Get to Know Dr. Amar Mukhtar, DO

UpLift’s “Get to Know” series features our providers—so other providers can get to know them, learn from each other, and connect. 

This month’s featured provider is Dr. Amar Mukhtar, DO.

What are you passionate about when it comes to psychiatry?

I really enjoy psychiatry because I am able to combine my passion for connecting with people with my medical training. I’m passionate about people and within the medical field, I believe it provides  a unique opportunity to focus on humanity and interpersonal connection you can have with your patients. 

After being accepted to medical school, I decided to go into the National Health Service Corps, which placed an emphasis on caring for underserved communities. The decision ultimately led to a position as the Behavioral Health Director at a Federally Qualified Health Center,  which often serve as a safety net for those who are uninsured, underinsured, or have financial or other socioeconomic challenges. 

My experiences have taught me to look at each patient holistically. I try to be intentional about assessing variables impacting the mind, body and spirit. These variables can be wide ranging, which is what makes each interaction unique and rewarding. 

What types of clients or areas do you specialize in working with? 

I’ve always had an interest in working with underserved communities. One could argue that the whole field of mental health is in some ways underserved globally. During my residency training, my grand rounds project focused on the global refugee crisis. I did a month-long rotation in Brooklyn, New York working with a mental health clinic that specifically worked with refugees and asylum applicants.

As a US citizen whose family immigrated from Sudan, I find it easy to understand and connect with those who are struggling while striving to seek a better life. During that experience, I was able to assist patients not only medically, but with the challenges that come with assimilating to a new culture, which can include navigating a new healthcare and financial system. 

I believe there are some blind spots within our healthcare infrastructure that require attention. If these gaps aren’t filled, there will be those who inevitably fall through the cracks. . I've always wanted to be a part of the solution.

What inspired you to get into psychiatry?

In psychiatry, I felt that I could merge many of my interests together: medicine, law, ethics, branches of humanities and social sciences. As a psychiatrist, you’re in some ways an investigator, trying to dig and find pieces of a story that are fragmented, in order to get to the root cause of what’s causing someone’s challenges.

When I started medical school, I first envisioned myself  becoming a pediatrician. My interests pivoted during my rotations, where I decided on psychiatry as a career.. After initially considering subspecialization in child psychiatry, I quickly realized that wasn't something I wanted to do, either. With children, there are some variables that you just can't have a direct impact on, even if you want to help. There are some limitations in the evaluation and treatment process I found that to be difficult to cope with.

Picking the right field is important for sustainability in one's career. It became obvious to me that working directly with adults who had autonomy over their own care was more of my lane. Currently, I treat adults and some adolescents patients, with a handful of children who otherwise do not have a feasible option for treatment. 

How do you believe that change happens for a client? 

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The client needs to first identify that change is a desired outcome. To change lifestyle habits or engage in therapy or start a medication, one must first decide that the process is worth their time and effort. There are times when something that requires change may be obvious to me but not to the client. 

I view my role in the treatment process as more of a guide and educator, who helps clients navigate their mental health challenges, rather than an authority figure who dictates their path. The initial goal is to provide evidence-based reasoning for diagnosis, in addition to treatment options. I try to ensure the client has a full understanding of how these options can impact them for better or worse. The next goal is to then  allow them the autonomy to make the decisions that work for them, within the framework of our discussions. 

Simply put, my job is to lay out the options for treatment, what the literature says, what I’ve seen in the past, what they prefer, answer any questions, and then come up with a treatment plan together. This is important because if the client doesn't feel comfortable with the plan, they’re likely not going to follow through with it over the long-term.

What are some mental health-related articles or resources that have interested you lately?

I like to stay on top of the medical literature that comes out, going to conferences, and being plugged in. Medicine is always changing. 

I’ve been interested in newer interventions for treatment resistant conditions. For this reason, I have been staying up to date on current clinical trials involving use of psychedelics in combination with psychotherapy in controlled settings. There are other treatments, such as the already approved ketamine treatments or transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments, but the promising data from ongoing trials with psychedelics likely means that we’ll have more options at our disposal to help people who are treatment resistant moving forward. 

What is your favorite way to practice self-care that you’d recommend to other providers? 

Trying to practice what we preach as it relates to work-life balance. When it's time to clock out, do your best to check out. Live life outside of work. For me, that’s playing sports or spending time with family and friends, watching a good show or movie. I played football and basketball growing up. These days if I get some time and get my buddies together, we'll do flag football or play a pickup game of basketball.

I also think that it helps to have a work hobby or another project that's not directly tied to medicine. Something that you're doing, that you're using your brain for that's not directly tied with your employment. If you're a creative person, if it's making websites or painting—whatever—it may be just using your brain in a different way than how you're using it most of the day.

For me, I like entrepreneurship and real estate investing. That's something that I enjoy using my brain for, in a different way than how I use it in medicine.

What’s the last book you read or what book did you read recently that you would recommend to anyone?

The last book I read and really enjoyed was called The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%! by Mark Manson. The title is catchy but it’s actually a self-help book that talks about prioritizing the things that are important to you in life. 

We all have an end. We can easily get caught in that daily grind or routine but sometimes, thinking about it from the end backwards forces you to think about what you want out of life. Prioritize your day-to-day and filter out the things that maybe aren’t bringing as much joy, pleasure, or satisfaction but that you’re doing anyway. It’s about teaching yourself to not care about certain things, which for some people is a little bit counterintuitive. 

I’ve recommended it to quite a few friends, and most of them really enjoyed reading it. The book is written in a fun way. He does a deep dive into some psychological literature and weaves in historical examples of his arguments. 

What would you tell a therapist about working with UpLift psychiatry?

Psychiatry now being integrated within the Uplift medical records system has been really great because we now have access to each other’s notes. It’s also nice that we can email each other. If there’s ever a question, we can communicate through the EMR via documentation, but also directly when a need to discuss a complicated case arises. 

It’s been pretty nice to be able to reach out to a therapist or have them reach out to me if there’s something that I’ve read on their note or if there’s something concerning them. People have generally been open to working collaboratively. I think everyone on our psychiatric team has really enjoyed working with therapists and having that dialogue. 

Why did you choose to use UpLift?

I actually reached out to Uplift directly, out of curiosity. At the time, I saw that UpLift was solely offering therapy, so I reached out to ask if they were planning on eventually offering psychiatric services. I was itching to try something different, and UpLift had that startup vibe that I hadn’t really worked in and was curious about. I liked that it was bringing therapists on board and supporting them to build their own practice. It seemed like a convenient model to be a part of, given the challenges of finding therapists for some of our medication management clients in other clinics. 

So I came on board as a Psychiatric Admin and have been involved in a few policy committees as well as assisting with the hiring process of new psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. The UpLift clinical team has worked hard to develop the infrastructure for psychiatric services, and I have been impressed with the progress made in just a few years. 

I have enjoyed having my fingerprints on some of the growth that’s happened. What’s been most impressive is that we've been able to maintain many of the benefits of an “in-person practice” within a virtual work environment. My hope is that we can continue to provide quality care while maintaining that camaraderie and sense of connection as Uplift grows nationally.