Lori Peppers, MD

Bel Gueron is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over 10 years of experience supporting adolescents and adults in both residential and community settings. She specializes in culturally sensitive and trauma-informed care, helping individuals navigate anxiety, depression, grief, and life transitions. With a strong foundation in evidence-based practices, Bel is dedicated to fostering resilience and meaningful growth in her patients.

Bel believes that thriving begins with feeling heard, validated, and understood. She prioritizes building a safe, supportive space and a collaborative therapeutic relationship where clients feel empowered. Raised in New York City, she brings a warm, down-to-earth approach that is tailored to each individual’s needs. Bel welcomes clients from all walks of life, offering culturally sensitive care while encouraging insight, self-compassion, and personal empowerment.

Bel works collaboratively with patients to understand their concerns, explore their background, and set meaningful, individualized goals. Together, progress and growth are identified and tracked over time. She integrates evidence-based therapies such as CBT, DBT, and mindfulness while centering each client’s unique story. Through a person-centered approach, Bel is committed to compassionate support, empowerment, and advocacy as clients move toward greater well-being.

Dr. Jennifer Ruch is a board-certified psychiatrist who strives to understand her patients' lived experiences and aspirations to develop supportive therapeutic relationships through empathetic listening, mutual trust, and respect. She collaboratively creates individualized care plans that align with personal treatment goals in a safe and judgment-free environment. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology with a focus in psychology from the University of California, Merced, she earned her medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Ruch completed her General Psychiatry Residency at Arnot Ogden Medical Center in New York. Her clinical experience involves treating individuals of all age groups from diverse populations and socioeconomic backgrounds suffering from anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. She has provided care in inpatient and outpatient psychiatric facilities, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, emergency rooms, state facilities, and an inpatient chemical dependency center. She also performed pre-procedure psychological evaluations for bariatric and spinal cord surgeries, and psychiatric consult liaison services on medical units and has clinical training in inpatient and outpatient neurology. Her clinical experience incorporated treatment modalities such as pharmacotherapy and interventional psychiatry, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Spravato. Dr. Ruch integrates a wide array of psychotherapy as needed; however, her practice primarily focuses on medication management while utilizing referrals to therapists and providing collaborative care for optimal outcomes.

Cody Zaiontz is an LPC in the state of Texas. He has been providing counseling services to a variety of clients, who have sought help for many different types of mental health conditions, for over 5 years. Cody completed his undergraduate education in San Marcos, Texas at Texas State University and earned his bachelor's degree in psychology. He went on to complete his graduate school training in Counseling & Guidance at Texas A&M University San Antonio. His practicum training took place at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas where he was trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and crisis management. Upon graduating with his master's in counseling, Cody worked for 2 years helping individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.) in an inpatient psychiatric hospital. He then learned how to provide outpatient counseling services, both in-person and through a secure telehealth platform. In his private practice, he worked with adults dealing with substance abuse, PTSD, depression, anxiety, and family issues. He also helped his clients work towards weight loss goals, learn ways to improve sleep, learn ways to increase their social support system, and learn other skills that will help them live a happier, more fulfilled life. Cody operated his private practice until he joined Talkiatry in the fall of 2024.

Dr. Swagato Bhattacharyya has completed his residency training at Northwell and is a board certified psychiatrist. Dr. Bhattacharyya takes a holistic approach to patient care, establishing strong physician-patient relationships built on trust, respect, and communication. He primarily focuses on medication management and also provides supportive psychotherapy. Treatment sessions will be tailored to work towards a common goal to optimize one's mental well-being. Dr. Bhattacharyya graduated magna cum laude from undergraduate Binghamton University, received his medical degree from NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, and completed his residency in psychiatry at Northwell Mather Hospital. He has trained in various settings, including adult/adolescent psychiatric units and specialty clinics, and has experience in telepsychiatry visits. Dr. Bhattacharyya has experience in treating numerous mental conditions, including depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, ADHD and OCD. Dr. Bhattacharyya also has experience treating patients of diverse cultures, having worked in psychiatric settings in the NYC metro and Long Island area.‍

Dr. Kotadia is a board-certified psychiatrist who completed his psychiatry residency training program at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, NY. After completing training, he has been practicing outpatient psychiatry and specializes in the evaluation and management of major psychiatric disorders, including depression, and anxiety. He uniquely combines his education, training, and practical experiences into specialized treatment plans. Typically, he offers this in conjunction with supportive or emotionally focused therapy in 30-minute follow-up visits. However, occasionally Dr. Kotadia may believe that additional therapy is also needed and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best outcome. A story that Dr. Kotadia came across years back still inspires him each day. A man was taking a morning walk at the beach. He saw that along with the morning tide, came hundreds of starfish. When the tide receded, the starfish were left behind and would die in the morning sun. While the tide was fresh, and the starfish were alive, the man took a few steps, picked one up and threw it into the water and continued throwing starfish back into the ocean. Behind him was a stranger who couldn't understand what this man was doing. He caught up with him and asked, "What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?” The man did not reply, rather he took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water, and said, "It makes a difference to this one.”With this story as his motivation and ultimate objective, it has always been Dr. Kotadia's goal, with each patient, to provide superior services.

Carly Frix-Rhyne is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), in both Texas and Arkansas, who has extensive experience working in the mental health field. She has worked directly with clients of various demographics, living with a variety of mental health conditions. Carly attended undergraduate and graduate school in her hometown of Texarkana, Texas at Texas A&M University - Texarkana. She completed her practicum and internship working as a therapist in therapeutic foster care, with children, teens, foster parents, and biological families. Carly has been practicing for 7 years as a LPC, focusing on individuals working to cope with trauma, stressful life events, anxiety, depression, and issues coping with and communicating their own needs. Carly has worked for community mental health agencies, non-profit agencies, and private practice organizations. Much of Carly's past work involves providing therapy services to children, teens, and adults who survived abuse/trauma. Carly enjoys working with clients of all ages and with a variety of different presenting mental health needs. She uses different techniques including cognitive behavioral approaches and attachment-based approaches, while maintaining a person-centered theoretical orientation with all clients. Carly utilizes a range of therapeutic tools in hopes of providing clients with practical skills they can begin using immediately. She believes in meeting clients exactly where they are and helping them understand their own needs.