A Definition of Solstice:

1. Either of the two times a year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator
2. A furthest or culminating point; a turning point

Vatsal G. Thakkar, M.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, and Director of the GME (Graduate Medical Education) Wellness Team at NYU. Dr. Thakkar received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He trained in psychiatry at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was chief resident and then recruited as junior faculty. Prior to coming to New York, he was Medical Director for the Vanderbilt Mental Health Center, supervising residents and nurse practitioners, and directing a course for second-year medical students. In 2006, he completed two textbooks on psychiatry which serve as primers on mental health for a young adult audience. He has been a psychiatric consultant to attorneys, an employee assistance program (EAP), and the press including the New York Times and NBC’s Today Show. Dr. Thakkar also maintains pursuits outside of psychiatry, including photography and filmmaking. His last photo exhibit, entitled Fortitude, consisted of portraits of cancer survivors and is part of the permanent collection of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He has also written and directed a film entitled Ravaged about the plight of a man with post-traumatic stress disorder which debuted in 2001 and has screened multiple times as recently as 2008. He is currently working on several media projects and running a private practice, Solstice Psychiatric Consulting, in Manhattan.

Download his résumé by clicking here.

Member of the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and the Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry