Proactive Psychiatry
Beyond Symptom Management — Optimizing Mental Health
Expert ADHD & High-Functioning ASD Diagnostic Assessment
A thorough, nuanced evaluation that goes far beyond a checklist. The process includes a comprehensive clinical interview, standardized diagnostic tools, QbTest (an FDA-cleared computer-based continuous performance task for ADHD assessment), collateral information from informants, and assessment of comorbidities. Dr. Choy brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to the diagnostic process — understanding how ADHD and ASD present in high-achieving adults, how masking obscures the picture, and how late diagnosis changes everything. For patients who have spent years feeling misunderstood, this evaluation marks the beginning of a new chapter.
Precision Medication & Supplement Optimization
Medication does more than manage symptoms—it actively shapes brain function and development. Dr. Choy employs a precision approach informed by pharmacogenetic testing, ensuring the optimal regimen and dose are tailored specifically to your biology. By integrating evidence-informed supplementation with rigorous monitoring of long-term efficacy, he moves beyond stabilization—ultimately pursuing neuroenhancement and neuroprotection.
Comprehensive Comorbidity Management
ADHD and ASD rarely exist in isolation. Anxiety, depression, OCD, PMDD, and trauma commonly co-occur, alongside emotional dysregulation, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), sleep disorders, and challenges with weight management. GI dysfunction, autonomic disorders, neuroinflammatory conditions, immune dysregulation, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) also frequently overlap. These conditions do not simply coexist — they amplify one another, compounding the difficulty of both treatment and daily life. Dr. Choy specializes in these intricate, overlapping presentations, developing a single, unified treatment strategy built around the full complexity of your neurobiology. For patients who have spent years being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or partially treated, this is the comprehensive care you have been seeking.
Executive Function & Cognitive Enhancement
Executive function is the brain's CEO — managing attention, planning, impulse control, and emotional regulation. For neurodivergent individuals, these systems work differently. Dr. Choy develops personalized strategies to build the cognitive scaffolding that allows high-performers to operate at their peak — sustainably, and without burning out.
Mind-Body Wellness & Nervous System Regulation
The brain and body are one integrated system — each profoundly shaping the other. Exercise, sleep, nutrition, breathwork, mindfulness meditation, and stress regulation all directly influence neuroplasticity, cognitive functioning, and emotional resilience. Dr. Choy integrates lifestyle medicine and biowearable technology into treatment plans — tracking real-world data to optimize your nervous system and elevate your mental performance.
Neuroplasticity-Based Interventions & Behavioral Adaptation
The brain is adaptable and capable of change at any age. Through targeted therapeutic interventions, Dr. Choy helps patients build new neural pathways — strengthening the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral capacities that ADHD and chronic stress have compromised. Change is possible. It requires precision strategy and the guidance of a clinician who understands how your brain actually works.
Stress Resilience & Burnout Prevention
Using his modified Bathtub Model of Stress, Dr. Choy helps high-achieving patients understand their stress physiology, recognize their personal warning signs early, and build the recovery practices that sustain peak performance. This is precision resilience engineering — purpose-built for neurodivergent minds operating at the highest levels.
Emotional Health & Transformational Psychotherapy
Drawing on his training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and a neuroscience-based approach to emotional health, Dr. Choy offers depth-oriented therapy that addresses the underlying patterns driving emotional dysregulation, relationship difficulties, and self-limiting beliefs. For appropriate patients, Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is integrated as an advanced neuroplasticity intervention — producing rapid, measurable shifts in mood, cognition, and behavior that accelerate and deepen the therapeutic process. This is treatment designed for lasting transformation.
Healthspan & Lifestyle Interventions
