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Mr. Takang is a Board Certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. He is passionate about providing quality, compassionate and comprehensive mental health services to children, adolescents adults, and the geriatric population. He sees patients in the following areas but not limited to ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar, Insomnia, and Schizophrenia. Mr. Takang believes in holistic medicine, which is not limited to mind/body/spiritual connection. His style of practice could be described as traditional or alternative. He possesses a strong and powerful clinical background, which enables him to build rapport with his patients and families. Added to this, he has demonstrated the ability to practice in his area of specialty with evidence-based guidelines including clinical experience, personal observation, and interaction with patients. He has always been passionate about helping people and he enjoys his profession.

Kemerick Takang, PMHNP-BC, RN-BC, PHN, is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Kemerick received her Bachelor of Science degree in 2016 and Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in Psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with inpatient and outpatient experience. Kemerick Takang utilizes a holistic approach, including spiritual care. She is empathetic and focuses on a patient-centered approach, uniquely assessing and tailoring an individualized care plan, addressing their physical, mental, and emotional needs. She is a mental health advocate, an attentive listener, compassionate and caring, and believes in treating people with dignity and respect. She has demonstrated a track record of success as a clinician built on well-developed problem-solving, leadership, and communication abilities, a commitment to ongoing professional development, and a profound desire to help people.

Through active listening and thoughtful questions, I hope to make a difference in each of my patient's lives for the better. Breaking down the stigma of mental healthcare, providing an open-minded nonjudgmental physician-patient relationship, and helping each individual find ways to reach their own goals are passions of mine.

Ashraf Elmashat, MD, is a compassionate clinician, a certified neuropsychiatrist, and a distinguished brain scientist. He currently sees patients at Ocean View Neuropsychiatry in Orange county, California.

Dr. Elmashat completed his residency in adult psychiatry and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Southern California. He is currently certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.

Immediately after completing his training, Dr. Elmashat was recruited to serve as a faculty member at the University of California San Diego’s School of Medicine, where he has been an associate professor in the psychiatry department for over 15 years. During his time at UCSD, he’s served as the director of the La Jolla multi-specialty programs, founded and directed the telepsychiatry program and executive mental health program, and regularly teaches medical students and residents.

Dr. Elmashat has always maintained a passionate interest in innovative and non-invasive treatments. In 2017, he decided to finally pursue that passion by opening up a clinical practice geared towards developing and utilizing those treatments. He greatly enjoys working with his patients at Ocean View Neuropsychiatry, and looks forward to continuing to help all of them discover a brighter, better future.

Mohamed Yaser Elatrozy, MD, is a caring adult and child psychiatrist with over a decade of experience and a double board-certification, serving patients at Ocean View Neuropsychiatry in Orange county, California

Dr. Elatrozy earned his medical degree from the University of Alexandria’s Faculty of Medicine in Alexandria Egypt, where he also completed an internship. He relocated to the United States to complete his residency in adult psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Elatrozy went on further to complete a subspecialty fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is currently certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.

Dr. Elatrozy’s skills as a clinical practitioner are bolstered by the time he’s spent working in other areas of psychiatry. He’s served as an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego and has worked with Orange County Behavioral Health Services. He’s also participated in numerous clinical research studies on schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, and tardive dyskinesia, and drug studies of Clozaril® and Zyprexa™.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Elatrozy has distinguished himself as a trusted source for the treatment of emotional, behavioral, and relationship difficulties in children, adolescents, adults, and families. He offers a variety of services, including diagnostic evaluations, consultations, and medication treatment (psychopharmacology), and works in a wide range of settings, such as inpatient care, outpatient care, and forensic psychiatry. Dr. Elatrozy is passionate about helping children and their families discover their full potential by overcoming their emotional and behavioral challenges.

Hadi Estakhri, MD — or Dr. E as his patients know him — is a double board-certified, Harvard-trained psychiatrist practicing at Allied Psychiatry and Mental Health in Newport Beach, California.

