Browse School of Medicine | Stanford Profiles

Ciara Kelly Schnitzer

Casual - Non-Exempt, Psych/General Psychiatry and Psychology (Adult)

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5719
ciaraks@stanford.edu

Current Research and Scholarly InterestsImproving metabolic and mental health through dietary interventions, pharmacological optimization, and other lifestyle means in those with severe mental illness, such as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia is a major focus of her research. Clinical and academic interests are also in the management of psychiatric disorders with co-morbid obesity, poor metabolic health and/or eating disorders, particularly binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa.

Contact Info
Mail Code: 5722
shebanis@stanford.edu

Ripal Shah

Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

BioRipal Shah, M.D., M.P.H. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. She specializes clinically in reproductive psychiatry (the Women's Wellness Clinic - pre-conception, pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding, fertility, PMDD, reproductive and sexual health disorders), lifestyle and integrative approaches to health (the Stanford Center for Integrative Medicine - vitamins, minerals, supplements, exercise, behavioral modifications), and in physician wellness (the WellConnect program - serving Stanford resident/fellow/faculty physicians).

Her research areas of focus are on women's reproductive psychiatry, integrative approaches to mental health, diversity & inclusion program development, the intersection of race and sexuality, ethnicity-dependent variability in mental health access and treatment response, and minority stress. Outside of consultations, she specializes in psychotherapy for minority populations, particularly those struggling with issues related to identity (religious identification, racial/ethnic minority stress, racial trauma, professional transitions, changes in family structure or relational status, sexual orientation), as well as cognitive-behavioral therapy for ADHD and anxiety disorders.

While in training at Stanford, she served as Chief Resident and led Community Partnerships and Diversity & Inclusion efforts. She consistently ranked #1 in the Stanford residency (and top 1% in the nation) on the annual knowledge-based examination (PRITE). She is a Disaster Mental Health Responder both domestically and internationally, most recently in California after the wildfires, in Florida after Hurricane Irma and Maria, and in Kathmandu following the Nepal earthquake. She founded and led the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council (DIAC) for psychiatry faculty and residents which is now a model organization for training programs across the country, built and then graduated from a Diversity & Health Equity track in the residency training program, and created the first known Diversity & Health Equity Grand Rounds series. She served as Chair of the Chief Residents’ Council, representing over a thousand physicians to the Stanford Health Care leadership. Before her time at Stanford, she completed an M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health in Health Care Management and Policy, an M.D. from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and a B.S. from Duke University in Economics and Biochemistry. She is board certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine. She pursued additional training in the fields of Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine, which has informed her evidence-based approach to integrative medicine.