True mental wellness and physical vitality are inseparable — each amplifies the other. Dr. Choy integrates cutting-edge longevity medicine with psychiatric care — including GLP-1 therapies, biological age testing to measure how your body is aging at a cellular level, and comprehensive lifestyle optimization across sleep, nutrition, movement, and metabolic health.
Testimonials
“As a professional colleague of Dr. who has worked closely with her in both the outpatient clinic and ER hospital settings, I can attest to Dr. superb clinical and diagnostic skills, her agreeable bedside manner, and her genuine concern for patients. Dr. Ambardar is a consummate professional and a wonderful, caring psychiatrist. Her patients have always spoken very highly of her and I would recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone seeking a bright, compassionate physician for themselves or their family members.”
— Sidney Gold, M.D., Former Chief of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Sherman Terrace Medical Offices, Los Angeles, CA.
Sarah Jenkins
"Absolutely amazing physician. I have been with her for over 5 years and she has helped me through some of the hardest times. She has been an incredible support system, professional, and has made me truly become a happier, more confident, and empathetic person. Her credentials and fund of knowledge are superb. She is open, kind, and everything you could want in a health professional. She has made such a positive impact on my life, I feel very fortunate to have connected with her in my journey to improving my mental health and well being."
— K.C.
Sarah Jenkins
“Dr. Ambardar maintains a true professionalism and calm that is not equaled by many of her colleagues. She has a quiet, unassuming demeanor, but underneath she is intelligent, hard working, and her psychiatric evaluations of patients are well thought out, organized, and sound. Sheenie is a good person. She is honest, decent, and fun. She is well liked by the faculty and staff. I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Ambardar. She would be an asset to any faculty or medical school.”
— Sofia Matta, M.D., former Unit Chief and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York, NY.
Sarah Jenkins
"The quality of care I received from Dr. Ambardar was unlike any other doctor patient relationship I've ever experienced. Her calm, compassionate, and empathetic presence helped me navigate one of the darkest periods of my life. I came to Dr. Ambardar in a complete crisis, and over the years of us working together she helped me completely reframe and rebuild my mental health. The progress I've made since working with her has been astounding. I'll be eternally grateful for her support in processing and accepting some very challenging diagnoses. I would wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Ambardar to anyone in need of one of the best psychiatrists in LA. You won't be disappointed with her support."
— MF
Sarah Jenkins
"I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Ambardar for the past 3 years. She is a highly intelligent, compassionate, and thoughtful practitioner. I am confident in her skills and am happy to refer my patients to her for their psychiatric care as I know they will be in excellent hands."
— Patrice Robins, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, CA.
Sarah Jenkins
"I can safely say that seeing Dr. Ambardar has been one of the best things l've ever done. She is beyond compassionate and skilled in a way which I have rarely if ever encountered. I've seen many Psychiatrists and mental health practitioners in the past 2 decades. I've also been to inpatient treatment multiple times before. She picked up and identified things that have never been addressed. As a result of seeing her I'm the happiest and most stable I've ever been in my life. I've had experiences where l've been overly medicated or felt unseen and she has been the complete antithesis. I do not feel like a zombie or not myself - I feel more myself and able to participate in my life in a way that l've never experienced prior to seeing her. I'm not a big reviewer in any way but felt compelled to share my experience. I understand the hesitation in picking out a mental health practitioner and my hope is that in sharing this I can ease someone's anxiety in "picking" her. TLDR: Just see her - It is worth its weight in gold."
— C.T.
Sarah Jenkins
Best Mental Health Website
Anxiety & Depression Association of America
International OCD Foundation
Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD)
Gender Unicorn

