Lake Area Psychiatry of Lake Charles

Lake Area Psychiatry of Lake Charles is a psychiatrist practice in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 2002 by David Buttross, MD, the practice serves Lake Charles and surrounding communities with patient-centered mental health care. Its team includes skilled psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers such as Allyson Warshaw, LCSW, and Russell Richard, LCSW. The practice treats a wide range of mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and others, and serves patients seeking support for recent concerns as well as those managing chronic conditions.

Treatment at Lake Area Psychiatry begins with a comprehensive assessment that may include pharmacogenetic testing, which analyzes how a patient's genes may affect their response to commonly prescribed medications. From there, the team formulates a personalized treatment plan that can include medication management, therapy, or a combination of both. With patient permission, the practice collaborates with each patient's primary care provider and broader medical team, and welcomes family involvement in the treatment process when appropriate. In addition to outpatient services at the office, the physicians also provide inpatient treatment at CHRISTUS Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles, supporting continuity of care across settings. The practice offers telemedicine appointments and maintains office hours Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The office sits on Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive, about a tenth of a mile from both the Fourth Ward School and Drew Park, and roughly a tenth of a mile from CHRISTUS Saint Patrick Hospital. The Imperial Calcasieu Museum and its Annex Gallery are around a third of a mile away, and Ryan Street is about two-fifths of a mile from the practice.

With a rating of 4.20 across 20 reviews, Lake Area Psychiatry holds a solid reputation among the patients it has served. Since 2002, the practice has worked alongside patients in Lake Charles to manage conditions through individualized care plans that draw on medication management, therapy, and genetic-informed guidance.