Laura McLafferty

I'm a board-certified psychiatrist with eleven years of experience, and I take an individualized, collaborative, and evidence-based approach to psychiatric care. I'm warm, thoughtful, direct, and practical — I value clear communication and want you to understand not just my clinical recommendations, but the reasoning behind them. I consider the whole person in my work, including physical health, life circumstances, relationships, stressors, and hormonal or reproductive transitions that can affect mental health. I work with adults experiencing depression, anxiety, ADHD, and mood symptoms tied to major life transitions, with particular interest in women's mental health — including psychiatric care during the perinatal period, perimenopause, and menopause — and in patients whose mental health concerns are closely connected to physical health conditions.

I believe psychiatric treatment works best as a partnership. My goal isn't simply to reduce symptoms — it's to help you function well and build a life that feels meaningful and sustainable. My work combines careful diagnostic assessment and medication management with supportive and psychotherapeutic interventions, grounded in shared decision-making: you should feel heard and respected while also getting clear, clinically sound guidance you can act on. I trained at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (medical school and psychiatry residency) and completed fellowship training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, with a focus on the intersection of physical and mental health, including psychiatric symptoms that occur alongside medical illness.

Expect a thorough, collaborative conversation where I take time to understand the full picture — your symptoms, but also your physical health, relationships, work stress, and any life transitions you're navigating. I'll walk you through my clinical thinking as we go, so you understand the "why" behind any recommendations, and we'll make decisions together about next steps rather than me simply prescribing a plan. Nonjudgmental, practical, and clear — that's what you can count on from our first conversation forward.