Jessi Munoz, MD

Dr. Sophia Mikityanskiy is a board-certified psychiatrist with extensive experience in outpatient and psychiatric emergency settings in Brooklyn, where she served a diverse patient population. She earned her medical degree from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her adult psychiatry residency at Maimonides Medical Center, where she was Chief of Outpatient Psychiatry. Dr. Mikityanskiy spent six years as Associate Program Director and Director of Medical Student Education, mentoring future clinicians and leading initiatives to support mental health professionals.

Dr. Mikityanskiy creates a warm, supportive environment where patients feel heard and understood. She is collaborative, culturally sensitive, and integrates talk therapy with lifestyle interventions to address mental health holistically. She is thoughtful, detail-oriented, and values open communication to develop clear, personalized treatment plans with each patient.

Dr. Mikityanskiy begins with a comprehensive initial evaluation, listening closely to patient concerns, medical and psychiatric history, and treatment goals. She then develops an individualized plan, incorporating lifestyle modifications and shared decision-making. Throughout care, she remains actively involved, continuously adjusting plans to ensure patients feel informed and empowered.

Dr. Latori Griffin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 10+ years' experience in helping clients with relationship issues, family conflicts, trauma and abuse, intimacy related issues, and personality distress. Her specialty areas include seeing clients from underserved backgrounds with challenging life circumstances, racial/cultural traumas, substance use/abuse, career and educational planning, and relational traumas. Her goals are to offer a holistic approach to therapy that is concerned with the whole person and is conducive to growth and healing. Considering the spiritual, emotional, physical, psychological, social, and societal aspects of a client's experiences are of the utmost importance in creating an environment of warmth and support. Dr. Griffin works with clients to create an open and safe environment where thoughts and feelings can be shared without fear of judgment, and she will tailor the treatment plan to meet the clients' unique and specific needs. It takes courage to seek out a more fulfilling and happier life and to take the first steps towards a change. Dr. Griffin is here to support & empower clients on that journey.

Dr. Seth Sherman is a board-certified adult psychiatrist who has been in practice for over ten years. At the heart of Dr. Sherman's clinical approach is a strong emphasis on establishing trust, rapport, and therapeutic alliance to help persons to feel and live well and to progress toward their goals, both in treatment and in life. Dr. Sherman begins with consultation, a compassionate, collaborative process of discovery that culminates in a working diagnostic impression and, in turn, treatment recommendations. For those with whom he engages in a treatment relationship, Dr. Sherman provides psychoeducation, medication management, and individual psychotherapy, this last modality predominantly drawing from both psychodynamic and behavioral psychological models to tailor treatment to each patient. On some occasions, Dr. Sherman may believe that additional therapy is needed and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best outcome. Dr. Sherman received his medical degree from Stanford University and went on to complete his residency in psychiatry at Harvard University. After completing training, he cultivated a private practice of psychiatry in San Francisco, California, treating persons with a variety of psychiatric illnesses, while also providing consultation and clinical supervision to psychotherapists in day-treatment and office-based practices. Next, Dr. Sherman served as a psychiatry professor at the Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine in Florida, where, as Associate Director of the Psychiatry Residency Training Program, he provided psychiatric inpatient treatment while bringing leadership, scholarship, teaching, supervision, and mentoring to psychiatry residents and medical students. Most recently, Dr. Sherman worked as a senior medical officer/consultant psychiatrist in New Zealand's public health system, serving local communities with expert diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of mental health conditions. He also continued to supervise U.S.-based psychiatrists, along with New Zealand psychotherapists, in advanced and complex clinical psychopharmacology and psychotherapy.

Dr. Danielle Lopez is an Adult Psychiatrist. She received her doctorate of medicine at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine in 2007, where she later completed residency training in 2012 at Los Angeles County Medical Center. Dr. Lopez has extensive experience with high risk and challenging patient populations. Early in her career she engaged in multidisciplinary outreach (FSP) for those experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness or substance use disorders. Later transitioning to inpatient work and rehabilitation of those individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses, Dr. Lopez gained vast experience in complicated medication regimens, and agility in deescalating psychiatric emergencies. In 2017, Dr. Lopez moved to Santa Barbara, California, where she gained experience in emergency psychiatry, consultation liaison and inpatient psychiatry, working for the county regional trauma center. Inadvertently transitioning to private practice and telehealth due to COVID restrictions in 2020, Dr. Lopez found her niche in outpatient psychiatric treatment of individuals with mood disorders, trauma, anxiety, ADHD, psychotic disorders, and substance use disorders. Today, she enjoys forging personal connections with her patients, thereby tailoring their medication regimen to suit their individual needs. Education, supportive and motivational therapies, and cognitive behavioral techniques are often employed not only to provide insight and reassurance, but to also impart confidence and skills for patient success. Prior to her medical studies, Dr. Lopez was a high school science teacher and collegiate softball coach. She grew up in Los Angeles and currently resides in Long Beach, California, with her spouse, and English Mastiff named Ella. She enjoys photography, coastal trail walking, and dog training excursions. She and her spouse are avid gardeners; they love to grow and maintain lush succulent and floral gardens.

Dr. Sallie Jo Hadley holds the position of Staff Psychiatrist at Talkiatry. She is board-certified in psychiatry and pediatrics and is board-eligible in child and adolescent psychiatry. She has been practicing for 22 years. Dr. Hadley's practice is focused on medication management with supportive therapy in follow-up sessions of 15 or 30 minutes. Dr. Hadley is experienced with collaborative treatment and encourages adding a therapist to your care team in those situations where additional therapy might be helpful. Dr. Hadley is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's triple-board program (psychiatry, pediatrics, and child and adolescent psychiatry). She completed post-doctoral research fellowships at Mount Sinai's Seaver Center for Autism Research/Compulsive-Impulsive Anxiety Disorders and at Columbia University's New York State Psychiatric Institute, the latter focusing on metabolic and weight issues in children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Dr. Hadley had an early background as a nurse, receiving her B.S. in Nursing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her experience in neonatal, psychiatric, and hospice nursing led her to pursue her degree in medicine. Dr. Hadley has worked in pharmacologic research in both academic and industry settings. Prior to joining Talkiatry, she practiced in a multi-specialty clinic for individuals and families dealing with autism or intellectual disabilities and complex medical co-morbidities. Dr. Hadley enjoys working with motivated individuals of all ages who are seeking to better their life or better cope with life circumstances. She has particular expertise in working with individuals and their families suffering from anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

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.