Dr. Fred Starr

One day when I was working as a substance abuse counselor in New York, I met this Child Psychiatrist. He seemed to be having a great time doing his job and he and would talk frequently. He told me stories about how you become dumber when you become a doctor. He told me that the more specialized a doctor you are, the dumber you are likely to be. He said that the only doctor that was not dumbed down was a psychiatrist. This was because they new so little about medicine. He also told me that I should become a psychiatrist. Now, almost 20 years later, I owe him my gratitude for not becoming dumb.
Thanks Dr. Ewing.

I grew up in New Jersey, and attended Syracuse University for my undegraduate education. Syracuse was really really cold, and there was not very good skiing. This was lucky for me because I like to ski. Since I couldn’t ski, I studied biology. After graduating from Syracuse, I went to Columbia University School of Graduate Studies and worked in Dr. Kandell’s lab investigating Neurobiology. After leaving Columbia, and working as a substance abuse counselor at Daytop Villiage I applied to medical school.

After graduating from New Jersey Medical in 1999, I completed an adult psychiatry residency at Boston University Medical Center. This was followed by a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

I started 17th Avenue Psychiatry in 2004 as an answer to the medical mill that was slowly leading me to hate the profession that I had dedicated so much time and effort to learning and mastering. Once I was told by my attending physicians at Vanderbilt to diagnose more Bipolar Disorder. This was the spark that started the explosion that we hope will change the way psychiatry is practiced.

Being a psychiatrist is the coolest job in the world. I am blessed with the opportunity to help people alter the course of their lives for the greater good. I believe that anyone can feel better, and function better than they are right now. I enjoy everything I do, and always try to let people know how happy I am to be here.