About / Team
Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA
Dr. Shariq Refai is a board certified psychiatrist, the founder and medical director of shrinkMD, and an author and mental health educator based in Jacksonville, Florida. With more than fifteen years in psychiatry and dual board certification in psychiatry and in sports and performance psychiatry, he built shrinkMD around the standards he would want for his own family: full evaluations, real continuity, and honest prescribing.
Medically reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, board certified psychiatrist · Published June 7, 2026 · Last reviewed June 8, 2026 · Editorial policy
His story
From psychiatric tech to psychiatrist
Dr. Refai's path into psychiatry started before medical school, working nights as a psychiatric technician while completing his undergraduate degree at the University of North Florida. The job was to sit with people who were hurting: some nights a business owner who could not get out of bed, other nights a man who had lost nearly everything he built. The lesson stayed: mental illness does not care about bank accounts or zip codes, and the people carrying it are not character flaws walking around in clothes.
Medical school at St. George's University followed, then psychiatry residency training at the University of Hawaii and John Peter Smith Hospital in Texas, certificates in Electroconvulsive Therapy and Obesity Medicine from Columbia University, and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, pursued because building better systems requires understanding how systems get built. Fifteen years into practice, he is still working the question he started with: what actually helps when someone is suffering.
Credentials
Professional credentials
Board certification and memberships:
- Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
- Board Certified, American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry
- Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (FAPA)
- Member, Forbes Business Council
- Member, Duval County Medical Society
Dr. Refai speaking on modern, accessible psychiatric care.
Education
Education and training
Dr. Refai's training includes:
- Doctor of Medicine, St. George's University School of Medicine
- Master of Business Administration, Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
- Bachelor of Science, University of North Florida
- Psychiatry Residency Training, John Peter Smith Hospital
- Psychiatry Residency Training, University of Hawaii
- Certificate in Electroconvulsive Therapy, Columbia University
- Certificate in Obesity Medicine, Columbia University
Licensure
Licensed to practice medicine in
Dr. Refai is licensed in:
- Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, and Nebraska
- New York, Virginia, Maine, Indiana, and Hawaii
Clinical focus
Areas of clinical focus
Dr. Refai provides comprehensive psychiatric care for adults experiencing:
- Anxiety disorders, panic, and high functioning anxiety
- Depressive disorders
- Overthinking, rumination, and intrusive thought patterns
- Bipolar spectrum conditions
- Performance related mental health concerns
- Substance related psychiatric considerations
Approach to care
A whole person, least necessary approach
Dr. Refai practices a biopsychosocial approach that integrates biological, psychological, behavioral, and environmental factors into treatment planning. Medication is used when clinically appropriate, but not reflexively.
Treatment prioritizes accurate diagnosis, lifestyle and behavioral interventions, sleep regulation, nervous system stabilization, minimal effective medication use when indicated, and long term symptom monitoring. The goal is stability, not dependency, using the least necessary intervention while maintaining safety and functional improvement.
A principle runs through his clinical and educational work: the body moves first. By the time most people notice they are anxious, the nervous system has already shifted, and cognitive tools work only once the body is regulated enough to use them. Sequencing care to match how the nervous system actually works, body first, thinking second, shapes how he treats anxiety, panic, and the high performer patterns he writes about.
Sports and performance psychiatry
Care at the highest levels of sport
Dr. Refai has served as Team Psychiatrist for the Jacksonville Jaguars, with professional experience in sports settings including affiliations involving the NFL Substance Abuse Program. He has been listed in the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee directory as a psychiatrist available to serve Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
His work in performance psychiatry integrates mental health stability with cognitive clarity, resilience, and high level performance demands, expertise that informs shrinkMD's sports psychiatry program for athletes and high performers far beyond professional sport.
Standards and tools
Telepsychiatry standards and framework development
As founder of shrinkMD, Dr. Refai developed the standards and self regulation tools that shape its care.
- The Digital Psychiatry Index, a structured framework for responsible, measurable virtual psychiatric care.
- The shrinkMD Framework, including the Anxiety Reset, the Depression Reset, and the Panic Reset.
- Standards for diagnostic evaluation, medication safety, documentation integrity, and continuity of care.
Read the Digital Psychiatry Index and the shrinkMD Framework directly.
Author and educator
Books, essays, and public education
Beyond clinical practice, Dr. Refai writes for the people who have already tried the apps and the books and still cannot quiet the noise in their heads. His upcoming books from shrinkMD Publishing include Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t, a psychiatrist's guide to overthinking and anxiety, its companion workbook, and The Havoc in Your Head, an in the moment response framework. His essays on anxiety, overthinking, and modern psychiatry are published at shariqrefai.com.
He also founded and serves as medical editor for the Shrink Network, a group of independent, ad free editorial publications including AnxietyResource.org, DepressionResource.org, AnxietyResearch.org, and PsychiatryRx.org, and created Unstuck, a private iPhone journaling app for reflection and emotional awareness, with no cloud accounts and no streaks. Clinical care, education, and wellness tools are kept deliberately separate.
Recognition
Press, recognition, and verified profiles
Dr. Refai has been featured as an expert source in The Epoch Times, EatingWell, Top Doctor Magazine, DomesticShelters.org, and a Duval County Medical Society member spotlight.
Credentials and authorship can be verified through his NPI registry listing, ORCID profile, LinkedIn, and Doximity.
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Frequently asked questions
Good questions, clear answers
Is Dr. Refai board certified?
Yes, twice over: he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and Board Certified by the American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.
In which states is Dr. Refai licensed?
Florida, Georgia, Texas, California, Nebraska, New York, Virginia, Maine, Indiana, and Hawaii.
Is Dr. Refai accepting new patients?
Yes, through shrinkMD. Complete the brief online intake from any of our multiple states and book an evaluation, usually available as soon as availability allows.
What is sports and performance psychiatry?
A board certified subspecialty treating the mental health of athletes and high performers: the anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, and pressure patterns that come with competing at a high level. Dr. Refai has served as Team Psychiatrist for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Has Dr. Refai written any books?
His upcoming books from shrinkMD Publishing include Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t, a psychiatrist's guide to overthinking and anxiety, its companion workbook, and The Havoc in Your Head. His essays are published at shariqrefai.com.
Does Dr. Refai prescribe controlled substances?
No. shrinkMD focuses on evidence based, non controlled medication and minimal effective dosing, and is upfront about that standard.
Where else can I read Dr. Refai's work?
At shariqrefai.com and across the Shrink Network publications he medically reviews: AnxietyResource.org, DepressionResource.org, AnxietyResearch.org, and PsychiatryRx.org.
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