Ronald M. Podell

Ronald M. Podell, M.D. is a board-certified psychiatrist. Dr. Podell graduated with honors from Amherst College and received his medical degree from Columbia University. He completed his post-graduate psychiatric training at UCLA where he was appointed to the Clinical Faculty in 1979 and served over 20 years as Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry.

He regularly teaches post graduate courses for both mental health professionals and laymen and has been course director for two national symposia including: “Sexual Science–Bridging the Disciplines with the Master Clinicians,” and “Beyond Prozac.” He has also been a keynote speaker at the International Society for Impotence Research and recently gave a workshop to staff at McLean's Borden Cottage in Maine, a private treatment facility for dual diagnosis disorders associated with Harvard Medical School.

In the early 1980’s, Dr. Podell was one of the founding physicians for the Century City Hospital in Vitro Fertilization Program. He developed psycho-social guidelines and a psychological intervention system for couples seeking treatment for infertility. Dr. Podell was then named to co-direct Century City Hospital’s Center for Sexual Medicine, which offered multi-disciplinary treatment for sexual dysfunction. He was the first psychiatrist to publish an academic article in "Urology." He is widely recognized for his work with other professionals from different disciplines and specialties.

The Center for Bio-Behavioral Science is a multi-disciplinary group he founded 10 years ago and combines the fields of neuro-psychology, psychology, and psychopharmacology into a team approach to diagnosing and treating mood and anxiety disorders, memory disorders, and disorders of attention.

Dr. Podell conceived the idea for a private research and treatment center for anxiety and mood disorders in 1983. He then co-founded The Center for Mood Disorders in West Los Angeles in 1984 with Michael Gitlin MD, one of the very first private clinical and research facilities of its kind in the United States. He is responsible for bringing the use of “light therapy treatment” for Seasonal Affective Disorder to national attention. He and his colleagues at the Center for Mood Disorders reached widespread national and international recognition including front page of the Los Angeles Times. The Center served over 5000 patients in its 11 years, and regularly conducted multiple FDA clinical trials for new psychiatric medications.

Dr. Podell also co-founded Westridge Psychiatric Medical Group in 1989 with Melvyn Kinder, Ph.D. This multi-specialty group brought research validated psychiatric and psychological treatment to patients struggling with the emotional dilemmas of aging as well as help to families and caregivers. The group focused on providing care in Skilled Nursing Facilities, Intermediate Care, and Assisted Living Facilities where Dr. Podell’s expertise in the psychopharmacologic treatment of mood and anxiety disorders brought relief to behaviorally disturbed and distressed patients with brain injuries, dementia, and chronic illness.

Dr. Podell has published articles in academic and lay journals. His approach to communicating with the public has contributed to destigmatizing psychiatric illness and has encouraged thousands of people to seek treatment. Dr. Podell was the host of, “Sexual Health and Medicine,” a Century Communication cable television show seen in Los Angeles from the mid-to-late 1980’s.

Dr. Podell is the author of Contagious Emotions—Staying Well When Your Loved One is Depressed, a Pocket Books hardcover and trade paperback. Dr. Podell has extensive media experience in every form including local and national television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. He has appeared multiple times on Los Angeles Network News and on national magazine-formatted shows throughout the country.

He has been quoted in Newsweek, Vogue, Readers’ Digest, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, Red Book, Men’s Health, and other national periodicals, and has been cited in major city newspapers including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Diego Union-Tribune, etc. He also conducted an extensive survey through Shape Magazine assessing body image and sexual attitudes of over 8000 female respondents.

Dr. Podell’s creative integration of biological and psychological treatments has restored emotional health and relationship stability to thousands of patients. His innovative treatments have frequently been acknowledged throughout his career by health professionals and laymen from various disciplines. Celebrity patients have publicly discussed their recoveries from depression, substance abuse, and relationship disruptions after utilizing Dr. Podell’s integrated treatment methods despite previous multiple failures under the care of other health professionals.