Psychiatry
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Molly Anderson, NP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner |
Molly Anderson, NP, joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2012. She received her BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College and her MS in Nursing from Yale School of Nursing. Her current interests include strength training, cooking, and spending time in nature. Clinical interests: Mood and anxiety disorders, women's health, integrative approaches. |
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Meg Fransee, LCSW Pronouns: She/her Psychiatry Care Manager |
Meg Fransee is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who joined the Psychiatry team in 2024. She received her BS from the UW - Madison in Art and Psychology, and eventually her MSW from UC Berkeley in 2015. Meg worked for the Oakland Unified School District for ten years providing therapeutic and clinical case management support to students and families where she received training in trauma informed practices and restorative justice. She also worked as a therapist through the Well Clinic where she received specialized training in Internal Family Systems, Emotion Focused Therapy, and Narrative Therapy. Meg has specialized training in ADHD, anxiety, and depression management, and has provided therapy to individuals, groups and couples. |
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Teray Kunishi, PMHNP-BC Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner |
Teray first joined UHS in 2021 for a PMHNP internship. Prior to joining UHS, Teray was practicing as a licensed naturopathic doctor in Berkeley and becoming a parent. She received her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines and her naturopathic medicine education from Bastyr University in Seattle. Teray completed her Masters Entry Nursing Program at UCSF. She loves singing, going on hikes with family and friends, and growing orchids. Teray is currently reading sci-fi and fantasy with non-male leads in non-Western settings. She has a clinical interest in chronic pain and illness and how it intersects with mood and behavior, integrative mental health, psychedelic therapy, and mind/body medicine. Additional languages: Tagalog |
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Veronica Lopez, PMHNP-BC Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner |
Veronica Lopez joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2017. She received her BA in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and her MS in Nursing from UC San Francisco. She has a total of 20+ years working in various mental health settings and roles including outpatient community mental health, residential facilities, inpatient psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, and emergency room/hospital psychiatric consultation. She is currently serving as a board member for a community mental health organization and volunteers with asylum seekers. Clinical Interests: First generation college students, underrepresented populations, experiences with psychosis or unusual, alternative states, trauma, crisis work, and students accessing mental health support for the first time that are uncertain and curious about the role that psychiatry can have in their mental health journey. Additional Languages: Spanish |
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Jessica Lu, MD Psychiatrist |
Jessie Lu joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2023. She received her MD and MPH from UCLA and completed her psychiatry residency there as well. She has worked for several organizations: a private practice in Maryland specializing in women's mental health, American University student health, and an online mental health start-up. Jessie is board-certified in adult psychiatry. |
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Maria Cristina Mendoza, MD Psychiatrist |
Cristina Mendoza, MD, joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2014. She attended the University of Chicago where she received her BA in Psychology and MS in Teaching. She received her MD at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and completed her medical internship and residency in psychiatry at New York University. She continued in subspecialty training and research in neurocognitive disorders and geriatric psychiatry at the University of Regensburg Germany, where she co-authored papers in dementia studies. Her clinical interests include integrative psychiatry, neuropsychiatric, and neurocognitive disorders, phase of life and role transitions, cross- and multicultural issues in mental health, trauma recovery, Jungian and psychodynamic schools of psychotherapy, interpersonal and social rhythm therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Outside of work, she enjoys camping and hiking, the making and sharing of food and music with family and friends, the movies, a good book, and travel. Additional languages: German |
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Aurora Ortiz, NP Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner |
Aurora Ortiz (she/her), joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2016. She received her Masters of Science in Nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. In addition to her role at CAPS, Aurora provides psychiatric services to children and adolescents, and clinical training to nurse practitioner students at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland. Her clinical interests include Latinx mental health, immigrant mental health, transgender mental health, complex trauma, ADHD, and integrative mental health. A Bay Area native, Aurora also lived and worked in Italy for several years. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring the outdoors, dancing, reading, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Additional Languages: Spanish and Italian |
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Kristine Panik, MD Psychiatrist |
Kristi Panik, MD, joined the UHS Psychiatry team in 2008. She received her MD from the University of South Florida and her General Adult and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry training from the UC Irvine Medical Center. Kristi was the Psychiatry Director from 2017-2024. She loves hiking and listening to live music. Regular yoga and meditation are an important part of her life. Clinical interests: Holistic approaches for cultivating psychological wellness, incorporating mindfulness and meditation practices within the treatment framework, transitioning off psychiatric medications, and autism and other developmental issues. |
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Yanni Rho, MD, MPH Psychiatry Director |
Yanni Rho joined UHS in 2020 as a Psychiatric Support Clinician and is now the Associate Director for Student Mental Health in the Psychiatry Department. She received her BA from the University of Texas at Austin, her MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and her MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. She obtained her Adult and Child and Adolescent psychiatry training at Harvard Medical School. She is also a pediatric psychiatry consultant with Cal-MAP (California Child and Adolescent Mental Health Access Portal) through UCSF As a trainee, Dr. Rho co-edited a book and co-hosted a symposium on acculturation and its impact on Asian mental health. She has an interest in understanding intersectionality factors in health. She is also interested in exploring and implementing more prevention interventions and incorporating more integrative mind/body health care approaches. Dr. Rho is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology for both Adult and Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. |
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Sharon Smart, MD Psychiatrist |
Sharon Smart joined the UHS psychiatry team in 2016. She received her MD and PhD (Pharmacology) from the University of Washington in Seattle and completed her residency in Adult Psychiatry at UCSF in 2002. Before UHS, she worked with a team focusing on psychosis treatment and then for 12 years supporting victims of violent crime at the UCSF/SFGH Trauma Recovery Center. She enjoys reading, running, hiking, and time with her family and cats. Clinical interests: Trauma responses, mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis, interactions between sleep and mental health, understanding compassion-focused interventions and impact on wellbeing and resilience. |