Ari D. Kalechstein, Ph.D., president and CEO of Executive Mental Health (EMH), offers over 26 years of experience as a licensed psychologist in the States of California, Oregon, Nevada, and Virginia. With the support of his colleagues, Dr. Kalechstein created a comprehensive suite of services at EMH, which include neuropsychological evaluations, clinical psychological interventions, psychiatric care, and forensic mental health evaluations. The mission of EMH clinicians is to provide mental health services for patients from a wide variety of backgrounds who experience an array of mental health difficulties.
While earning his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Emory University and while training at Emory University’s Neurobehavior Program, the Wesley Woods Geriatric Hospital, and Grady Hospital, Dr. Kalechstein became aware of the mental health challenges that are unique to the community of elderly adults and/or those afflicted with various mental health conditions. He continued his study of these populations of individuals as a predoctoral intern in Clinical Psychology at the VA Medical Center West Los Angeles and at Patton State Hospital. Moreover, to attain additional expertise in these areas, Dr. Kalechstein subsequently completed a series of two postdoctoral fellowships at the UCLA School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry. The first fellowship emphasized expertise in neuropsychological assessment (1995-1997) and the second focused on Addiction Medicine (1996-1999).
Around the time that Dr. Kalechstein started EMH, he served as an Associate Research Psychologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He also has published extensively in peer-review journals, published one of the first edited volumes examining the neuropsychological consequences of addiction, and served as a principal investigator and collaborator on numerous research grants. Furthermore, Dr. Kalechstein has served as an ad hoc peer reviewer on hundreds of journal articles and as a consulting and guest editor on behalf of select journals. Additionally, Dr. Kalechstein assists the Board of Psychology, as well as other regulatory boards in the State of California, as an expert reviewer. He is also a member of the board of JUMP!, an organization that fulfills bucket list wishes for seniors, and highlights those special seniors who continue to live extraordinary and inspirational lives.