Editorial team
Who writes and reviews shrinkiatry, and the standard they're held to.
Shariq Refai, MD, MBA
Board-certified psychiatrist. Founder of shrinkMD. Editor of shrinkiatry.
Shariq Refai is a board-certified psychiatrist based in Jacksonville, Florida, and the founder of shrinkMD, an independent multistate telepsychiatry practice. He holds an MBA from Duke University, trained at St. George's University School of Medicine, and completed residency at the University of Hawaii and John Peter Smith Hospital. Before medical school, he worked nights as a psychiatric technician while studying at the University of North Florida, an experience he credits with teaching him early that mental illness doesn't sort people by income, status, or background.
Across The Shrink Network, he serves as the medical editor and reviewer, setting the clinical line for what claims are made and how. On shrinkiatry, his role is both author and reviewer: the content reflects how the profession actually works, written to a standard he'll put his name to. He's also the author of three forthcoming books that translate psychiatry into plain language, published by shrinkMD Publishing.
His financial interest in shrinkMD, his books, and the Unstuck app is disclosed plainly. You can read more about his background and writing at shariqrefai.com.
Professional identifiers: ORCID 0009-0009-1090-4373 · NPI 1467680660 · Wikidata Q139822307.
How review works
Every article on shrinkiatry is written or reviewed by Dr. Refai before it's published, and carries a last-reviewed date. Articles are sourced from primary materials, including accreditation and certification bodies, federal data, professional associations, and peer-reviewed research. We say plainly when evidence is mixed or limited. The full process is described in how we build content and editorial standards.