Dr. Aaron Liu - Mental Health Doctor, Online Mental Health Counseling | Mental Health Care Services

About Me and My Practice

I gravitated to treating mental health conditions the day I began my family medicine residency training.  It is now my exclusive focus.
 
After residency at Underwood-Memorial Family Practice Residency and a clinical fellowship in geriatrics at Temple University Hospital, I took a family practice position in Northeast Philadelphia. This position included a lot of nursing home work, where I treated anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions.

Mid-career, at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, I ran a geriatric clinic and prescribed mental health medications for my adult patients with anxiety, mood disorders, disabilities, chronic pain, and chronic medical illnesses. On the side, I worked at the University of Pennsylvania Student Health Services, where I treated Penn undergrads, Wharton MBA students, and Curtis Institute of Music student for general health concerns, anxiety, depression, and ADHD. 

Evenings and weekends, I worked at the Bryn Mawr Hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, seeing psychiatric patients for medical evluations.  I did this for five years.

I had the privilege to serve in Delaware as the medical director of the Wilmington Veterans Administration Medical Center Community Living Center. There, I took care of disabled veterans in long term care, most of whom suffered from complex mental health conditions., including PTSD.

Five years ago, I went into addiction medicine. In 2021, I became board-certified in addiction medicine. The next year, I worked in Community Behavioral Health as a medical director in Bucks County, where I prescribed medication-assisted treatment for patients with substance use disorders and handled evaluation and treatment of mental health disorders. This showed me that I wanted make my services available to the general public, and I started my private practice in Bryn Mawr.

FAQs: Get the Information You Need

Q1. What types of conditions do you treat?

I treat a variety of mental health conditions, including ADD/ADHD, anxiety/PTSD, obsessive-compulsive-phobic disorders, depression, and other mood disorders.

Q2. What is your approach to medication management?

I take a comprehensive approach to medication management, focusing on finding the most effective and appropriate medications for each patient. I regularly monitor progress and adjust treatment plans as needed to ensure optimal outcomes. Ongoing regular sessions are 45 minutes and are conducted at a frequency based on the needs of the individual client.

Q3. How long are the follow-up sessions?

Follow-up sessions typically last 45 minutes. These sessions are designed to monitor your progress, address any concerns, and to continually assess, develop, and refine the plan of care.

Q4. Do you accept insurance?

In order to focus on your treatment, I have chosen not to accept insurance. My fee for initial consultation of 90 minutes is $300, payable by personal check at the time of the consultation. My fee for follow up visits of 45 minutes is $150. I request payment at the time of each visit. If you have Medicare, I will provide you a private agreement contract which states that you agree not to submit a claim to Medicare for any services provided by me. I have opted out of Medicare. My status with Medicare at this time is Opted Out. I intend to remain opted out, as I feel it is the best way for me to concentrate on providing the best care I can.

Q5. What expertise does Dr. Aaron Liu offer in Addiction Medicine?

Although substance use disorders are not the primary focus of my practice, I use my experience in addiction medicine to inform my care of people with mental health conditions. Substance use behavior and mental health symptoms often go hand-in-hand. I became Board-Certified in Addiction Medicine in 2021. As a medical director of a community behavioral health program in Bucks County, I provided Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for substance use disorders and provided evaluation and medication treatment for mental health conditions for the same patients.

I feel that treatment for substance use disorders often requires a treatment team. Sometimes, medication for disorders such as alcohol or nicotine use disorder can be prescribed and managed by an individual practitioner such as me. I encourage you to speak with me about any concerns you have about using substances and whether it would be good for you to decrease or stop the use of any substance, including caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens, opioids, or others, and I will give you my honest opinion.

Some people have behaviors which can be considered compulsive or addictive in nature. These include eating disorders and other “behavioral addictions.” I encourage you to bring these concerns up with me up front.