Steven J. Wruble, M.D.

Being a psychiatrist means that I have graduated from medical school and that I completed a residency training program in general psychiatry. This makes me different from other mental health providers (e.g., psychologists, social workers, counselors). Psychiatrists are unique in that we have training in the way that the body, particularly the brain, is involved with and is responsible for the ways that we think, feel, and behave. I am board-certified in child and adult psychiatry. This means that I have been accredited by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology as a psychiatrist who upholds the highest standards of knowledge and expertise in the field of psychiatry.

Psychiatrists are distinguished by the right and responsibility to evaluate your need for medication. We are uniquely qualified to treat mental health conditions with medication alone or as part of treatment that includes psychotherapy. Your primary care physician or pediatrician also has the right to prescribe medication. However, a psychiatrist is specifically trained to prescribe medications that manage mental health problems—it’s their specialty. Primary care physicians nor pediatricians specialize in mental health problems and are therefore less likely to have a specialized understanding of mental health problems.

A psychiatrist may also provide mental health treatments that do not involve medication. There are non-medication treatment options that work with the brain’s power to effectively reduce symptoms and control mental health problems. While psychiatrists are not the only mental health professionals who can provide these services, they may be more likely to have expertise in using them because they are more likely to be aware of the need for treatments that have unique effects on the brain.

Psychiatrists may provide one part or all of one’s mental health treatment. Perhaps you have a relationship with your primary care physician or a therapist and you would like to consider adding medication to your treatment—you can add a psychiatrist to your “team.” You have the right to have them work together to mange your care. (You also have the right not to have them work together.) Psychiatrists most often focus on evaluating and managing medications. I am an exception to the general description of psychiatrists in that I often provide both medication evaluation and management, along with non-medication treatments to the majority of my clients.

After medical school, I sought and completed specialized trainings to best meet my clients’ needs. I have integrated a developmental approach—I work with clients of all ages but offer treatments that take advantage of the way the brain works at different ages. For example, immediately after my residency in Psychiatry, I completed a subspecialty in child and adolescent psychiatry for two years at the Institute for Juvenile Research in Chicago. This resulted in an in-depth understanding of the unique and distinct features of the child and adolescent brain.

I am also unique in my practice of psychiatry in that I work to limit clients’ use of medication to manage symptoms. Medication can be very helpful if used appropriately in situations in which the benefit has been proven. But there are often non-medicinal interventions that help remediate the psychiatric problems that I see; approximately 25% of my patients are not on any medication.

Unlike many psychiatrists who see their clients for medication management only, I am unique in that I am qualified to do psychotherapy also. Most of my clients who are on medication see me for both medication management, as well as psychotherapy. From my perspective, the benefit of this is that I can form a relationship with my client and am better able to help them achieve the progress they are looking for.

Among psychiatrists I am one of the few who conducts Group Psychotherapy. Group Psychotherapy is a distinct type of therapy, one that draws on different dynamics than individual psychotherapy. Specifically, working in a group often recreates the experiences we had early in life, in our family-of-origin. In Group Therapy, clients have the opportunity to hear their experiences the way others hear them. This is a unique way to learn about yourself and your life.

The path I took to become a psychiatrist was not a straight one. At first I decided to become a gastroenterologist like my father, because I believed that gastroenterology was the best mix of psychiatry and medicine. I always appreciated the emotional aspects that humans deal with while experiencing illness. After finishing my internal medicine residency and getting Board Certification in Internal Medicine, I started my gastroenterology fellowship. However, after one year of my fellowship I realized that gastroenterology was too procedurally-oriented for me.

I liked the types of relationships I could build with my psychiatric clients. I prefer work that thrives from creating a close bond, working intimately with people, accessing their emotional difficulties, and helping them gain strength.

I think the key to helping people be well is to show them that they have more power than they believe they do; they have more strength to actively deal with their issues than they think they do. Perhaps, over time, someone has developed a fixed belief that they are inadequate in some way. Perhaps someone has come to believe that they don’t have the power to change their life. It is important to me that we spend time working to integrate what they have believed for many years with what they know to be true now. The result is that a person will feel more empowered and better able to navigate whatever difficulties they may be experiencing.

A client can expect to be addressed with respect and an openness that is not judgmental. This is my true position when meeting all of my clients. When someone is accepted as a person—no more or no less—without any expectations of what that client brings to me, our work together has a better chance at helping them to feel comfortable as they discuss whatever difficulties they may be experiencing. I think that with my personality, there is a balance of seriousness and lightness to help most people feel that needed comfort to discuss the intimate details of these difficult moments in their life. In addition, they will notice how much I am listening to their story in order to give them the space and time to be heard in a way that will help them feel understood, which is so important in this process of change.

Because I stay focused on the importance for clients to find what they are looking for instead of what I feel is best for them, I can more likely make a difference in their life. This approach allows their true path to grow organically, which increases the likelihood that they can own what emerges from the process.

I felt the need to create the Venn Center to bring together a group of people who could help actualize my vision for a place where individuals and families could feel safe to do the necessary and sometimes difficult work of change. I also felt a significant educational component was missing from the work that most psychiatric practices have. I feel that the backbone of a good psychotherapeutic practice should be providing the knowledge that experts have learned about mental health and the difficulties that occur as we go through the developmental milestones we all experience as human beings. This knowledge helps one understand themselves and the others in ones family, or those that they are relating to. In addition, I have a passion to create unique and innovative educational tools that will help children, adolescents and adults understand themselves and the developmental challenges that they need to be aware of if they are going to better navigate the rough waters of growth.

I truly respect and appreciate the process of change and growth that humans go through whether they have the intention to or not. But I do know that if a person understands the process and is able to trust in a safe environment, they have a better chance to reach stated goals that can improve their lives and the lives of those they relate to intimately. I believe that the Venn Center is just such a place.

I make a conscious effort to keep my eyes, ears and especially my heart open to letting in moments of healing and change. By keeping myself aware of this process, I am better able to live presently instead of grappling with the past or worried about the future. I have also come to respect and appreciate all the different parts of myself, even those that I am working on improving. The openness I experience with friends and loved ones, helps me stay healthy and well, despite the unfortunate circumstances that come with being human. I do my best to embrace all moments as opportunities to gain wisdom that hopefully will help me live more deeply, passionately and honestly. In addition, I play guitar and write music, which provides a wonderful creative outlet as well as a sense of peace that is hard to find elsewhere. I actually use music, along with other artistic expressions, in my work with children and adults. When I am able to incorporate artistic or creative expression and the important work I do with clients, I can’t help but feel well.