Samar Jasser MD

I wanted to be a physician for as long as I can remember. Patch Adams was and still is my favorite movie, inspiring and igniting in me the value that being a regular human being and even bringing humor to a patient's experience, can be healing in and of itself. I chose the University of Pennsylvania after medical school because of their excellent, parallel training in primary medical/biological approaches and psychotherapeutic training. I have been practicing adult psychiatry for 15 years.

My first goal in meeting a new patient is to establish a comfortable and safe rapport with each other. That rapport becomes the basis of mutual trust and the container for everything a person might feel vulnerable in sharing about their mental health journey. I work to create a timeline for what someone has been through, including taking a thorough psychiatric, medical, and psychosocial history that can inform a comprehensive impression.

My patient can expect to feel heard and collaborated-with as I develop my diagnostic impression and a treatment plan. I strongly believe that a collaborative approach is vital to the success and prognosis of any treatment interventions made. It is important to me that my patients leave an encounter with me feeling understood, comfortable, and informed about whatever treatment is decided upon. It is my hope that they will feel more at ease at the end than the beginning of the visit.