Sumbal Akhter, DO

Background and credentials

Dr. Tyler Josephs is a staff psychiatrist at Talkiatry. He earned his medical degree from Kansas City University in 2017 and completed his psychiatric residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2021. During his residency, he served as Chief Resident at both the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Kansas City VA Medical Center. Most recently, Dr. Josephs worked at the Kansas City VA Medical Center, where he was the psychiatric director of the outpatient mental health clinic and served as Psychiatry Executive for behavioral health services.

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Treatment approach

Dr. Josephs believes in a holistic approach to mental health treatment, integrating medication management, supportive psychotherapy, and collaboration with therapists and support staff. He tailors treatment to each patient's unique needs, ensuring a comprehensive and individualized approach to care. His expertise includes treating a variety of psychiatric diagnoses, such as depression, anxiety disorders (including OCD), ADHD, and PTSD.

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What you can expect in a first visit

In a first visit, patients can expect a thorough evaluation, where Dr. Josephs takes the time to understand their medical history, symptoms, and treatment goals. He emphasizes open communication and collaborative decision-making, ensuring that patients feel heard and supported. Based on this initial assessment, he will develop a personalized treatment plan, which may include medication management and referrals to therapy or other supportive services as needed.

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Why Talkiatry?

We’re a virtual mental health practice that makes it easy to find great care. We combine quality and convenience to help you thrive—faster. Our providers, like this one, are highly trained experts who specialize in medication management and collaborate with you on a treatment plan that fits your needs and comfort level.

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Dr. Stephanie Jarvie is a board-certified psychiatrist and has been practicing for over eight years. Stephanie completed her Bachelor's degree at the University of Bristol in her native United Kingdom. She attended Saint George's University school of medicine in Grenada and completed her residency training in psychiatry at New York Medical College Metropolitan Hospital in NYC, New York. As chief resident, Dr. Jarvie learned to balance her clinical experience with organizational duties and scholarly activities. She has played a crucial role, both clinically, and has been a part of multi-disciplinary treatment teams. More recently, she has been an inpatient clinical psychiatrist at Banner University medical center in Arizona and has served as an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona for four years. Stephanie is from Edinburgh, Scotland. Her studies and training have taken her on a journey from the United Kingdom and the Caribbean to New York City and Arizona. She uses her exposure to diverse patient populations from around the world to help with her clinical skills and treatment plans. Dr. Jarvie has a wealth of knowledge and experience in treating a diverse range of psychiatric disorders such as major depression disorder, anxiety, bipolar spectrum disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorders. Dr. Jarvie's practice focuses on medication management. She offers this in conjunction with supportive therapy in 30-minute follow-up. She works collaboratively with patients to develop individualized treatment plans to help them achieve their goal, which may include medication management, lifestyle interventions, and stress reduction techniques. Dr. Jarvie believes that additional therapy may be necessary and asks that you bring a therapist into your care team to provide the best outcome.

Dr. Gulati is a board-certified adult psychiatrist who has been in practice for over 10 years. She has worked in inpatient units, private practice, and community mental health, as well as served as Chief Medical Officer of a large psychiatric hospital. In 2018 she was awarded the Charleston Choice Award for Best Psychiatrist in Charleston, South Carolina. She currently resides in South Florida. Dr. Gulati's practice centers around treating the whole patient: mind, body, and spirit. She believes the judicious use of psychiatric medications, coupled with psychotherapy and alternative treatments such as meditation and yoga, can bring about transformative changes in the lives of those suffering from depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions and life issues. Dr. Gulati graduated with Honors in Psychology from The University of Florida, received her medical degree from The University of South Alabama School of Medicine, completed a clinical postdoctoral research fellowship at Boston University School of Medicine, and completed her Psychiatry residency training at The University of North Carolina. She is currently obtaining her MBA. After residency, she worked as a psychiatric hospitalist at Trident Medical Center in Charleston and has also worked in private practice. Most recently she served as Chief Medical Officer for an 80-bed psychiatric hospital, Coral Shores Behavioral Hospital in Stuart, FL. In addition to general adult psychiatry, Dr. Gulati received extensive training in one of the nation's largest women's mood disorder programs at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and enjoys treating peripartum and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. She is also well trained in addiction medicine and received additional training in buprenorphine use for opioid addiction.

Dr. Dennis Valerstain is a board-certified Adult and Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. After completing his undergraduate education at Emory University, he attended medical school at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He subsequently completed psychiatry residency at University of Miami/Jackson Health System and further sub-specialized at University of Miami/Jackson Health System with a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Valerstain has had the opportunity of working with a diverse array of patients including children, adolescents, the severely mentally ill, veterans, and cancer patients across three distinct hospital systems. Dr. Valerstain has had varied clinical experiences in specialty inpatient psychiatry units, emergency psychiatry, consultation liaison psychiatry, psycho-oncology, and outpatient clinics via telemedicine and face to face interactions. Dr. Valerstain has experience working with patients of all ages, particularly those with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Tic disorders, substance use disorders, and more. Dr. Valerstain's practice focuses on medication management and also employs empathic listening, supportive psychotherapy techniques, and a comprehensive and methodological approach to his visits. Given his broad and diverse training experiences, he enjoys problem solving and working collaboratively with patients (and their families) to navigate their complex issues and jointly focusing on simple solutions to work towards improving their mental health.

Dr. Bryant graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine to complete her adult training and the Yale Child Study Center/Riverview Hospital for Children Program to complete her fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. A native Texan, she returned to Tyler, TX in 2020 to accept the position of Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. She also established an accredited child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship in Tyler. Prior to that, she served as the Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division at the University of Mississippi Medical Center where she was also the Program Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship. She received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. Working with survivors of trauma has always been an important part of Dr. Bryant's practice. She currently serves as the co-chair of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's Committee on Child Maltreatment and Violence and she is a representative for the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse. Dr. Bryant also served as the program director of the Eating Disorders and Trauma Recovery program at Menninger Clinic in Topeka. She is board certified in adult, child and adolescent psychiatry and she has over 32 years of experience as a practicing psychiatrist. Dr. Bryant specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mood disorders, developmental disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and family relational problems for both children and adults. She believes that "knowledge is power" and that the more a person can understand about how the brain is affected by various mental health conditions, the more treatment makes sense.

Dr. Steven Wilkening is a board-certified adult psychiatrist.He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Cornell University followed by a neuroscience researchfocused Masters degree at the University of Mississippi. He then attended medical school at theUniversity of Mississippi School of Medicine, graduating with his MD degree as a Medical StudentResearch Scholar and member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. He completed adultpsychiatry residency training at the University of Cincinnati and has since been working primarily intelepsychiatry.He has experience treating a wide variety of psychiatric conditions and also recognizes that lifestylefactors such as sleep, physical activity and stress-reduction are foundations of good mental health.Alongside medication management, he provides brief supportive psychotherapy, psychoeducation, aswell as elements of cognitive behavioral and solution-focused therapies to assist patients in meetingtheir goals. He often encourages patients to see a therapist in addition to a psychiatrist.