Kory Stotesbery, DO: SFMS October 2015 Member of the Month November 3, 2015 Member of the Month, SFMS Member Kory Stotesbery, Member of the Month, SFMS Member 0 Kory Stotesbery, D.O. is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist currently in private practice in San Francisco's Financial District and downtown Walnut Creek. He also works for the Seneca Family of Agencies in SF and Sonoma County where he provides care for youths identified through foster care and juvenile justice. He did his residency training in Adult Psychiatry at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and his Child Psychiatry Fellowship at Children's National Medical Center in Washington DC. His unique areas of interest are Eating Disorders and Childhood Trauma. He attended college at Arizona Statue University where he received his BA in Anthropology. His medical degree was received from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Stotesbery lives in Concord with his wife, Elizabeth, twin 15 month old sons, Jack and Ewan, and their chocolate Labrador, Piper. Only recently moving to the Bay Area 2 years ago, they all enjoy travelling and getting to experience the many things that make this the best place to live in the world! Click here to view Dr. Kory Stotesbery's practice information. Why are you a SFMS member? Since finishing my training in child psychiatry and moving to the Bay Area I have been increasingly aware of the needs of the youth in our community. California as a whole has always impressed me with its capacity and embracement of political action and advocacy. In SFMS I found an organization that is enthusiastic and most importantly effective in its activism. The decision to join was easy as I felt that SFMS was the perfect way for me to be involved with making changes I am passionate about, learning more about needs outside my scope, and developing a network of colleagues with the same goals and values. Which SFMS member resource is most helpful to you? The wonderful magazine, San Francisco Medicine. I have already seen great value in the social functions that the Society organizes. At one such event I was able to meet a fellow psychiatrist, Dr. Eli Merritt, who is now my go-to referral for patients needing help navigating the healthcare system. There I also met a child psychiatrist who I now discuss cases with from time to time. What do you like to do when you’re not at work? My number one pastime is spending time with my family! My wife and I have identical twin infant boys and a 1 year-old Labrador. We do a lot together in the Bay Area- hiking Angel Island, digging in the sand at Stinson Beach, and travelling up to Sonoma for weekends in the country. We’ve also done a lot of travelling with trips to see family in Phoenix and New York. Even a Mommy-Daddy trip to Asia this past February! What is the most important thing you learned in medical school or residency? That’s easy!-- How to handle emergencies. A mentor once broke things down for me that if you can be confident in handling the most difficult situations, everything else is a walk in the park. It has allowed me to focus my practice on working with some high-risk populations—Eating Disorders and Foster Care Mental Health. While the chance of emergency is higher than other populations, the work is the most fascinating and rewarding experience I’ve had in medicine. What are some of the biggest opportunities or challenges you see in health care within the next five year? For me it is the stigma that is associated with mental healthcare. Our world is becoming more aware and comfortable with mental illness every day. What used to be something people only talked about in private settings or laughed at in movies and television is now a public issue. Too often people hold mental illness in a negative light even though in large part it is no different than any other medical illness. Still the bottom line is that there are constructs that exist in our society that drive people away from getting the care they need. People are hesitant to trust that our system will protect their confidentiality. They want to make sure they have that trust because they fear shame if people find out they have something in their lives they need help with. It would be great if some day people could be as proud of seeing a therapist as they are of going to a personal trainer. Within our field I also think mental health providers need to do better job of practicing responsible care so that we can earn the same trust providers in other fields are generally afforded. What do you love most about practicing psychiatry? I am absolutely fascinated by the role emotions play in the mind. The idea that our mind can be so complex that a person can undergo stress and become temporarily blind or even paralyzed amazes me. On the other hand, we are also so simple that many of the reasons why things happen in our lives are best explained by simple animal behavior models. So much of my day is filled with pondering those thoughts about my patients’ lives. While all that theory and analytic thought is great, my work also allows me to execute the treatment. There aren’t many fields of medicine left where the doctor has a unique skill in treatment that they use to deliver the treatment that directly helps their patients get better. What is a special talent that you have? I think the word talent assumes you are good at something so I can’t say I have a talent but I really enjoy screenwriting and acting. In college while my friends were using electives for Acting 101 I was using them for Organic Chemistry. Such is the plight of the pursuit of medicine. In medical school I put together a 3 hour sketch-comedy show for charity. It might have been the most fun I’ve ever had. What is your favorite restaurant in San Francisco? This is so hard! If I could live at The Tipsy Pig in the Marina I would… that backyard patio is the definition of Northern California. However I think I have to go with Suppenküche in Hayes Valley. I’m a dual German-American citizen so the experience of sitting elbow to elbow for great food is right at home. I think it is the only place that does German cuisine and culture correctly. They don’t do the whole Oktoberfest knock-off thing. However they do need to consult with my Oma about how spӓtzle is correctly prepared. If you weren't a physician, what profession would you like to try? Since we are only talking about TRYING a profession, I would like to try being Dick Proenneke from “Alone in the Wilderness.” If I can find someone with an off-the-grid cabin I can borrow it may be time for a sabbatical. Comments are closed.
