I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and went to college at Amherst College in Massachusetts. I attended the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, graduating in 1985, and then had a residency in psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Since then I have worked in private practice. I see patients in my offices and in a number of geriatric long-term care facilities (nursing homes). I am on several Advisory Panels for pharmaceutical companies and have served as a spokesman for the National Institute of Mental Health.

Prior to attending medical school I worked in health-care administration and management consulting. I chose medicine because of the opportunity to serve others.

During medical school I thought of becoming a neurologist or family practitioner, but decided to go into psychiatry because I came to appreciate that emotional pain and mental dysfunction can be more debilitating and more difficult to overcome or adjust to than many physical ailments.

I am a member of the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology, the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation, the Illinois Psychiatric Society, and the American Psychiatric Association. I am board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.