Cardiologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Chiropractor providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Dentist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Dermatologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Family Physician providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
OB-GYN providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Ophthalmologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Orthopedic Surgeon providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Pediatrician providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Physical Therapist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Podiatrist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Psychiatrist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Jennifer Hichar is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner trained to treat mental health disorders in patients of all ages. Her clinical training at Yale School of Nursing took place in both inpatient and outpatient settings with pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. Jennifer is dedicated to providing patient-centered, evidence-based care within a holistic biopsychosocial approach to treatment.
Dr. Navarro, is an associate UCLA professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is double board certified in treating children and teens, as well as adult psychiatry. Dr. Navarro is an expert on ADHD, depression and anxiety. He is passionate about treating the whole person in an integrative and preventative way.
Dr. Navarro completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Psychology at UCLA. He worked as a public health educator in the South Bay serving over 800 middle school children for two years prior to pursuing medical training. He received his medical degree from UC Irvine College of Medicine and graduated with Honors in Service as an inductee into the Gold Humanistic Honor Society. Dr. Navarro did his internship, residency and child/adolescent fellowship at UCLA becoming Chief Fellow his final year of training.
Dr. Navarro is an international and national lecturer on child and adolescent mental health.
Esther Kim, MD, is a board-eligible adult psychiatrist practicing at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California. She has a diverse background in both music and psychiatry.
Dr. Kim earned her BA in Music with a minor in Biology and Chemistry. She continued on to earn her MD from Wake Forest School of Medicine, where she conducted pivotal research on depression and anxiety management in patients with epilepsy, studying innovative mental health care models and screening tools for epilepsy patients. In addition, she also founded the Wake Forest Musical Outreach Program, organizing musical events and concerts for individuals in the community.
Dr. Kim completed her psychiatry residency at the UCLA-Resnick Neuropsychiatric Institute, where she also served as chief resident of the UCLA Consult-Liaison and Psychiatric Emergency Room Services. She is highly active and passionate about the intersection of music and psychiatry, participating in the Mindful Music series at UCLA and in musical storytelling research projects that highlight resilience and help reduce the stigma of mental illness.
Dr. Kim specializes in the treatment of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders and has interests in women's mental health and reproductive psychiatry as well. She adopts an integrative approach to care, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness, exercise, diet, and lifestyle. In addition to her expertise in psychopharmacology, Dr. Kim is well-versed in several evidence-based psychotherapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. She also has experience in neuromodulation, specifically transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Outside of her professional life, and as a classically trained violinist, Dr. Kim regularly enjoys playing and performing music with friends. Additionally, she is an avid yogi, enjoys cooking and baking, and is a dedicated dog mom, raising her spunky Pomeranian, Schumann (named after the composer Robert Schumann).
Kristina Eipl, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Eipl graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Johns Hopkins University with a degree in neuroscience. After college, she joined AmeriCorps and spent a year working at a free clinic in Rhode Island. She was also involved in research on Alzheimer’s Disease at Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago.
Dr. Eipl later attended medical school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her interest in neuroscience, combined with a passion for the humanistic side of medicine, led her to pursue a psychiatry residency at NYU. There, she gained experience working with a widely diverse patient population across multiple locations, including Bellevue Hospital, NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU Student Health Center, and the Manhattan VA Hospital.
Dr. Eipl takes a collaborative and compassionate approach to both medication management and psychotherapy. She enjoys utilizing various types of psychotherapy to help patients improve their quality of life. She has experience with psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy. She also practices thoughtful medication management when indicated. She enjoys working with students and young adults with anxiety and mood disorders and has advanced training in reproductive psychiatry.
Elizabeth Casalegno, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Casalegno graduated magna cum laude from the University of California, San Diego, with a degree in biochemistry and cell biology. While at UCSD, she also studied abroad in the Bordeaux region of France, immersing herself in French culture and language. Later, she pursued her medical studies at the University of California, Davis. She ran a student-run clinic for low-income and minority patients and became an Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society member.
Her interest in human behavior led her to complete her psychiatry residency training at UCLA, where she served as the chief resident of the whole training program.
Dr. Casalegno specializes in treating various disorders with a careful selection of psychotropic medications in combination with individual psychotherapy and other interventional treatments such as TMS. She is also interested in reproductive psychiatry, psychotic disorders, and applying psychodynamically-informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to treat mood and anxiety disorders, including OCD, aggressively.
Dr. Casalegno is a former member of the Volunteer Clinical Faculty at UCLA, where she was an attending physician in the Psychosis Clinic and the Resident Psychotherapy Clinic. She is also a UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association (PCFA) board member.
