At Union Square Practice, our psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners will help diagnose, treat and manage mental, emotional, and behavior disorders.

Dr. Michael Dulchin, USP’s co-founder, and Dr. Jessica Stack, child and teen specialist, are board-certified psychiatrists with expertise and experience in medication management and therapy.

Read on to learn more about our psychiatrists:

• Psychiatrist is a medical doctor
• Completed four years of medical school training
• Specialized in the field of psychiatry (post medical school)
• Can prescribe medication
• Can conduct therapy

In addition to psychiatrists, our team of prescribing practitioners is made of up of the following psychiatric nurse practitioners:

• Matt Buttigieg, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Michelle Freedland, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Sara Frischer, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Flo Leighton, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Joe DePaola, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Sophia Pavlatos, MS, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Veda Tyson, MSW, NPP, APRN
• Nicole Cerussi, NP-P, PMHNP-BC
• Joseph Marlin, MD, PHD

Read on to learn more about our psychiatric nurse practitioners:

• Nurse practitioners are licensed registered professional nurses and licensed nurse practitioners of psychiatry
• Completed four years of baccalaureate education
• Completed Master’s degree as a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner
• Completed clinical training in psychiatry
• National ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Certificate) Exam
• Specialty training in psychiatric assessment, management, and treatment of children, adolescents, adults, and older adults
• Can prescribe medication
• Can conduct therapy

Our psychiatry team will work with your current therapist, whether they are an outside provider or a USP clinician.

Some common conditions our psychiatrists treat are:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Panic disorders
• Attention Deficit Disorder

For medication management, we begin with a comprehensive evaluation by either a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner. We have expertise and experience in prescribing the full range of psychiatric medications.

We know that taking a medication is a very personal choice. While we offer recommendations, our style is to collaborate with patients to ensure they are well-informed on effects and side-effects. Whatever you decide, we’re here to work with you through the process.

Medication Management Process:

• Comprehensive evaluation to understand symptoms
• Learn if symptom(s) should be treated individually or part of a larger diagnosis
• Recommend appropriate medications
• Set follow-up visits to monitor medication
  • In the beginning, follow-ups occur weekly or every other week
  • Later, visits need to occur once every 3 months
• Recommend therapy
  • Medication with therapy is often more effective than just medication on its own

Our psychiatry team provides both medication management and talk therapy. If you are taking a medication as part of your treatment and also participating in therapy, your therapist may be your prescribing clinician or another therapist at our practice depending on the issue you are working on, specialization, and availability.