Cardiologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Chiropractor providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Dentist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Dermatologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Family Physician providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
OB-GYN providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Ophthalmologist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Orthopedic Surgeon providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Pediatrician providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Physical Therapist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Podiatrist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Psychiatrist providers include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. They often maintain long-term relationships with you and advise and treat you on a range of health related issues.
Rahael Gupta, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist and board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Dr. Gupta earned her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University and her MS in Narrative Medicine from Columbia University. She went on to earn her MD from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, where she was awarded the Raymond W. Waggoner Award for distinguished performance in psychiatry.
Dr. Gupta completed adult psychiatry residency training and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCLA, serving as Program Chief Fellow and pursuing the Parent and Infant Mental Health Area of Distinction. During her fellowship, she became a certified facilitator of the Circle of Security International Early Intervention Program for Parents and Children (an attachment-based, reflective parenting program), facilitating groups for new mothers at UCLA’s Perinatal Intensive Outpatient Program. She received the 2024 UCLA Gertrude Rogers Greenblatt Award in Child Psychiatry, given to one fellow annually noted for their “deeply humane commitment to children and families requiring psychiatric care.”
Dr. Gupta has specialized training in psychopharmacology and psychotherapy for anxiety disorders, mood disorders, ADHD, eating disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. She has experience with a wide variety of therapeutic techniques, including cognitive behavioral therapy, family-focused therapy, exposure and response prevention, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and executive function coaching. She is committed to a holistic and trauma-informed approach to care.
Maya Smolarek, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena and Oakland, California.
Dr. Smolarek graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley with a degree in Religious Studies. Although she pursued medical training to enter end-of-life care, she could not escape the allure of focusing on internal experience, meaning, and personal narrative in the specialty of Psychiatry.
Dr. Smolarek graduated from UCLA medical school with a leadership award and induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society for her merits in compassionate care. During Psychiatry Residency at UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she and a colleague co-founded the Women in Psychiatry group to further the education of trainees on issues related to women. She developed curricula for medical students and residents on sexual harassment during training and delivered talks on the subject at two national conventions. She served as Volunteer Clinical Faculty member at UCLA , teaching in the Interpersonal Therapy Clinic.
Dr. Smolarek is experienced in treating the gamut of mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. She has specialty training in reproductive psychiatry (pertaining to menstrual, menopausal, and peripartum issues), geriatric psychiatry, PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, and bipolar disorder. She brings a background study of mysticism and Buddhism to her psychodynamic psychotherapy. Her holistic approach to care also includes an interest in affect-oriented and somatic therapy. LGBTQ+ affirming.
Joan Striebel, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Pasadena, California.
Before deciding to pursue medicine, Dr. Striebel taught in elementary schools, and her love of teaching has been a theme throughout her career. She attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. After completing her residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Addiction Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, she spent ten years working in forensic settings, caring for patients with serious mental illness, providing psychopharmacology consultations, and teaching psychiatry residents and fellows.
Dr. Striebel is trained in EMDR and is interested in treating trauma. She also has specialized expertise in treating psychosis, implementing clozapine, and in treating substance use disorders, particularly opioid use disorder. She completed a visiting fellowship in ECT, has served as an expert witness on ECT, and has written several book chapters related to mental illness and addiction. She is certified as an obesity medicine physician by the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
She is a voluntary Clinical Assistant Professor and a teaching attending at the UCLA Psychosis Clinic. The UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences honored her with the award for Outstanding Volunteer Clinical Faculty Teaching 2024-2025.
Jennifer Hichar is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner trained to treat mental health disorders in patients of all ages. Her clinical training at Yale School of Nursing took place in both inpatient and outpatient settings with pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. Jennifer is dedicated to providing patient-centered, evidence-based care within a holistic biopsychosocial approach to treatment.
Dr. Navarro, is an associate UCLA professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is double board certified in treating children and teens, as well as adult psychiatry. Dr. Navarro is an expert on ADHD, depression and anxiety. He is passionate about treating the whole person in an integrative and preventative way.
Dr. Navarro completed his undergraduate degree in Biological Psychology at UCLA. He worked as a public health educator in the South Bay serving over 800 middle school children for two years prior to pursuing medical training. He received his medical degree from UC Irvine College of Medicine and graduated with Honors in Service as an inductee into the Gold Humanistic Honor Society. Dr. Navarro did his internship, residency and child/adolescent fellowship at UCLA becoming Chief Fellow his final year of training.
Dr. Navarro is an international and national lecturer on child and adolescent mental health.
