Main Content
Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates: Child, Adolescent & Adult In-Office & Virtual Psychiatry
We offer IN-OFFICE Psychiatric visits in Philadelphia and on the Main line of Philadelphia (Paoli, PA) and VIRTUAL appointments to individuals living in Suburban Philadelphia and throughout PA, NJ, NY, FL and others.
Certain types of treatment may require in-office initial evaluations and/or periodic in-office visits at one of our physical locations. Call to discuss.
Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates is a private practice of Psychiatry comprised of academically oriented Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners and Therapists.
Our providers trained in Psychiatry at institutions such as The Johns Hopkins Hospital, The University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Mount Sinai Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Many of our providers currently teach, or have taught, at these same institutions. We believe that our culture best promotes not only excellent mental health treatment, but an environment where case discussion and collaboration are encouraged, which promotes provider growth through continued medical and psychological education.
We specialize in evaluating, diagnosing and treating moderate severities of mental illness, including Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Affective Disorder and ADHD.
We are a fee-for-service psychiatric practice and do not accept insurance directly. If you have out-of-network behavioral health benefits, please ask your insurance company whether they reimburse for virtual psychiatric visits, before making a Telehealth appointment. Additionally, when scheduling an appointment, please verify that your provider is licensed in your specific location.
We do not have admitting privileges at local psychiatric hospitals, and therefore, if a patient is high risk for self-harm, is acutely suicidal or needing crisis intervention, has a history of inpatient psychiatric admissions, suicide attempts or psychosis, we will recommend providers with additional emergency resources outside of our practice.
We offer weekend & evening availability and can often see patients within 3 – 4 weeks.
This site is designed to help prospective patients determine whether we may be the best fit for their individual psychiatric needs and to provide resources for them, when we are not. There are many options for mental health providers in Philadelphia, the Suburban Philadelphia area, the main line and the states where we provide virtual visits. Please see our resources page for additional information on finding a provider, if for whatever reason you feel that we are not the best fit.
LGBTQIA Welcoming
Providers
Click a name to learn more about the provider.

Chris Pagnani, MD
Chris Pagnani, MD is the Medical Director and Founder of Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates. He treats adolescents (18 +) and adults in his outpatient private practice of psychiatry. In addition to private practice, he is an Instructor at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, he supervises Interns and Medical Residents at Jefferson Hospital, and is an elected member of the Young Professionals Board for Uplift, The Center for Grieving Children. Dr. Pagnani maintains medical licenses in PA, NJ, NY, DE, MD, FL and CA.

Paula Bu, MD
Paula Bu, MD treats adults (18+) in her private practice and serves as a psychiatric consultant to students at Haverford College through their Counseling and Psychological Services. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and supervises Resident Physicians at The University of Pennsylvania. She has significant experience treating members of people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and college/grad students. In addition to medication management, she is available for psychotherapy that is individualized to your needs.

Karen Chen, CRNP
Karen Chen, PMHNP, treats adolescents ages 18+ and adults with depression, anxiety, ADHD, PTSD, PMDD, bipolar disorder, and more. She is also a Clinical Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and co-chair of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association’s Southeast Pennsylvania region.

Cara Gouldey, CRNP
Cara Gouldey, CRNP is a Board-Certified Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, who offers telehealth and in-person treatment for adults and adolescents in the Center City Philadelphia office. She is accepting new patients at this time. Cara is trained across the spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses, and she specializes in the management of depression, anxiety (generalized anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder), and ADHD.

Kimberly Joffe, CRNP
Kimberly Joffe is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who treats ages eighteen and up in her outpatient private practice of psychiatry in Paoli, PA. She is currently a clinical preceptor for psychiatric nurse practitioner students for The University of Pennsylvania. In addition to outpatient private practice, Kim also works at Chester County Hospital, a Penn Medicine entity, treating patients with a wide array of psychiatric emergencies in addition to psychiatric illness with medical comorbidities.

Erica Liebman, PsyD
Erica Liebman, Psy.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Pennsylvania. She works with adults and couples who are navigating difficulties including but not limited to relational distress, trauma, depression and anxiety. Her approach is to lead with non-judgment and gentle curiosity, sprinkled with moments of humor. Dr. Liebman aims to make the process of therapy feel like a rewarding process of increasing self-awareness.

Sonya Mendelovich, BSW, MBA

Elizabeth A. Milburn, CRNP
Elizabeth, a two-time graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, has approximately a decade of experience in the mental health field. She provides a holistic approach, treats patients aged 18 and up via telehealth in PA and NJ. She has special interest in treating students and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Juliet Muzere, DO
Dr. Muzere is dual board-certified in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (her focus) and Adult Psychiatry as well. Dr. Muzere works with the child and family to determine the cause of emotional and behavioral challenges and assess potential biological, social, and psychological contributing factors. She collaborates with the child and family to create an individualized treatment plan incorporating evidence-based medication management and therapy. She also collaborates with therapists, schools, and Pediatricians to optimize care of patients.

Nicole Palaio, MS, LPC

Chandani Patel, MA, LPC

Jessica M. Plocher, CRNP

Angelo Rannazzisi, Psy.D

Rachel Reis, CRNP

Helen Rice, CRNP
Helen Rice, CRNP provides patient-centered, holistic, and evidence-based care to patients (ages 18+), specializing in the treatment of Mood Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, and more. In addition to psychiatric evaluation and medication management, she specializes in Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT) for the treatment of chronic pain and medically unexplained conditions (see PRT page for further detail).

Thomas Scary, MD, MA
Thomas Scary, MD, MA is an Adult Psychiatrist who is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He received his bachelors from NYU, his medical degree from Temple University, and he trained in Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center, serving as Chief Resident among his peers. He treats patients for mood disorders, anxiety disorders, ADHD and other psychiatric struggles.

Loretta Sernekos, PhD, CRNP
Loretta Sernekos, PhD, CRNP, is an Advanced Senior Lecturer at The University of Pennsylvania and the 2023 recipient of the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Provost award, given to one lecturer University Wide in all of the Health Science departments at Penn (Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine) each year. In addition to teaching, she provides holistic, empathic, and evidence-based care to her patients at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates. Her prior experience as a nurse practitioner in outpatient primary care informs her thinking regarding psychiatric conditions and their relationship to the whole person’s physical and emotional health. She practices evidence-based care in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric conditions, as well as other medical conditions.

Kristine V. Spano, PSY.D.
Kristine V. Spano, Psy.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Pennsylvania. Dr. Spano treats clients 18 years of age and up, in her private practice at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates. As a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, her primary goal is to help clients understand the interdependency of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Along with CBT, she utilizes mindfulness-based and trauma-informed interventions that emphasize the mind-body connection. In addition to her private practice, Dr. Spano serves as The Director of Psychotherapy at Rittenhouse Psychiatric Associates.
Additional states Dr. Spano serves listed in full bio.

Rosemarie Vickery, CRNP

Elizabeth Wray, CRNP

Gracie Yeo, MD
Dr. Yeo is an American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology board certified psychiatrist who specializes in both Child & Adolescent Psychiatry as well as Adult Psychiatry. She offers evidence-based treatment that is individualized to the unique needs of each patient with psychotherapy and medication management. She has experience working with all ages from school aged children to older adults, often coordinates with other providers to ensure comprehensive and integrated care, and is proficient in treating medically complex patients and those who suffer from multiple psychiatric diagnoses.

John Dougherty III, DO
Supervising Role Only