With more than two decades of professional experience, Dr. E has vast proficiency in the mental health field. At Allied Psychiatry in Newport Beach, California, his expertise is in treating a wide range of psychiatric and addictive disorders in both adult and adolescents.

 

Dr. E completed his medical education at the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and his first residency in psychiatry at Tehran Institute of Psychiatry. He was an attending psychiatrist in Iran for several years before relocating to the United States for his Post-Doc fellowship at Boston University Department of Biomedical Engineering. During his fellowship, he studied the role of genetic and environmental factors in mood disorders, schizophrenia, and addiction.

Dr. E then completed his second psychiatry residency at Harvard Medical School/Boston VA Healthcare system followed by his Addiction Psychiatry subspecialty training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York. During his residency, he was trained at several well-regarded institutions including Mclean Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he received specialized education in psychopharmacology for depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder, as well as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for treatment-resistant depression. With his extensive experience at VA Boston hospitals, he became an expert in treating PTSD. Furthermore, he received numerous academic awards throughout his residency training.

Dr. E holds a holistic view of human health and emphasizes collaboration with a patient's treatment team, including their therapist, primary care physician, and other involved specialists. He believes this is paramount to optimizing the quality of healthcare and, in turn, a better treatment outcome. 

Dr. E is one of only a few psychiatrists practicing in Orange County and Los Angele area, CA who is double board-certified in both General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. 

 

Alejandra Suzuki, MD, FAPA, is a double board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and TMS specialist at Americas TMS Center in Irvine, California. Dr. Suzuki comes from Japanese lineage but was born and grew up in Argentina, so she had a unique multi-cultural upbringing. Not only can she speak fluent English, Spanish, and Japanese, as a result, as well as French, but her background gives her invaluable insight and empathy for patients of many ethnicities.

Dr. Suzuki graduated from medical school at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and took up a residency in ophthalmology, finding a particular interest in neuro-ophthalmology that took her to Japan to pursue research in the field. On her return, Dr. Suzuki enrolled in the University of Miami to research neuro-otology, but having awakened her passion for the human mind as well as the brain, she took a different career path with a residency in psychiatry at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Dr. Suzuki followed this with fellowship training in child psychiatry at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and received advanced training in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dr. Suzuki uses TMS therapy as a safe treatment option for children as she’s seen the effects medication can have on young people. She is one of the first psychiatrists in the United States to specialize in using TMS for the developing brain.

Dr. Suzuki’s particular passion is the mind and brain development of children. When she was training for her fellowship at UCLA, she took a year-long elective in the autism clinic and pursued further research into autism at the Brain Research Institute at UCLA. She currently supervises and teaches child psychiatry fellows of the CHOC neuropsychiatric clinic at the University of California in Irvine. Dr. Suzuki is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Clinical TMS Society.

Dr. Suzuki’s approach to psychiatry is one of prevention wherever possible so that patients receive treatment at an early stage and thus recover more quickly, with fewer adverse effects, and she believes in collaborating with health care providers and integrating behavioral health and physical health. As defined by the IOM (Institute of Medicine), Dr. Suzuki provides care that is “respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions.”

Through active listening and thoughtful questions, I hope to make a difference in each of my patient's lives for the better. Breaking down the stigma of mental healthcare, providing an open-minded nonjudgmental physician-patient relationship, and helping each individual find ways to reach their own goals are passions of mine.

Joecoline Nwachukwu is a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) trained and experienced in treating patients with mental health conditions across the lifespan. He graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing with an emphasis in Psychiatry from Wilkes University Wilkes-Barre, PA. During the span of his career, he has served as a mentor, and he is enthusiastic about learning and teaching. He completed his training for psychiatry in the inpatient, outpatient, and telepsychiatry settings. He is passionate about what he does and invested in positive patient outcomes and overall wellbeing. He incorporates both alternative and pharmaceutical regimens in treatment of clients. He utilizes Genomind testing in clients who have a hard time finding the right medications. He works closely with the client to select appropriate evidence-based treatments for their conditions. He is dedicated to the treatment and success of his clients, and he listens to them.

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. 

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. 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.