Medical Staff

Edward W. Pirok, M.D., Ph.D.

Edward W. Pirok, M.D., Ph.D. is cofounder of Midwest Integrative Behavior Health and is currently a member of the contributing services faculty for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Pirok began his career as a formally trained scientist at the University of Chicago, where he studied the molecular mechanisms that regulate the protein Aggrecan, a molecule that is necessary the proper development and maintenance of brain and cartilage. While in medical school at the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago he became interested in how the mind interfaces with the body, and felt that psychiatry is the field that would enable him to examine how basic neurobiology and genetics can interface and influence daily life for individuals. 

For his internship and residency Dr. Pirok studied at the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. It was there that Dr. Pirok trained at one of a few inpatient obsessive compulsive disorder units in the country. He intensively studied Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy (ERP) for the treatment of severe anxiety disorders and OCD that had been refractory to treatment with medications or therapy alone. However, what Dr. Pirok was exposed to was a different model of practicing medicine and psychiatry. As he treated patients that flew in from throughout the United States and spoke with their families he discovered that there are few places in the world that specialize in specific treatment of anxiety disorders, and for that matter there are few places that provide integrated specialized care for behavior health which inspired him to develop Midwest Integrative Behavioral Health. 

Dr. Pirok continued his training at the Methodist Hospital, the DeBakey Veterans Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Ben Taub County Hospital which has one of the largest psychiatric emergency rooms in the country. While in Houston Dr. Pirok treated displaced individuals and families of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and saw how acute natural disasters can effect human behavior. While studying at these diverse institutions he developed a special interest in the interface of severe medical illness with acute stress, mood disorders, substance abuse and behavior. 

When Dr. Pirok returned to Chicago, he joined the Asher Center of Northwestern University and returned to his roots as a scientist. He has been a clinical investigator in several national multicenter trials, including examining the efficacy of multiple antidepressant medications on patients with depressed moods, the development of a suicide assessment risk scale, and the effects of medications on patients with Bipolar Mood Disorder in terms of cognition, memory, and mood. He has examined the way perception of emotion by individuals with and without Bipolar Mood Disorder influences perceptions of others. 

Dr. Pirok continues to have an interest in treating adults and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders. He is trained, practices and teaches both dynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). As a formally trained scientist and physician he evaluates and treats medically complicated patients and is able to navigate multiple treatment modalities. Whether that treatment modality includes a specific type of therapy alone, medications, or combinations of both is dependent on an individual's needs. Dr. Pirok's mission is to work with individuals and families who have a willingness to participate in an integrated treatment plan.

Aaron Reichlin, MD

Aaron Reichlin, MD is currently clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and the former Director of the Outpatient Treatment Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Though originally from the Chicago area, he completed his undergraduate work at Brown University, and graduated in 2002 from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine with distinction as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. After completing residency as Chief Resident in 2006, he became a Diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and now participates in multiple educational endeavors.