Depression Psychiatry in Boston
Depression has meaning. We treat the symptoms and we try to understand what they are about.
Physician-led psychiatry integrating psychotherapy and medication with one clinician
Psychodynamic and CBT-integrated treatment for depression, from first episode to treatment-resistant
In-person in Boston’s Back Bay, with telehealth available for established Massachusetts patients
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Request a consultation:
Submit the form or call.
2.
Office manager call:
We review basic clinic information and fit.
3.
Brief clinician screening (10–15 minutes):
Then our office manager books your first appointment.
Private-pay care enables time, continuity, and depth, with fees discussed during the office manager call.
Located in Back Bay and serving Beacon Hill, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and surrounding areas. Telehealth is available for established patients in Massachusetts, and for new patients where in-person care is not accessible.
Appointments are often available within a week.
OUR APPROACH
We treat the symptoms and explore what they are about as both matter
Psychodynamic depth combined with evidence-based CBT where it helps
Medication when it is useful, integrated into the therapeutic relationship
Depression in adults, adolescents, and children treated by one clinical team
How We Think About Depression
Depression is one of the most common reasons people seek psychiatric care, and one of the most variable. The depression of grief is different from the depression of burnout. Treatment-resistant depression is different from a first episode. We try not to treat them the same way. (Depression and anxiety frequently co-occur — see our Anxiety page)
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Symptoms are part of the story, not the whole story. Low mood, lost motivation, difficulty sleeping, and withdrawal are real and often disabling. We take them seriously medically. We also ask what they might be expressing — about a loss, a relationship, an identity, or a life that has moved away from what mattered.
Depression often involves the way we relate to ourselves. Self-criticism, shame, and a punishing inner voice are central to many depressions. Our psychodynamic work pays close attention to this — not just to challenge negative thoughts, but to understand where that harshness came from and what it has been protecting.
Prior treatment that only partially helped is common. Many patients who come to us have been in treatment before. An antidepressant that helped for a while and then stopped. Therapy that felt supportive but did not change much. We approach these histories with curiosity, not judgment, and try to understand what was missing.
Who We Work With
Adults with depression across the spectrum
First-episode major depression, recurrent depression, dysthymia, seasonal depression, postpartum depression, treatment-resistant depression, and depression in the context of grief, burnout, or major life change.
Adolescents and young adults
Depression in teenagers and college-age patients, including low motivation, withdrawal, academic decline, and hopelessness that parents often notice before the patient names it.
Professionals and people of color
Depression shaped by systemic stress, workplace racism, impostor syndrome, and the emotional labor of navigating predominantly white institutional environments. We understand the particular texture of this presentation.
LGBTQIA+ patients
Depression rooted in minority stress, family rejection, identity conflict, and the cumulative toll of living in unsupportive environments. Affirming care for the LGBTQIA+ community is not a specialty add-on here. It is how we practice.
What we help with
Major depressive disorder (MDD)
Persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia)
Treatment-resistant depression
Postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Grief and complicated grief
Depression in the context of burnout or occupational stress
Depression alongside anxiety, ADHD, or trauma
Anhedonia, low motivation, and executive dysfunction
Depression in adolescents and young adults
Depression in LGBTQIA+ individuals and people of color
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Work is getting done. The apartment is clean. From the outside, nothing looks wrong. But you feel nothing, and you have not for a long time. Anhedonia — the absence of pleasure — is depression too. We work with people who are ‘fine’ by every external measure and quietly struggling.
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A first antidepressant that worked well for two years. A second that helped less. A sense that the options are running out. Treatment-resistant depression requires a different clinical lens — one that considers the role of psychotherapy alongside, or instead of, a next medication trial.
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Always driven. Now barely getting out of bed. For people whose identity has been organized around performance, a depressive episode can feel like a collapse of the self, not just a mood problem. We take that seriously in how we work.
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![A woman with long dark hair, wearing a purple dress, smiling and sitting on an olive green armchair in a room with a bookshelf and a potted plant in the background.]()
Christine Crawford MD MPH
Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist
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![A woman sitting in a green armchair with a bookshelf behind her, smiling at the camera.]()
Jacqueline Buchanan MD
Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist
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Cecil R Webster Jr MD
FOUNDER & CEO
Child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist
Psychoanalyst
FAQs
Do you prescribe antidepressants for depression?
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Yes, when medication is clinically indicated and the patient wants it. We are physician-psychiatrists, so prescribing and psychotherapy happen in the same relationship. We discuss the options, the evidence, and the tradeoffs together.
Do you treat depression with therapy alone, without medication?
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Yes. Many patients do well with psychotherapy alone, particularly for mild to moderate depression or when the depressive episode is clearly connected to a specific life stressor. Medication is a tool, not a requirement.
What is your approach to treatment-resistant depression?
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We take a careful history of prior treatment, review what has and has not worked, and consider the role of psychotherapy (particularly psychodynamic therapy) alongside medication strategy. We also assess for conditions that can look like depression but require different treatment, including bipolar spectrum presentations and unaddressed trauma.
Do you treat postpartum depression?
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Yes. Postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders are conditions we see regularly. We pay attention to both the biological and relational dimensions of this presentation, including the transition to parenthood, identity changes, and relationship strain.
Do you treat depression in teenagers?
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Yes. All three of our psychiatrists hold dual board certification in adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. We see patients from age five through adulthood.
How soon can I be seen?
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New patients are typically seen within one to two weeks. We do not maintain a waitlist. If there is a good clinical fit, we schedule a first appointment promptly.
Why choose a board-certified psychiatrist instead of a psychiatric nurse practitioner?
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Both can be helpful, but a board-certified psychiatrist (MD/DO) brings full medical training and specialty residency, which matters for complex diagnosis, medical differentials, and nuanced long-term prescribing. In addition, all of our psychiatrists are experienced psychotherapists and/or psychoanalysts. We provide ample depth and breadth to treat your condition. Our model keeps prescribing embedded in an ongoing therapeutic relationship, not a protocol-only visit.
What does private-pay enable clinically?
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Private-pay care protects time, continuity, and depth. It allows longer, unhurried evaluations, steadier follow-up, and treatment guided by clinical need rather than insurance-driven visit limits, diagnosis requirements, or fragmented “split” models of care.
Do you offer in-person care?
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Yes. We offer in-person care in our comfortable Back Bay office and periodic telehealth for established patients. While we are located in Back Bay we also serve Beacon Hill, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, and surrounding areas.