Melissa Desa, MD

Dr. Rae Insalaco is a board-certified psychiatrist who completed her residency in 2011 at the University of Rochester, where she served as the chief resident of ambulatory services. During this time, she also received the Richard Carl Albert Jaenike award for outstanding performance in clinical psychiatry. Dr. Insalaco uses the bio-psycho-social model as a blueprint to understanding her patients' challenges. Since residency, she has provided direct patient care in CPEP (Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program) and outpatient, ambulatory clinics, treating a wide range of psychiatric illnesses. She has also served as the collaborating psychiatrist for psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatry residents, care managers, social workers, and therapists at a community mental health center affiliated with the University of Rochester. Dr. Insalaco completed medical school at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and continues to use the principles of osteopathic medicine in her care of patients. She believes that treating the whole person is important, and not simply treating your individual symptoms in isolation. Dr. Insalaco also examines how your habits of sleep, exercise, and nutrition can contribute to your overall wellness. She believes there are many paths that lead to healing, starting with hearing your story.

Dr. Ahmed Valdes is a board certified adult psychiatrist and burgeoning Geriatric Psychiatrist. After completing his undergraduate education at Florida State University, he attended medical school at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine where he graduated with a combined M.D./M.S. in Genomic Medicine. He subsequently completed psychiatry residency at Jackson Health System/University of Miami and further subspecialized with a fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry. Dr. Valdes has had the opportunity of working with a diverse array of patients including veterans, inmates, the severely mentally ill, geriatric, and cancer patients across three distinct hospital systems. Dr. Valdes has had varied clinical experiences in specialty inpatient psychiatry units (detox, geriatric, mood disorder), emergency psychiatry, consultation liaison psychiatry, psycho-oncology, and outpatient specialty clinics (HIV, dementia, integrative and collaborative care) via telemedicine and face to face interactions .Dr. Valdes has experience working with adults of all ages, particularly those with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, PTSD, and more. Dr. Valdes employs empathic listening, supportive psychotherapy techniques, and a comprehensive and methodological approach to his visits. Given his broad and diverse training experiences, he enjoys problem solving and working collaboratively with patients to navigate their complex issues and jointly focusing on simple solutions to work towards improving their mental health.

Dr. Dennis Valerstain is a board-certified Adult and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. After completing his undergraduate education at Emory University, he attended medical school at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He subsequently completed psychiatry residency at University of Miami/Jackson Health System and further sub-specialized at University of Miami/Jackson Health System with a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Valerstain has had the opportunity of working with a diverse array of patients including children, adolescents, the severely mentally ill, veterans, and cancer patients across three distinct hospital systems. Dr. Valerstain has had varied clinical experiences in specialty inpatient psychiatry units, emergency psychiatry, consultation liaison psychiatry, psycho-oncology, and outpatient clinics via telemedicine and face to face interactions. Dr. Valerstain has experience working with patients of all ages, particularly those with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Tic disorders, substance use disorders, and more. Dr. Valerstain's practice focuses on medication management and also employs empathic listening, supportive psychotherapy techniques, and a comprehensive and methodological approach to his visits. Given his broad and diverse training experiences, he enjoys problem solving and working collaboratively with patients (and their families) to navigate their complex issues and jointly focusing on simple solutions to work towards improving their mental health.

Dr Razik is a board-certified psychiatrist who has been practicing for over 20 years. Throughout her career she has helped thousands of patients overcome their mental health struggles through medication management and a combination of supportive and psychodynamic psychotherapy. She graduated from Ain Shams University School of Medicine in 1992 and went on to do her psychiatry residency training at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, after which she became board-certified as Dr. Razik has practiced psychiatry in various settings including private practice where she has experience managing patients with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, OCD, ADHD, panic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. Early on in her career she worked with veterans at the Dayton VA Medical Center as well as with the severely mentally ill patients in community mental health. Dr. Razik lives in Mason, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Dr. Sophia Monsour holds the position of Chief Psychiatrist for Pennsylvania at Talkiatry. After completing residency in 2013 at Albany Medical Center, she has spent the past 9 years fulfilling her passion for integrated and specialty care for adults suffering from mental illness. Her years of experience have included working as an integrated care Psychiatrist at a community health center, a medical director of a Partial Hospital and Intensive Outpatient Program (PHP/IOP), and also working for an Assertive Community Treatment Team (ACT) specializing in the Serious Mentally Ill (SMI) population. Most recently, she has been serving our veterans as the Outpatient Section Chief, Primary/Mental Health Integration Medical Director and Resident/Medical Student Coordinator at VA Pittsburgh. Dr. Monsour has an approachable style when treating individuals who suffer from various diagnoses, especially those with prior trauma. She provides supportive psychotherapy and at times uses psychodynamic therapy skills to address her patient's current stressors and to identify the root cause of their ailment. She believes in a holistic approach and utilizes mindfulness as a technique along with medication management.

Dr. Kimberly Ford completed her psychiatry residency training at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. She has enjoyed treating patients for over 25 years in a variety of settings such as inpatient, outpatient mental health clinics, emergency room, and multidisciplinary clinics. She is talented in her ability to connect, understand, and empathize with her patients.‍She has expertise in treating patients with mood disorders, anxiety, PTSD, and incorporates psychopharmacology when needed, psychodynamic and supportive psychotherapy. She wholeheartedly believes that treating her patients holistically is of high importance, with a focus on their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.