Richa Bhatia, M.D. Inc.
Board Certified Adult, Child, Adolescent Psychiatry
Dr Bhatia is a Psychiatrist, Author, & Speaker. She has been quoted in:
PBS Newshour (WUCF-TV) Shondaland
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CBS News Bay area AARP Deseret News
Prevention magazine Architectural Digest
Welcome
Richa Bhatia MD Inc. is a patient-centered psychiatric outpatient practice, providing comprehensive psychiatric evaluation, empathic individual psychotherapy, and/or careful medication management where needed, to adults and children suffering from anxiety and stress-related conditions in the San-Francisco bay area.
Psychotherapy provided by our practice is not just for symptom relief, but also, for understanding yourself better, gaining greater insight, and understanding the root causes of your symptoms.
Our practice style is personalized, striving to provide high quality care based on a whole person, diligent, empathic approach. Given our services are provided by a physician (psychiatrist), in addition to exploring psychological themes, treatment may also involve understanding biological factors such as the potential effect of medications and/or medical conditions on your mental health where applicable. Lifestyle factors are also explored as they relate to mental health. Not everyone with anxiety needs medications; if we collaboratively decide together with you that medications are needed, our medication approach is careful and nuanced, aiming for the lowest effective doses.
The types of psychotherapy modalities utilized include psychodynamic psychotherapy (insight-oriented), along with elements of mindfulness based interventions, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and acceptance and commitment therapy. Medication management, where needed, is nuanced, with close monitoring, using shared decision-making. Our practice focus is providing outpatient individual psychotherapy and/or medication management to individuals suffering from Anxiety, OCD, maladaptive perfectionism, and/or adjustment difficulties in response to life stressors.
We look forward to seeing you.
Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety
Social Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Feeling overwhelmed
Excessive worry
Life Transitions
Phase of life challenges
Career transitions
Relationship issues
Adjustment Reactions to Life Events
Low Self-Worth​
Perfectionism
Excessive self-criticism
Low self-esteem
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
What this Practice Does Not Offer
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-Benzodiazepine prescription management: We do not take over the prescribing of benzodiazepine prescriptions that may have been started or recommended by other healthcare professionals
-Disability Evaluation
-Fitness for Duty Evaluation
-Forensic Evaluations, Child custody evaluation
-Urgent care services
If you or a loved one are experiencing thoughts of hurting self or others, please call 911, 988, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Request Consultation
We offer telehealth as well as in-person visits.
To request a consultation, you may use the link below which will take you to the practice calendar. Please note that booking an appointment via this calender does not confirm the appointment, but, will send you an initial contact form which will help us determine if we might be a good fit for your needs.
For other appointment times not listed in above calendar, please call our office at 510-588-1135.
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In-Person:
For in-person appointments, please use the same calendar as above.
Office location: 425 El Pintado Rd Ste 120, Danville CA 94526
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Closed on Major Holidays
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Portal: We aim to respond within 2 business days
Email: To protect patient privacy, we do not use email with current or prospective patients
​​In the case of an emergency, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room
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Awards and Honors
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Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
Jerilyn Ross Clinician Advocate Award,
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Marian Butterfield
Award
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About Our Psychiatrist:
Dr Richa Bhatia, M.D. is dual Board Certified in General and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, with more than 15 years of experience in the field of psychiatry, caring for patients suffering from various psychiatric conditions and serving in Medical Director roles at leading academic medical centers such as Dartmouth, as well as in community settings. She is the President-Elect of the Association of Women Psychiatrists, an author and an invited speaker at various, leading hospitals and organizations. Dr Bhatia was fortunate to train under some of the world's leading experts in Adult and Child psychotherapy and Psychiatry. She has several publications in psychiatry journals. Dr Bhatia has experience treating a wide array of psychiatric conditions in various settings. Adult and child individual psychotherapy are among her main areas of interest.
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Quoted in:
CNBC, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, WUCF-TV (PBS Newshour), AARP, Prevention magazine, Deseret News. Her work has been cited in Time magazine, Scientific American, Forbes, The Atlantic. ​​For articles authored by Dr Bhatia, see 'Publications' via the Menu bar above.
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Approach
Dr Bhatia's approach is empathic, utilizing shared decision making, and takes into account the unique biological, psychosocial, social and lifestyle factors contributing to an individual's mental health condition. She aims to understand the root causes, and understand the individual as a whole person, rather than just symptom management. She strives to work diligently with each individual, spending adequate time to understand their unique clinical situation, challenges, struggles, and goals. Her fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry gave her a valuable developmental perspective which she utilizes to thoroughly understand an individual's developmental journey, psychological strengths and areas of growth. Her approach involves honoring and cultivating strengths and facilitating optimal emotional well-being. ​​
Dr Bhatia's psychotherapy work is informed by various evidence-based modalities such as psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based interventions, dialectical behavioral therapy, and other evidence-based psychotherapies. Her psychotherapy approach is aimed to enhancing insight and identifying any underlying patterns or conflicts which may be contributing to your current emotional state.
For children, she offers child-centered play therapy and other modalities of psychotherapy.
If you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed and unsure whether psychotherapy or medications are the best next steps for you, she would be happy to provide a consultation. If it seems like a good fit to you, she will offer you follow up for individual psychotherapy (which is generally weekly)
If symptoms are significantly impacting your day to day functioning and you wish to consider and explore medication options, Dr Bhatia would take the time to answer questions in detail and review various medication options, when they are indicated, along with the risks, benefits, and side effects, and follow up closely if you decide to start a medication. ​​​​​
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What Patients Say
"My anxiety is much lower. I don't have the same reactions I used to have to stressful situations. My mood is even. I wish I had started treatment sooner"
"You have been so
compassionate and
encouraging"
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​​I don't know what I would do without treatment. It's been life-saving. It's been exceedingly good on many levels. It has helped me understand why..
"I wish all the people in the field can follow in Dr Bhatia's footsteps. She has helped me a lot. Being present has been way more helpful than any medication. The empathy- it's been a gift"
"Dear Dr Bhatia,
Thank you for all your help over the past couple of years. My life has changed for the better because of you. Words feel so inadequate, but, thank you again and again."
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"Dr Bhatia saved my life.
It was easy to talk with her. She is very kind. I could trust her easily."
"From the bottom of my heart, I can't thank you
enough for helping me through my crisis."
"Fortunate to have a psychiatrist who listens and understands the logic of why I'm feeling a certain way".
"I feel understood.
Dr Bhatia is so compassionateShe always knew the right things to say".
"Dear Dr Bhatia,
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I truly appreciate all of our talks.
......has also mentioned how much she has enjoyed and found helpful her talks with you. Thank you for all you do and for helping."
"Thank you for all of your help and support.
You motivated me to keep going when I felt like giving up.
Thank you for always listening to me."