About
About shrinkMD
shrinkMD is a physician led telepsychiatry practice founded by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, a board certified psychiatrist. We provide evidence based psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and therapy through secure virtual care across multiple states. All treatment is delivered by clinicians licensed in the state where you live.
Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, board certified psychiatrist · Published June 7, 2026 · Last reviewed June 8, 2026 · Editorial policy
Our story
How shrinkMD started
Before medical school, our founder worked nights as a psychiatric technician while studying at the University of North Florida. The job, on paper, was simple: sit with people who were hurting. Some nights it was a business owner who could not get out of bed; other nights, a man who had lost nearly everything he built. The lesson landed early and never left. Mental illness does not check bank accounts or zip codes, and the people carrying it are not the problem; the systems around them often are.
Fifteen years of psychiatry later, that lesson became a company. Dr. Refai founded shrinkMD because the access gap in American psychiatry is real, and most digital options were not closing it in a way he would recommend to his own family. Too many platforms optimized for volume: rotating prescribers, seven minute visits, controlled substances dispensed like subscriptions. shrinkMD was built as the opposite: one clinician who knows you, full hour evaluations, measured follow up, and prescribing standards we are willing to publish.
Vision and mission
Why shrinkMD exists
A country where seeing a psychiatrist is no harder than seeing your family doctor. No six month waitlists. No three hour drives. No surprise bills. No wondering whether anyone good is taking new patients.
Our vision
shrinkMD exists to remove the barriers that keep people from psychiatric care: distance, cost, wait times, and the exhausting search for the right clinician. Too many people live too far from good mental health care. It is hard to find someone, hard to get in, and the waits are long. We built shrinkMD to change that.
So we bring board certified psychiatric care to wherever you are, by video, as clinician availability allows, with flat fees published in plain sight. And because getting in the door is only the beginning, we build care meant to last. The same clinician, visit after visit.
Our core values
Five promises we run the practice on
Not decorations for a wall. Each one is a commitment you can check us against.
Access comes first
An appointment that never happens treats nothing. We measure ourselves without the typical months-long wait, and we publish how we do it.
Honesty over hype
Fees published, limits stated plainly, no miracle promises. We tell you what we do not do as clearly as what we do.
The whole person
Mind, body, story, and community. You are more than a diagnosis, and your care should know it.
Seen, not just scheduled
A screen between us does not mean distance. Every visit should leave you feeling genuinely heard.
Knowledge is part of the cure
We explain, demystify, and educate, because understanding your own care is treatment too.
Physician leadership
Founded and medically directed by a psychiatrist
shrinkMD was founded and is medically directed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, a board certified psychiatrist practicing since 2013, dual board certified in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry, and a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Clinical care is overseen by licensed clinicians operating within state specific regulatory frameworks, and treatment decisions follow established psychiatric guidelines and defined clinical protocols.
Under physician leadership, shrinkMD developed the Digital Psychiatry Index, a standards framework that defines responsible, measurable, and compliant virtual psychiatric care.
Care that gives days like this back.
How care works
What treatment at shrinkMD actually looks like
The model is simple to describe and rare to find.
- A full 45 to 60 minute evaluation with a board certified clinician, as clinician availability allows.
- The same clinician every visit, with follow ups of 15 to 30 minutes scheduled around real life.
- Measurement based care: PHQ-9, GAD-7, and other validated scales tracked visit to visit, so progress is data, not guesswork.
- Prescriptions sent electronically to your local pharmacy the same day they are written, with coordination with your primary care clinician when you authorize it.
Most patients complete intake in minutes and meet their clinician as soon as availability allows, anywhere in our multiple states.
What we don't do
The honest list of what we deliberately avoid
We do not prescribe controlled substances, anywhere, for anyone. No stimulants, no benzodiazepines. We are upfront about this because the evidence based alternatives work and because responsible telepsychiatry requires bright lines.
We do not bill insurance. Flat, published fees keep evaluations a full hour, keep follow up consistent, and keep your records out of insurer databases entirely. HSA and FSA funds work, and we provide superbills you may submit for possible out of network reimbursement. The full reasoning is on our why we don't take insurance page.
We do not run ads inside care, sell data, or use subscription pressure tactics. Psychiatry is medicine, and we operate like it.
Our standards
A defined clinical standards framework
shrinkMD operates by a clinical standards framework built to ensure responsible, compliant, and measurable care in every state we serve.
- Diagnostic evaluation and diagnostic clarity.
- Medication safety and prescribing oversight, with non controlled medications only.
- Documentation integrity and continuity of care.
- Patient education and regulatory compliance across state specific entities.
Our standards framework that defines what responsible virtual psychiatry looks like. Read it here.
Multi state structure
Compliant across every state we serve
shrinkMD operates through state specific professional entities to comply with local medical regulations in Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, Nebraska, New York, Virginia, Maine, Indiana, and Hawaii.
All services are delivered by clinicians licensed in the state where you reside at the time of care. This structure protects regulatory integrity while keeping care nationally accessible.
Beyond the clinic
An education ecosystem, kept separate from care
shrinkMD's founder also publishes patient education well beyond this site. Dr. Refai founded and serves as medical editor for the Shrink Network, a group of independent editorial publications including AnxietyResource.org, DepressionResource.org, AnxietyResearch.org, and PsychiatryRx.org. None of them sells anything, runs ads, or earns commissions.
Clinical care, education, and wellness tools are kept operationally separate on purpose. The publications educate; shrinkMD treats. That separation is part of the standard.
Keep exploring
Learn more and get started
Related conditions
Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
Who founded shrinkMD?
shrinkMD was founded and is medically directed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, a board certified psychiatrist practicing since 2013 with dual board certification in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry.
Where does shrinkMD provide care?
Across Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, Nebraska, New York, Virginia, Maine, Indiana, and Hawaii, always by clinicians licensed in the state where you live.
What makes shrinkMD different from other online psychiatry platforms?
Continuity and standards: the same board certified clinician every visit, full hour evaluations, measurement based care with validated scales, published flat fees, and no controlled substances. Most volume platforms offer none of these.
Does shrinkMD prescribe controlled substances?
No. We do not prescribe stimulants, benzodiazepines, or any controlled substances. We are upfront about this and effective with the evidence based alternatives.
Does shrinkMD take insurance?
No. We are a transparent cash pay practice with flat, published fees. HSA and FSA funds work, and we provide superbills for possible out of network reimbursement. This is what keeps evaluations a full hour and records out of insurer databases.
How quickly can I be seen?
Usually as soon as availability allows of completing the brief online intake, compared with the multi month waits common in most markets we serve.
Is online psychiatry as effective as in person care?
For adult outpatient evaluation and medication management, decades of research say yes. The clinicians, standards, and prescribing decisions are identical; only the room changes.
Who oversees the quality of care at shrinkMD?
A physician. Dr. Refai serves as medical director, and every clinician practices within the Digital Psychiatry Index, our published standards framework for responsible virtual psychiatry.
Get started with shrinkMD
Modern psychiatry with real standards. Choose your state, complete the intake, and book your evaluation online.
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