I provide a safe environment coupled with active listening to establish a trusting rapport with my clients. I use evidence based practice to treat the identified diagnosis and meet my client's specific needs. I attended school at California State University Long Beach. I have been practicing as a nurse practitioner, in several settings, for 5 years. I have 30 years of clinical experience and was first trained in healthcare at LAC/USC level 1 trauma center allowing me to develop efficient assessment skills, effective critical thinking and a compassionate bedside manor. I encourage patients and families to participate in their treatment plan.
Kara Tabor-Furmark, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist and board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Encino, California.
Dr. Tabor-Furmark graduated with honors from Harvard University, dual majoring in cognitive neuroscience and Spanish language. She attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine before pursuing her adult psychiatry residency and child and adolescent fellowship at UCLA.
As part of her training, Dr. Tabor-Furmark spent time in specialty clinics focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, bipolar spectrum disorders, and anxiety/OCD/tic disorder, among others. While in fellowship, she worked at a non-profit organization offering mental health services to foster youth and families. She received the UCLA Gertrude Rogers Greenblatt Award in Child Psychiatry, given to one fellow annually noted for their “deeply humane commitment to children and families requiring psychiatric care.” She also completed the Max Gray Mood Disorders Fellowship at UCLA and worked as an associate physician at the UCLA Child and Adolescent Mood Disorders Clinic for several years.
Dr. Tabor-Furmark strongly believes in a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to patient care and is excited to be part of the team at Adelpha. After growing up in Hawaii, she could not be happier to have escaped the East Coast cold for sunny Los Angeles. She enjoys spending her free time with friends and family, playing with her dogs, traveling, yoga, running, and spending as much time in the ocean as possible.
Karen Mendez, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist and board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Encino, California.
Dr. Mendez graduated from UCLA with a degree in Psychobiology. She spent four years working at the UCLA Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization Program, providing evaluations, assessments, and multidisciplinary therapy for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. She empowered children with cognitive, academic, social, and self-care skills through one-on-one discrete trial training, direct instruction, response pivotal training, and applied behavioral analysis.
Dr. Mendez obtained her medical degree at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and stayed at UCLA to complete a psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, serving as the Program Chief Fellow. During her fellowship, she completed the national curriculum in reproductive psychiatry and became a certified facilitator of the Circle of Security International Early Intervention Program for Parents and Children (an attachment-based, reflective parenting program).
Dr. Mendez has specialized training in mood disorders, reproductive psychiatry, anxiety disorders, ADHD, trauma-related disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders. With a holistic approach, she utilizes evidence-based psychopharmacology and various psychotherapy modalities, including internal family system (IFS), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), structural family therapy, and psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Dr. Mendez is a native of Lima, Peru, and fluent in Spanish.
Sungeun Melanie Lee, MD, PhD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Encino, California.
Dr. Lee graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Piano. After college, she pursued her medical training and research training at USC Keck School of Medicine and Caltech’s joint MD/PhD program. She completed her Psychiatry Residency at UCLA-Resnick Neuropsychiatric Institute. During her residency, Dr. Lee served as a Research Chief and went on to spend a year of research fellowship at UCLA in pursuit of studying the relationship between the gut microbiota and various neuropsychiatric conditions of inflammatory nature.
Dr. Lee takes a holistic and personalized approach to treating psychiatric illnesses utilizing a blend of medication management, psychotherapy and TMS. She is experienced in treating a wide range of psychiatric illnesses including mood disorders, psychotic disorders, ADHD, anxiety disorders, trauma-related disorders, OCD, sleep-related disorders and psychosomatic disorders. Dr. Lee employs various psychotherapeutic modalities to meet the unique needs of each patient including Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-based Therapy (MBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Victoria Huang, MD, is a board-certified adult psychiatrist at Adelpha Psychiatric Group in Encino, California.
Dr. Huang graduated with honors from Northwestern University with a degree in Cognitive Science. She then attended medical school at the University of California, Irvine, before pursuing her residency training at UCLA. She was the chief resident of UCLA’s Interpersonal Psychotherapy Clinic and the West Los Angeles VA’s Schizophrenia Inpatient Treatment Unit.
Dr. Huang has expertise working with patients with various mood, thought, and anxiety disorders. However, she specializes in reproductive psychiatric treatments and the treatment of PTSD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Dr. Huang is well-versed in several evidence-based psychotherapies (e.g., Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Prolonged Exposure), medication management, and neuromodulation, specifically transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
Dr. Huang is an active member of the Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association at UCLA providing lectures and professional mentorship to psychiatry residents. She previously volunteered in the UCLA Interpersonal Psycho-therapy Clinic providing direct clinical supervision for 10 years.
