Signe Darpinian offers talk therapy and does not prescribe. Her listed specialties include the mental health side of midlife and menopause, along with body image, binge eating and chronic dieting, and she works through a weight-inclusive, non-diet lens. Sessions draw on DBT and ACT with homework between visits. She says she connects clients with psychiatrists, primary care physicians or dietitians when treatment calls for it, and keeps in contact with them. She has written a book on menopause, body image and emotional well-being at midlife, and she has presented on weight-inclusive menopause care alongside a physician. Care is by video for people in California, and she offers a short consultation call when she has room in her caseload.
Dr. Banks is a board-certified psychiatrist who treats hormone-related mood and sleep problems alongside her regular psychiatry work. Many of her patients are midlife women who come in for something like ADHD or insomnia, and she looks at what hormones may be adding to it. She orders labs when they are indicated and in many cases prescribes estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. She also uses non-drug approaches such as supplements and lifestyle changes, and offers ketamine for some mental health care. Visits run longer than the usual 15 minutes, she keeps her panel small so appointments are not months away, and a new patient evaluation is spread over two to three sessions. Care is in person in Oakland or by video for patients anywhere in California.
Jerusalem Makonnen sees patients at One Medical's Grand Lake office in Oakland, a membership primary care practice rather than a menopause clinic. She lists peri/menopause as her area of expertise and otherwise sees patients of all ages for general primary care. Most contact runs through the One Medical app, where members message their care team and use on-demand video visits around the clock. Scheduled visits with her, in the office or by video, are booked on top of the membership and billed to insurance, and the office takes same-day and next-day appointments. One Medical publishes nothing about which hormone treatments its providers use, so what she prescribes for menopause is not stated on the site. She trained at Yale, writes that she wants to create a safe space for everyone, and says she runs, does yoga and gets out to the California beaches with her family.
