Thomas Firnberg II, MD

Welcome to my web page.  My website designers and I are still in the process of building this site, so be sure to check back frequently for more developments.  I appreciate your patience.  If you have any questions, constructive suggestions, or concerns, please feel free to contact me by email at drtom@thomasfirnbergmd.com.

I am currently in the process of relocating my practice from Southern California to the State of Colorado.  Therefore, I am not accepting new patients in California, as of November 5, 2010. To contact me during this interim, please refer to the information which I have provided under the CONTACT tab.

We recently began using an on-line appointment-scheduling service called Schedulicity.Com, which allows patients to make, cancel, or rechedule their appointments online without having to interact with my secretary or me.  It also will send e-mail notices to you in advance of your appointment, and allows you to check for any upcoming appointments in case you should forget.  When I re0pen my practice in Colorado, you will be able to schedule an appointment through Schedulicity by going to the CONTACT tab for  detailed instructions.

I am a board-certified adult psychiatrist in private solo practice.  Because my nickname is “Tom,” my patients often just call me, “Dr. Tom.”  Psychiatry has changed in many ways from its early days — newer, better, and safer medications, more effective forms of psychotherapy, and better understanding of the causes of psychological problems.  I hope that as you peruse my website, you will get an increased understanding of what is new in the field, and, as a result, a renewed hope for change for any psychiatric problem you may be experiencing.

I treat a wide variety of psychiatric disorders in patients from ages 16 to 70, using both psychopharmacotherapy (medications) as well as psychotherapy (counseling), as may be needed for any particular problem.   The major disorders I treat are mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolar), anxiety disorders (e.g., generalized, panic, OCD, PTSD), sleep disorders (e.g., insomnia, parasomnias), attentional problems (e.g., ADHD), psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia), personality disorders (e.g., obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder), and dissociative disorders (e.g., depersonalization).

Other less common disorders I treat include factitious disorders, sexual disorders, eating disorders, and impulse-control disorders.  Some more complex problems, such as drug and alcohol dependence, may require referral to psychiatric subspecialists or may require hospitalization.  For more information, go to the tab above for Areas of Professional Practice above, and then go to General Adult Psychiatry.

In addition, since finishing some graduate education in philosophy and theology recently, I have become interested in a new movement within modern philosophy called “philosophical counseling,” or “private consult philosophy.”  Spearheaded by the formation of the American Philosophical Practitioners’  Association (www.appa.edu), this form of counseling can be integrated into standard psychiatric treatment, if a patient wishes.  However philosophical counseling can be provided for those who have no known psychiatric problems, since philosophical or theological dilemmas are common experiences in life which are not pathological as long as a person’s level of functioning is not significantly affected.  For more information, go to the tab above for Areas of Professional Practice, and then go to Private Consultations in Applied Philosophy, Philosophical Theology, and Bioethics.

Modern psychiatry has a history of attempting to deal with philosophical problems which may arise during the course of psychiatric treatment of a

Sunlight in Autumn Forest

patient.  This is because, as some have noted, psychiatric crises often cause people to face philosophical and theological issues which they may never have faced before.  The ‘existential psychology’ movement, which arose within the last 100 years, attempted to address philosophical and theological issues, but the movement was informal and the individual psychiatrist often lacked formal training in philosophy and theology.  Now, with the advent of the philosophical counseling movement,  more psychiatrists may seek formal training in philosophy and theology in order to integrate this with standard psychiatric practice for those patients who desire it.  For more information about integrating standard psychiatric treatment with philosophy, go to the tab above for Areas of Professional Practice, then go to General Adult Psychiatry, and then go to Optional Track II:  Integration with Philosophical Counseling.

For those who are interested, standard psychiatric treatment can also be integrated with one’s faith and spirituality.  For more information on this option, please go to the tab above for Areas of Professional Practice, then go to General Adult Psychiatry, then go to Optional Track I:  Integration of Faith and Spirituality with Standard Psychiatric Treatment.