David R Block, MD

Thank you for taking the time to visit my website and learn more about me, my practice philosophy, and services I offer. While I had always wanted to be a doctor, I was drawn to psychiatry because it is one of the few areas of medicine where you can spend significant time with another person who is struggling or suffering, work with them over a period of time, and bear witness as someone changes, grows, and recovers.

The foundation of my practice philosophy rests on my commitment to provide you with honest, compassionate, prudent, comprehensive, and effective care. It is important that when you are in treatment, you feel that you are respected, heard, and understood.

It is also important that you know that as a physician I must first 'do no harm, ' and so we will always talk about risks, benefits, and alternatives of possible treatments or solutions as we work together.If you decide you would like to begin treatment with me, we would first have a brief phone conversation to ascertain what issues are concerning you and how I might be able to assist you.

As a psychiatrist, I am trained and able to offer many different treatment modalities to those under my care. I have designed my practice to offer all patients the opportunity to engage in different psychotherapies, depending on what you are struggling with or would like to work on. For many mental health problems (especially those causing more severe impairment), a combination of psychotherapy and medication can offer the most benefit.

If you are already receiving counseling or psychotherapy from another individual or believe you might benefit from medication alone, I am pleased to offer medication evaluations and ongoing management.

Because there are significant risks and side effects of some psychiatric medications, medication will only be recommended following a thorough initial evaluation, when clinically indicated and appropriate, and after discussion of the benefits, risks, and alternatives.Depending on the medication, you may need baseline and ongoing lab tests to monitor the effects and possible side effects of medication.

I am pleased to offer psychiatric treatment to individuals whose primary issue may be substance abuse, or when substance abuse is part of other mental health problems. In my experience, I have found that most people struggling with misuse of drugs or alcohol are often also struggling with significant stressors, mood, or anxiety symptoms, and will use substances as a way to self-medicate.