I am a board-certified psychiatrist, licensed in Illinois, treating both adults and older adolescents; and I was graduated from both the medical school and the psychiatry residency at the University of Chicago.
Although the pandemic emergency exception has been extended to 31 December 2025, I do not prescribe controlled substances (including medicines such as Ritalin, Adderall, etc.) to those not presenting themselves for an in-person visit in Chicago.
Narrative medicine was first described in 2001, but may possess a much older provenance, to an era when the surest way to a correct diagnosis was hearing the detailed story. The narrative establishes a human bond, held in the utmost confidence. Narrative medicine takes time. For that reason my initial evaluations are scheduled for 2 hours. Follow-ups are scheduled, depending on how you're doing, every few weeks or months.
The person coming to me gets a tall glass of water, and the opening word.
While I am licensed to prescribe psychiatric medicines, these are rarely for me the first-line treatment, and almost never the only treatment. I will ask about your friends, your chosen and biological family, your diet, your sleep, your exercise patterns, and your faith, because if these are in tune they can give as much benefit as any medicine.