Testimonials
"I can safely say that seeing Dr. Ambardar has been one of the best things l've ever done. She is beyond compassionate and skilled in a way which I have rarely if ever encountered. I've seen many Psychiatrists and mental health practitioners in the past 2 decades. I've also been to inpatient treatment multiple times before. She picked up and identified things that have never been addressed. As a result of seeing her I'm the happiest and most stable I've ever been in my life. I've had experiences where l've been overly medicated or felt unseen and she has been the complete antithesis. I do not feel like a zombie or not myself - I feel more myself and able to participate in my life in a way that l've never experienced prior to seeing her. I'm not a big reviewer in any way but felt compelled to share my experience. I understand the hesitation in picking out a mental health practitioner and my hope is that in sharing this I can ease someone's anxiety in "picking" her. TLDR: Just see her - It is worth its weight in gold."
Sarah Jenkins
— C.T.
“Dr. Ambardar has tremendous insight into personal and collective trauma and the impact of ancestral trauma on a person's life. It is not often you come across a professional who has an in-depth understanding of collective trauma and its impact on an individual's life. Her work and her insights have been supportive in my own healing journey. I highly recommend anyone wanting to connect with their ancestral histories, collective trauma, and current life experiences to work with Dr. Ambardar. She is a caring professional.”
Sarah Jenkins
— B.S.
"Absolutely amazing physician. I have been with her for over 5 years and she has helped me through some of the hardest times. She has been an incredible support system, professional, and has made me truly become a happier, more confident, and empathetic person. Her credentials and fund of knowledge are superb. She is open, kind, and everything you could want in a health professional. She has made such a positive impact on my life, I feel very fortunate to have connected with her in my journey to improving my mental health and well being."
Sarah Jenkins
— K.C.
"I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Ambardar for the past 3 years. She is a highly intelligent, compassionate, and thoughtful practitioner. I am confident in her skills and am happy to refer my patients to her for their psychiatric care as I know they will be in excellent hands."
Sarah Jenkins
— Patrice Robins, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, CA.
“Dr. Ambardar maintains a true professionalism and calm that is not equaled by many of her colleagues. She has a quiet, unassuming demeanor, but underneath she is intelligent, hard working, and her psychiatric evaluations of patients are well thought out, organized, and sound. Sheenie is a good person. She is honest, decent, and fun. She is well liked by the faculty and staff. I wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Ambardar. She would be an asset to any faculty or medical school.”
Sarah Jenkins
— Sofia Matta, M.D., former Unit Chief and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York, NY.
“As a professional colleague of Dr. Ambardar’s who has worked closely with her in both the outpatient clinic and ER hospital settings, I can attest to Dr. Ambardar’s superb clinical and diagnostic skills, her agreeable bedside manner, and her genuine concern for patients. Dr. Ambardar is a consummate professional and a wonderful, caring psychiatrist. Her patients have always spoken very highly of her and I would recommend her wholeheartedly to anyone seeking a bright, compassionate physician for themselves or their family members.”
Sarah Jenkins
— Sidney Gold, M.D., Former Chief of Psychiatry, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Sherman Terrace Medical Offices, Los Angeles, CA.
FAQs
That is a personal decision that is entirely up to you. If you have been struggling with significant mood impairment (whether that be persistent feelings of sadness, despair, irritability, racing thoughts, mood swings, or trouble focusing or concentrating), it may be a good idea to seek help from a trained psychiatric physician (M.D.) who has the ability to prescribe pharmacological intervention should that be necessary.
No, medication will not change your personality. Psychiatric medications, when prescribed judiciously and with care, have the power to transform the lives of those suffering from mental health issues, like depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, and PMDD.
At The Happiness Psychiatrist®, we believe in using the lowest effective dose of psychiatric medication, tailored specifically to each patient’s individual needs. In addition, Dr. Ambardar incorporates other treatment modalities to address mood symptoms, including psychotherapy, nutritional medicine, supplements, meditation, walking therapy, and Kundalini Yoga.
Insurance companies typically place many restrictions and demands on doctors, and dictate the frequency and level of care that physicians may provide to their patients. In order to offer you the highest-quality personalized service, tailored to your individual needs and not subject to third-party restrictions, Dr. Ambardar does not contract with any insurance providers. In this way, she can focus all of her energies on serving you, the patient, to the best of her abilities.

The Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

Thriving with Adult ADHD: Skills to Strengthen Executive Functioning
Resources
Bibliotherapy

The Narcissistic Family: Diagnosis and Treatment

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents

Thriving with Adult ADHD: Skills to Strengthen Executive Functioning

















