Sameerah Akhtar, MD

Amy Gonzalez is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner as well as a Family Nurse Practitioner. She has been practicing in the field of nursing since 1996. Amy has been a practicing Family Nurse Practitioner since 2007, and she started to focus on substance abuse treatment in 2010. She found that many people with substance use disorder also struggle with their mental health and went on to get her Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree completing it in 2017. Her past experience includes working in both outpatient and inpatient psychiatry, 24-hour crisis care, substance use treatment, mental health court, and both adult and geriatric psychiatry. Amy has expertise in treating depression, bipolar spectrum disorder, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, substance use disorders and thought disorders.

Amy believes in providing a safe and supportive environment where she really gets to know her patients as individuals and works collaboratively with them to develop a treatment plan. She is concerned with a patient's overall wellness, emphasizing nutrition, movement, hobbies, social connection, and mindfulness. She takes a holistic approach to treatment which focuses on evidence-based treatments including conventional medications, supplements, and alternative and complementary treatments.

Amy focuses on medication management as well as providing supportive therapy, psychoeducation, and motivational interviewing to her patients in 30-minute follow up appointments. Sometimes Amy may recommend more intense therapy and ask that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best outcome.

Michelle Kotte is a board-certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with over 13 years of nursing experience. She creates a warm, supportive environment and values open communication. Michelle is passionate about focusing on the whole person and tailoring care to each client’s unique needs.

Michelle’s approach is direct, collaborative, and centered on partnership. She works closely with clients to develop a personalized plan, emphasizing transparency and shared decision-making throughout treatment.

Michelle begins with an in-depth initial assessment covering physical, mental, emotional, social, and environmental well-being. She focuses on medication management, supportive therapy, and lifestyle modifications to help clients reach their goals.

Dr. Jiang is a board-certified adult psychiatrist. His practice focuses on medication management and supportive therapy. His major goal is for treatment to be patient centered, with a focus on high quality, evidence-based care in the safest and most meaningful way. Dr. Jiang completed an undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his medical degree from Oakland University William Beaumont, School of Medicine. He then completed his psychiatry residency at Loyola University Medical Center. Dr. Jiang's areas of interest include depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.‍

Dr. Pipalia is board-certified in both adult psychiatry and internal medicine. Since graduation from residency, he gained specialized experience in treating veterans with terminal illness, specifically Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (aka Lou Gehrig's Disease), at the VA Medical Center in Portland, OR. He combines both psychotherapy and medication treatment to provide holistic care that addresses not only your mental health but also the parts of your life that surround and are deeply intertwined with your mental health. When more intensive psychotherapy is warranted, he collaborates with an experienced psychotherapist to serve you better. With his experience of internal medicine, he is also comfortable with navigating complex medical issues that may interact with your mental health. Dr. Pipalia is a graduate of St. George's University School of Medicine. He completed a combined Psychiatry & Internal Medicine residency training program at East Carolina University. He went on to complete a fellowship in Clinical Informatics at Oregon Health & Science University, learning how to use modern digital technologies and patient data to improve patient care. His academic activities include a presentation he has given multiple times on Illness Identity, teaching other clinicians how having an illness can change how we perceive our place in the world and how to help patients manage their relationship with illness.

Dr. Zeynep Altun is board-certified in Psychiatry and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Dr. Altun graduated cum laude from Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical School. She completed her residency training in Neurology and is Turkish board-certified in clinical Neurology. Subsequently, she moved to the U.S. and finished her Ph.D. in cellular Neuroscience at Cornell University Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Dr. Altun completed her psychiatry residency training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and after, her clinical fellowship in Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program at Columbia University Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Altun has practiced in various settings including Bellevue Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia Doctors Faculty Practice Office, Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside Hospitals. Dr. Altun has held various academic appointments at New York University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry; New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical College Department of Psychiatry; New York State Psychiatric Institute and Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. She spent most of her professional career supervising and teaching medical students, psychiatry residents and nurse practitioners. As an adult psychiatrist, Dr. Altun has extensive theoretical knowledge of the nervous system and its disorders and more than 10 years of experience in treating various mental illnesses including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders, autism-spectrum and neuropsychiatric disorders, psychiatric emergencies and crisis management as well as cognitive behavioral and supportive psychotherapy. In Columbia Doctors, she collaborated closely with the Lieber Recovery Clinic, treating young adults with various mental illnesses. The philosophy of her practice is to collaborate with patients and work together with them so that they can lead symptom-free, productive, and stable lives.

Dr. Victoria Mustovic is a board-certified psychiatrist trained in general adult psychiatry who specializes in perinatal, postpartum, and LGBTQIA+ behavioral health. Clinical practice focuses on managing a variety of mental health conditions with particular interests in treating ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and mood disorders. A collaborative care approach is utilized to actively engage patients in treatment decisions and planning. Medication management is integrated with therapy to support a more comprehensive clinical approach. Therapy treatment focuses mainly on supportive therapy with use of additional therapy modalities based on patient needs. An evidence-based approach is combined with consideration of individual factors in order to work with patients to create a holistic, patient-centered treatment plan. Dr. Mustovic completed an undergraduate education at Allegheny College with a bachelor's degree in biology and double minor in psychology and chemistry. Dr. Mustovic went on to pursue a Medical Doctorate at Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo, graduated Summa Cum Laude, and was inducted into Alpha Omega AlphaHonor Society for academic achievement. After medical school, Dr. Mustovic completed psychiatry residency at Allegheny Health Network. Additional experience includes both co-authoring a book chapter on women's behavioral health and presenting posters on several different topics in mental health for the Pittsburgh Psychiatric Society, including a presentation on the identification and management of complex trauma in victims of sex trafficking. Dr. Mustovic has 2 years training in outpatient perinatal and postpartum behavioral health and 6 months experience working as co-facilitator in a perinatal and postpartum intensive outpatient treatment program both through the Alexis Joy D'Achille Foundation for Postpartum Depression at West Penn Hospital. Work as a co-facilitator included assisting patient groups in understanding and developing coping skills for a variety of therapy modalities including mindfulness, behavioral activation, interpersonal, cognitive behavioral (CBT), and dialectical behavioral (DBT) therapies. Dr. Mustovic is also dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ community with experience in LGBTQIA+ patient care over 4 years at Allegheny Health Network in a variety of clinical settings including inpatient, outpatient, and intensive outpatient programs. Dr. Mustovic is passionate about providing a supportive treatment environment to help improve equal access to care and support patients in advocating for their needs and concerns in health care settings.