Largest Managed Care Psychiatric Practice in North Bay Celebrates Success Treating Clinical Depression During Pandemic

Renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anish Shah, MD of Siyan Clinical, the North Bay's largest outpatient psychiatric treatment center, offers a successful and cost-effective modality for treatment of clinical depression, particularly in individuals whose depression has been treatment-resistant. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in an area of the brain found to be underactive in people with depression. Dr. Shah reports, "We have treated over 180 patients. Our response rate is 80%, remission rate is 35% - exceptional results. Even during the pandemic people have experienced profound change." TMS stimulates an area of the brain to improve symptoms of depression. TMS is well-tolerated, drug-free, without negative side-effects, and generally fully covered by insurance. 

The pandemic has shown us how tenuous the grip on our nation's mental health has become and left many previously untreated people with depression scrambling for a solution to this worsening crisis. Pre-pandemic, the National Institute of Health (NIH) estimated that 16.2 million American adults have experienced a major depressive episode, with 1 in 10 people reporting depressive episodes from January-June of 2019. During the pandemic, that number jumped to 4 in 10. For those who had already struggled with clinical depression, the effects of the pandemic have made management even more challenging, with serious and even life-threatening health consequences. This highly promising therapy is needed now more than ever. The FDA approved TMS for the treatment of resistant depression in 2009 (Valente & Fisher, 2012). TMS is found to have a significant elevation of the patient's mood and decrease the frequency and duration of depressive symptoms. Because it is not a depression drug TMS Therapy does not have the same side effects that are associated with traditional antidepressant medications. To qualify as a candidate for the course of 36 30-minute sessions, a patient must have tried more than two antidepressants without success.

Siyan Clinical, established by Dr. Shah in 2012, is one of the most prominent outpatient mental health offices north of San Francisco serving Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, and Marin Counties. Siyan Clinical values its staff and their care provided to the community as a mental health office. Dr. Shah explains, "Our values aren't just words on a page - we learn to live them every day, measure our success, and continuously evolve. We work together as a team to achieve the organization's mission and vision." The clinic has 14 clinicians (psychiatrists, therapists, and four mid-level providers) and cares for more than 5,500 registered patients. The most substantial behavioral health concern among the patient population is generalized anxiety disorder. 

About Dr. Shah & Supporting Covid-19 Efforts

The devastating COVID-19 outbreak in India has claimed thousands of lives and has brought attention to the severe shortages of essential medical supplies in the region. During this time, Dr. Shah has taken a personal role in this crisis close to his heart and has tirelessly worked from his offices in California to deliver aid and support to impacted patients, colleagues, and partners in India. Dr. Shah has volunteered himself to provide treatment consultations to several COVID-19 patients in India. He consults on the Samvedana Charitable Trust's initiative, which involves providing free meals to families impacted by COVID-19, distributing Oxygen, COVID home monitoring tools and increasing vaccine awareness. 

Dr. Shah has practiced psychiatry in Northern California for over 19 years, gaining experience in several behavioral health settings, including Lake County Mental Health, Kaiser Permanente, and Sonoma County Mental Health. He served as the Medical Director of Napa State Hospital and managed a $4 million medical services budget, leading a staff of 220 medical professionals. 

Dr. Shah collaborates with leading experts in psychiatric treatment, has published numerous papers and articles on bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, clinical depression, and opiate dependence treatment, chronic pain and overcoming wildfire trauma. He is active in the community as a behavioral health expert, as well as conducting continuing education programs in all these areas as well. Dr. Shah has extensive experience as a researcher leading clinical trials investigating therapeutic modalities for treating patients with major depressive episodes associated with bipolar I or bipolar II disorder.