has held academic clinical appointments at Dartmouth, Yale and Harvard and provided supervision to medical students, residents, APRNs, Social Workers and Mental Health Clinicians. In addition to his direct clinical work, he has extensive experience with value-based care having worked with the behavioral divisions of CIGNA Behavioral Health, Optum Behavioral Health and MCG. He also has been involved in the latest approaches made possible in mental health by the growth of direct-to-consumer services as part of digital transformation. He believes that every patient is unique and every situation different. He seeks to bring a wealth of experience to bear but, above all, to do so with a personalized and compassionate focus on what will help everyone specifically, practically, effectively, and efficiently. He is especially happy to help people new to emotional help understand the value of different approaches.