Gabrielle Amada, MD

Elizabeth Shaffer, MD, is an accomplished psychiatrist specializing in child and adolescent psychiatry. She earned her M.D. degree from St. George's University School of Medicine and holds a Bachelor of Science in Child Development from Appalachian State University where she graduated summa cum laude. Dr. Shaffer's passion for working with children and families developed during her involvement in a pre-K Head Start Program in Rural North Carolina. She completed her General Psychiatry Residency and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine at Campbell University. Dr. Shaffer obtained ABPN Board Certification in General Psychiatry in 2023 and is working towards Board Certification in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Shaffer has received honors and awards for her contributions to psychiatry, including the Laughlin fellowship through The American College of Psychiatrists and Resident of the Year at Cape Fear Valley Health System in 2022.Her areas of interest focus on neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, Autism, and Intellectual Delay. Dr. Shaffer is affiliated with professional organizations like AACAP and APA, demonstrating her commitment to professional development. Dr. Shaffer is dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and family and patient psychoeducation. Dr. Shaffer emphasizes a joint decision-making approach to treatment options and utilizes local resources to provide wrap-around support. Dr. Shaffer is a respected psychiatrist known for her excellence, compassion, and innovative approach to mental health care. Her extensive education, accolades, research contributions, professional affiliations, and community involvement reflect her commitment to making a positive impact in her patients' lives and the broader community.

Dr. Ali is a lifelong New Yorker who has always been fascinated by the complexity of the human mind, behavior, and experience. Growing up in a vibrant and diverse city, she developed a deep appreciation for how culture, environment, and individual background shape a person’s psychological well-being. Driven by this passion, she pursued her medical degree at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, where she gained a strong foundation in both the biological and psychosocial aspects of medicine. She then completed her general psychiatry training at SUNY Stony Brook University Hospital, where she worked closely with a diverse patient population from varied religious, cultural, socioeconomic, and age groups.

Dr. Ali prioritizes open communication and mutual trust, creating a safe, nonjudgmental environment where patients feel respected and empowered to actively engage in their care. She integrates psychotherapy techniques and takes a holistic, person centered approach to treatment.

Dr. Ali believes in collaboration and shared understanding grounded in evidence-based therapies. Her typical process includes developing individualized treatment plans aimed at symptom relief, improved functioning, and overall quality of life. Beyond medication management, she incorporates psychotherapy techniques and psychoeducation to help patients build coping skills and insight.

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Dr. Marla Richard is a Stanford-trained board-certified psychiatrist and is board-eligible for geriatric psychiatry from UCSD. She has been practicing in a variety of settings for the last 30 years. Dr. Richard uses an integrated health paradigm with general and geriatric patients using traditional psychopharmacology, interpersonal neurobiology practices, and personality assessments to look at root motivations for behaviors to address core issues and with medication management as needed. Dr. Marla believes that you need to take a whole-person approach to both mental and physical health. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and then attended medical school at Stanford Medical School to complete her MD. With visions of becoming a general surgeon, she went to the University Hospitals of Cleveland and completed two years of general surgery training before seeing the light and transferring to psychiatry. She completed her psychiatry training at Stanford University and geriatric training many years later at UCSD. Her focus includes an integrated approach to the consideration of mental and physical health while incorporating mindfulness tools to teach skills of stress and anxiety management in everyday life. In conjunction with medication management, she uses interpersonal neurobiology to help clients understand triggers as well as methods to calm overactive stress responses and reactivity.

Dr. Mathews is an adult psychiatrist who works with young adults and adults struggling with anxiety and depressive disorders. She uses a compassionate, non-judgmental, and reflective approach to listening and working with clients. Dr. Mathews' practice focuses on medication management, offered in conjunction with supportive therapy in 30-minute follow-up visits. Dr. Mathews completed medical school at Stony Brook University School of Medicine where she also earned her masters in Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics. She completed her adult psychiatry residency training program at Montefiore/Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The philosophy of Dr. Mathews' practice is to help promote each individual's natural capacity for healing. She ultimately strives to help clients create rich and meaningful lives while also offering mindfulness skills to empower clients to effectively cope with the pain and suffering that life can bring.

Dr. Luna Sanchez Rivera holds the position of Staff Psychiatrist at Talkiatry. After completing residency in 2016 at the Ponce Medical School Psychiatry Residency in Puerto Rico, she then moved to North Carolina to complete a subspecialty in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Duke University Health System. There, she transitioned into an assistant professor position, focused on structuring pediatric emergency psychiatric services, and helped support the consult and liaison pediatric service. Her years of experience have included working as an integrated care child psychiatrist within outpatient clinics at Duke University Health System, and she trained and worked as a staff psychiatrist at the Inpatient State Facility in North Carolina. She also served in the Dayton Children's Hospital outpatient clinics in Dayton, Ohio, the Appalachian Health System outpatient clinics in Linville, North Carolina, and more recently has been serving the Child and Adolescent inpatient population in Bangor, Maine. Dr. Sanchez Rivera has an approachable style aimed at providing a comprehensive evaluation for all age ranges and is comfortable managing various levels of diagnostic complexities. She provides supportive psychotherapy while using psychodynamic therapy skills to clarify her patient's constellation of symptoms, identify unifying themes and provide thorough psychoeducation throughout the process to drive positive outcomes. She integrates psychodynamic medication management approaches and is adept at family therapy interventions.

Cecilia Wild is a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC) with a strong background in treating patients across the mental health spectrum. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Illinois State University and began her career in a women’s residential facility specializing in mood disorders, eating disorders, and PTSD. She then transitioned to inpatient adolescent psychiatry, where she became a charge nurse and obtained her Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Certification (PMH-BC) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Inspired by her passion for mental health, she pursued her master's degree at the University of St. Francis to become a PMHNP.  

Cecilia has extensive experience treating patients at all levels of care, including inpatient, PHP/IOP, and outpatient settings. She later transitioned to telehealth, providing medication management to college students. She is passionate about mental health advocacy, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community.  

Cecilia takes a team-based, individualized approach to care. She believes in the importance of education, open communication, and empowering patients in their treatment journey. She emphasizes a holistic perspective, incorporating medication management, therapy, and lifestyle modifications.  

Cecilia prioritizes a trauma-informed approach, recognizing the significant role trauma plays in mental health. She integrates mindfulness techniques, motivational interviewing, and lifestyle changes to support overall well-being. By fostering a collaborative and supportive environment, she helps patients build resilience and achieve their mental health goals.