Bio
Dr. Bajestan serves as the Chief of Neuropsychiatry Services, Director of the Neuropsychiatry Fellowship, Co-Director of the Individual Psychotherapy Clinic, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. She is actively involved in clinical care, research, and the training of psychiatry residents and neuropsychiatry fellows.
Dr. Bajestan serves as a neuropsychiatric consultant for Stanford University’s Inpatient Neurology Units, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, and Outpatient Neurology Clinics. She also provides consultation and outpatient care—both medication management and psychotherapy—across several clinics within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She finds deep meaning in collaborating closely with her patients and their families, mentoring trainees, partnering with healthcare colleagues, and advancing her research projects.
She is the recipient of numerous national honors, including the American Psychiatric Association’s Irma Bland Award for Excellence in Teaching, APA Leadership Award, American Association of Psychiatry Residency Directors’ Brain Scholar Award, the Laughlin Fellowship from the American College of Psychiatrists, the American Neuropsychiatric Association’s Young Investigator Award, and Stanford Psychiatry Department’s Outstanding Resident Award. She has also received the Department of Psychiatry’s Chair’s Mission Award for Leadership and Professionalism.
Functional Neurological Disorder (FND)
Dr. Bajestan is an internationally recognized expert in Functional Neurological Disorders (FND). She serves on the Board of Directors for the FND Society, the leading international organization promoting research and clinical advancements in FND. She co-leads the FND section within the American Neuropsychiatric Association’s (ANPA) Committee on Research and is also Chair of the ANPA’s Awards Committee and.
She is an editor of the widely respected Concise Guide to Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neurology and is the lead editor of Treatment of FND, the first dedicated book on FND supported by the American Psychiatric Association, currently in development.
Neuroscience, Neuropsychiatry, and Psychopharmacology Expertise
Dr. Bajestan holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, with extensive training in the molecular genetics and biology of neurological and psychiatric disorders during her doctoral and postdoctoral work. She completed her psychiatry residency at Stanford University and is board-certified in General Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
She was Stanford’s first Neuropsychiatry Fellow and co-established the fellowship with Dr. John Barry. She is also board-certified in Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry by the United Council for Neurological Subspecialties. An expert in complex neuropsychopharmacology, Dr. Bajestan is additionally trained in interventional neuropsychiatry, including Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS).
Psychotherapy Expertise
Dr. Bajestan has received training in a range of psychotherapeutic modalities, including Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Hypnosis, and Prolonged Exposure (PE). She is the Director of the Individual Psychotherapy Clinic at Stanford University and served on the board of the WellConnect Clinic, where she provided mental health care and burnout prevention coaching to residents and fellows at Stanford Hospital and Clinics.
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