Banyan’s psychiatrists see patients in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Spanish. You talk with the doctor directly, in the language you’re most at ease in, with no interpreter between you. Many of our patients grew up in immigrant families or moved to the U.S. as adults, and our psychiatrists know the family pressure and mixed feelings about medication that often come with that history.
Psychiatrists diagnose mostly by talking with you. No blood test can confirm depression or an anxiety disorder, so your doctor relies on how you describe your sleep, appetite, energy, worries, and mood over recent weeks.
Details drop out when that conversation happens in a second language. A systematic review in Psychiatric Services found that evaluating patients in a language other than their primary one can leave the psychiatrist with an incomplete or distorted read of their mental state. Interpreters help, but studies of interpreted psychiatric interviews have documented errors serious enough to change how a patient’s condition was judged.
Some of what gets lost has nothing to do with vocabulary. In many cultures, emotional strain first shows up as a physical complaint. A Chinese-speaking patient may describe constant fatigue, headaches, and poor sleep as shen jing shuai ruo (神經衰弱), or weak nerves. Korean patients sometimes describe hwa-byung (화병), a burning or pressing feeling in the chest tied to years of held-back anger. In many Latino families, nervios can mean anything from ongoing stress to feeling unable to cope. The American Psychiatric Association includes these terms in its guidance for culturally informed diagnosis.
A psychiatrist familiar with them knows to ask about mood, worry, and recent losses when someone comes in talking about headaches and exhaustion. Depression and anxiety often get recognized this way in people who would never use those words about themselves.
Each can be the first sign of depression or anxiety. A psychiatrist who knows these terms knows which questions to ask next.
Two liver enzymes, CYP2C19 and CYP2D6, break down many common antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and antipsychotics. The genes behind them vary from person to person, and some versions are more common in certain populations. One review found that 15 to 30 percent of people of Asian ancestry process medication slowly through CYP2C19, compared with 3 to 6 percent of people of European ancestry. A slow processor can end up with more medication in their system than expected at a standard dose, which usually shows up as side effects.
There’s a safety question as well. For one mood-stabilizing medication, the FDA recommends a genetic test before patients of Asian ancestry start it, because a specific gene variant raises the risk of a severe skin reaction.
Our psychiatrists treat ancestry as one clue among several. Families mix, genes vary within every community, and dosing research in Asian populations is still limited. Your first visit includes questions about your background, any bad reactions you’ve had to medication before, everything else you take, and any herbal or traditional remedies you use. Your psychiatrist weighs all of it to choose a starting dose, then adjusts based on how you feel. If a genetic test could answer a specific question, they’ll talk it over with you first.
Plenty of patients come to their first appointment unsure they want medication at all. These are common hesitations.
Our psychiatrists evaluate and treat for:
Most visits happen by secure video anywhere in California. You can also request in-person appointments in Burlingame or San Jose.
Banyan also has psychologists and neuropsychologists on staff, many of whom speak the same languages as our psychiatrists. Whether you’re looking for a Mandarin or Cantonese-speaking psychiatrist, a Korean-speaking psychiatrist, or a Spanish-speaking psychiatrist in the Bay Area, you’ll see a board-certified doctor in Burlingame, San Jose, or by telehealth across California. If you start therapy here, your psychiatrist and therapist can talk directly about how treatment is going.
When a question needs testing to answer, such as whether trouble focusing points to ADHD or something else, your psychiatrist can consult one of our neuropsychologists. If you see a therapist outside Banyan, you can keep that relationship, and with your permission, our psychiatrist will stay in touch with them.
You don’t need a diagnosis or a decision about medication before you call. The phone consultation is free. Tell us what’s been going on and ask anything you want to know.
Answers about language, medication, family involvement, and coverage.
Yes. Dr. Jonathan Tsang provides psychiatric evaluation and medication management in Mandarin and Cantonese, and Dr. Cristine Oh sees patients in Korean and Spanish. Both see patients by telehealth across California and in person in Burlingame and San Jose.
A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who diagnoses mental health conditions and can prescribe and manage medication. A therapist (at Banyan, usually a psychologist) provides talk therapy such as CBT. Many people benefit from both, and at Banyan the two work on the same team.
No. You can book a free phone consultation yourself. Therapists and physicians are also welcome to refer patients directly.
Yes. You can keep your current therapist, and with your permission, our psychiatrist will coordinate with them.
English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Spanish. Visits happen directly in your language, without an interpreter.
No. The evaluation helps you understand what is going on and what your options are. Whether to start medication is your decision, made with full information about benefits, side effects, and how you would stop if you chose to.
Yes, if you want them there. You decide who joins and what is shared. Your care stays private otherwise.
Yes. Some herbal remedies and supplements interact with psychiatric medications, and knowing what you take helps your psychiatrist choose safely. There is no judgment about traditional medicine.
Banyan is in-network with Blue Shield of California PPO and HMO plans, Chinese Community Health Plan (CCHP), and Wellfleet student health plans (Stanford and UC Irvine) for psychiatric care. We also offer private pay with superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, and we run a courtesy eligibility check before your first visit.
Most visits are by secure video anywhere in California. In-person visits are available in Burlingame and San Jose by request.