Psychiatry at Point Loma Clinic
What is Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions. As physicians, psychiatrists are trained to evaluate the full biological and medical context of psychiatric illness — including the ways medical conditions, neurological factors, genetics, and medications interact with mood, cognition, and behavior. This foundation distinguishes psychiatry from other mental health disciplines and is particularly relevant in conditions requiring pharmacological intervention, those complicated by medical comorbidities, or those that have not responded to prior treatment.
Psychiatric Care at Point Loma Clinic
Dr. Alexander Papp is a board-certified psychiatrist with decades of clinical experience and specialized training in psychopharmacology, consultation-liaison psychiatry, and interventional treatments. His approach integrates traditional psychiatric medications, novel treatments including ketamine, and evidence-based guidance on nutraceuticals. Treatment recommendations are continuously updated to reflect current scientific literature and calibrated to each patient's clinical profile, history, and preferences.
Conditions treated include anxiety disorders, depression (including treatment-resistant and bipolar depression), bipolar disorder, PTSD, OCD, and ADHD. Patients with complex or treatment-resistant presentations are particularly well-suited to this practice. Dr. Papp has a particular research interest in antidepressant discontinuation — a clinically underrecognized problem — and has published peer-reviewed work on the subject, specifically on the symptom commonly known as brain zaps.
Dr. Alexander Papp
From Initial Evaluation to Ongoing Appointments
The initial psychiatric consultation with Dr. Papp is scheduled for 90 minutes. It encompasses a systematic review of presenting complaints, their history, and relevant medical and personal history. Laboratory tests — including pharmacogenetic testing — are ordered when clinically indicated. At the conclusion of the visit, diagnostic impressions are discussed, therapeutic goals are established, and referrals to outside specialists are made when appropriate. Ongoing appointments are scheduled at the frequency that clinical progress requires.
Pharmacogenetic testing adds a meaningful layer of precision to psychiatric treatment. By identifying genetic variants that influence medication metabolism — or that indicate deficiencies in neurotransmitter synthesis pathways — this type of screening informs both the selection and dosing of psychiatric medications. This precision medicine approach reduces trial-and-error prescribing, minimizes adverse effects, and improves the probability of an effective response, particularly for patients with a history of medication failures or significant side effects.
For patients who see both Dr. Papp and one of our psychologists, providers communicate directly and regularly, coordinating pharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches around shared clinical goals. Research consistently demonstrates that combined medication management and psychotherapy produces superior outcomes to either treatment alone for most major psychiatric conditions. This collaborative model has been a defining feature of the practice for over a decade. Coordination with outside providers — and, with patient permission, family members — is available when clinically useful.