Rahael Gupta, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist and board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Gupta earned her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and her MS in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She went on to earn her MD from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, where she was awarded the Raymond W. Waggoner Award for distinguished performance in psychiatry.
Dr. Gupta completed adult psychiatry residency training and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCLA, serving as Program Chief Fellow and pursuing the Parent and Infant Mental Health Area of Distinction. During her fellowship, she became a certified facilitator of the Circle of Security International Early Intervention Program for Parents and Children (an attachment-based, reflective parenting program), facilitating groups for new mothers at UCLA’s Perinatal Intensive Outpatient Program. She received the 2024 UCLA Gertrude Rogers Greenblatt Award in Child Psychiatry, given to one fellow annually noted for their “deeply humane commitment to children and families requiring psychiatric care.”
Dr. Gupta has specialized training in psychopharmacology and psychotherapy for anxiety disorders, mood disorders, ADHD, eating disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. She has experience with a wide variety of therapeutic techniques, including cognitive behavioral therapy, family-focused therapy, exposure and response prevention, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and executive function coaching. She is committed to a holistic and trauma-informed approach to care.
Maya Smolarek, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Smolarek graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley with a degree in Religious Studies. Although she pursued medical training to enter palliative care, she could not escape the allure of focusing on internal experience, meaning, and personal narrative in the specialty of Psychiatry.
Dr. Smolarek graduated from UCLA medical school with a leadership award and induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for her merits in compassionate care. During Psychiatry Residency at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she and a colleague co-founded the Women in Psychiatry group in order to further the education of trainees on issues related to women. She developed curricula for medical students and residents on sexual harassment during training and delivered talks on the subject at two national conventions. She continues her interest in teaching and mentorship as a Volunteer Clinical Faculty member at UCLA within the Interpersonal Therapy Clinic.
Dr. Smolarek is experienced in treating the gamut of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. She has specialty training in reproductive psychiatry (pertaining to menstrual, menopausal, and peripartum issues), geriatric psychiatry, PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and bipolar disorder. She brings a background study of mysticism and Buddhism to her psychodynamic psychotherapy. Her holistic approach to care also includes an interest in affect-oriented and somatic therapy.
I am dual board certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. I see clients from age 12 and up. People come to treatment for all sorts of reasons — anxiety, depression, trauma, difficulty functioning at work or school, family conflict, challenges in relationships, low self-esteem, or simply a desire to learn more about themselves. As a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist with expertise in both medication management and psychotherapy, I can help patients develop a treatment plan that meets their needs. My style is guided by warmth and flexibility, with the goals of helping patients build insight and reduce symptoms.
I create individualized treatment plans, assessing patients' goals, unique life experiences, and biological risk factors. While medication is useful in some cases, I am dedicated to helping my patients achieve lasting change through therapy as well.
Thomas Dixon, M.D., Ph.D. is a psychiatrist graduated from the UCSD Psychiatry Residency, Research Track. He has an interest in neuromodulation and has been involved in TMS clinical trials as well as basic research in ketamine effects on neurons. He completed the Tufts Medical Scientist Training Program where he received his medical doctorate as well as a Ph.D. in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology. His Ph.D. involved recreating the human neuromuscular junction with multiple cell types in 3D bio-fabricated structures in the lab. Beyond science and medicine, he is passionate about the outdoors, cinema, Boston sports teams, and environmental policy.
Dr. Marta is a licensed psychiatrist (A 124676) & one of the pioneering providers of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in California. He completed undergraduate studies at UC Santa Cruz in molecular, cellular & developmental biology and earned an MD from the Chicago Medical School. He was a Junior Specialist in a Howard Hughes Medical Institute laboratory studying neurogenetics. He completed his residency at the UCLA San Fernando Valley Veteran Association Psychiatry Training Program.
While at UCLA, he participated in cutting-edge research related to mood, anxiety, substance use, & post-traumatic stress disorder. He has published his research & presented at conferences on the safety and efficacy of psychedelics in the context of both healing intent & abuse populations. He has served as the primary clinical investigator for the Los Angeles site of the phase II & III clinical trials of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for PTSD since 2017.
I provide a safe environment coupled with active listening to establish a trusting rapport with my clients. I use evidence based practice to treat the identified diagnosis and meet my client's specific needs. I attended school at California State University Long Beach. I have been practicing as a nurse practitioner, in several settings, for 5 years. I have 30 years of clinical experience and was first trained in healthcare at LAC/USC level 1 trauma center allowing me to develop efficient assessment skills, effective critical thinking and a compassionate bedside manor. I encourage patients and families to participate in their treatment plan.
