Robynn Cavaliere, PMHNP

Ana Castro, LMHC received a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Queens College, City University of New York. She completed training at F.E.G.S and has worked in community mental health and outpatient hospital-based settings. Ana has 7 years of experience working with individuals as well as with children and families treating anxiety, depression, family and relationship issues, and other mental health issues. Ana uses methods from psychoanalysis, CBT, DBT, along with light supportive therapy in order to provide a person-centered approach. She began by working at New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center, working with individuals, as well as children and families in a high-risk area, providing family therapy, psychodynamic and behavioral therapy, and assisting with the coordination of care with outside agencies. Ana has worked at St. Joseph's Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic treating patients with various psychiatric illnesses. She has also worked at St. Vincent's- Westchester Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic, providing intake, diagnosis, and individual therapy to a population ranging from adolescents to late adults. Ana continues to work towards expanding her knowledge of evidence-based approaches in order to provide the best outcomes.

Dr. Dodd, a Board-Certified psychiatrist, graduated from the University of Georgia Honors Program with a B.S. in Chemistry, and earned her M.D. from the Medical College of Georgia. During her psychiatry residency in Greenville, SC, she was chief resident and gained extensive experience through moonlighting. She joined the faculty of Gateway’s Savannah residency program in 2021, where she served as Assistant Program Director, and continues to teach residents and students as an Assistant Professor at Mercer University and the Medical College of Georgia. In her community psychiatry practice, she specialized in Assertive Community Treatment, worked with First Episode Psychosis programs, a forensic Diversion-Reentry clinic, telehealth, and outpatient psychiatry, particularly serving graduate students, professionals, and their families in the Savannah area.

Dr. Dodd fosters a comfortable environment for patients at any stage of treatment. As a passionate educator, she enjoys providing psychoeducation and supportive therapy to help patients understand themselves, their relationships, and their motivations.

Dr. Dodd tailors treatment to each individual’s goals, preferences, and strengths. She uses her expertise in diagnosis and pharmacology to optimize care, monitor treatment success, and maintain progress, with the ultimate goal of helping patients feel and function at their best.

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Suzann Gordon, DNP is a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who graduated with her Doctor in Nursing Practice from the University of Nevada Reno. Her years of experience in the mental health field began when she became a behavioral health counselor working with adolescents, then as a psychiatric nurse working with patients across the life span. She's worked in various healthcare settings including pediatric and adolescent residential treatment, acute inpatient care and outpatient as a nurse case manager on the Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team for the state hospital.

Since Suzann has become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, she has worked in community health clinics providing both psychiatric medication management and medication-assisted treatment to patients. She has treated patients with various diagnoses including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, bipolar disorders, schizoaffective disorders, schizophrenias, alcohol abuse disorder and substance use disorders.

As a nurse practitioner, she believes in focusing on patient-centered care, providing a holistic approach to patient management and having a collaborative approach to mental health treatment. She uses supportive psychotherapy and at times cognitive behavioral therapy to help her patients change their thoughts and behaviors in managing their stressors.

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Xavier Diao, MD (he/him) is a board-certified psychiatrist. He earned his undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Biological Sciences at the University of Maryland, where he also obtained his medical degree. Dr. Diao completed his psychiatry residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, received additional training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Columbia and Cornell, and finished a psychoanalytic fellowship at the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. Prior to joining Talkiatry, he was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, where he provided clinical care and teaching along the undergraduate-graduate medical education continuum.

Dr. Diao's therapeutic orientation is informed by psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, and dialectical behavior modalities. He has expertise in the treatment of a diverse range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. Dr. Diao uses a developmentally informed and LGBTQ-affirmative approach in his practice, with the aim of enriching meaning and alleviating suffering in the domains of work, play, and love.

Dr. Diao begins each encounter with gentle curiosity, inviting patients to share their stories without fear of judgment. Together, he crafts an individualized treatment plan with the patient that may include medication, psychotherapy, and/or referrals to subspecialty care, always in close collaboration with other members on the treatment team.

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Dr. Perington is a Staff Psychiatrist with Talkiatry. She previously served in the US Air Force, where she completed her residency training in psychiatry (Lackland AFB) and was the medical director for a small-sized mental health clinic (Hill AFB). Dr. Perington uses a person-centered approach to tailor treatment to the individual, with an emphasis on shared decision making. She prefers to focus on psychotherapy and behavioral interventions as a primary part of the treatment plan, in addition to any indicated medication.

Motivation for change is a large part of the healing process, and for many people recovery doesn't happen with medication alone. Dr. Perington asks all her patients to play an active role in their treatment.

A thorough diagnostic assessment with discussion of the best treatment setting and modality, then regular follow up visits with emphasis on psychotherapy in addition to medication management (if indicated).

Dr. Karina Fatova is a board certified psychiatrist who hails from New York City but has made New Orleans her home for the past ten years. She is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY, and she did her adult psychiatry residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She was proud to have her first position post-residency at the River Oaks Hospital Trauma Unit in New Orleans, LA where she treated patients with Complex PTSD and eating disorders. The Trauma Unit was one of a few of its kind nationally because it provided very specialized treatment that was affordable to many. Dr. Fatova then went on to work at the New Orleans Veterans Affairs Hospital for the last five years in its ambulatory outpatient mental health clinic. Though her passion is Complex Trauma/PTSD, she also regularly saw veteran patients who have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and adjustment disorder. During her five years at the New Orleans VA, she received three special commendations from the director of the VA for feedback from her patients about her effective integrative approach to supportive psychotherapy and medication management. She believes that her rapport with her patients, and their therapeutic work together, is just as important as the medication she prescribes to heal or alleviate their symptoms. Dr Fatova employs psychodynamic therapy techniques, at times, to help those patients who would like to explore childhood experiences that may continue to impact them in their adult lives. With respect to medication management she regularly helps patients target symptoms such as sleep issues, nightmares, persistent worry, emotional dysregulation, frequent mood changes, impulsivity, and "toning down the nervous system," among others. She strongly believes that treatment decisions are best approached as a collaboration between patient and doctor. She sees young adults who are just starting their journey into adulthood, as well as adults who have been navigating life with challenges, which may include untreated, or poorly treated, mental health symptoms. Often, by the time Dr. Fatova sees a patient, they may have lost a significant amount of faith in their mental health doctors, and she is particularly attuned to helping individuals with this type of experience.