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Nnamdi Orakpo, MD, PhD
Sleep Psychiatrist, Adult Psychiatrist
Walnut Creek
✅ Accepting New Patients
💼 7 Years Experience
⭐ Highly Recommended
🕰️. Excellent Wait Time
5.00
I’m a 66 year old woman who had severe anxiety and depression. Dr. Nnamdi Orakpo through counseling and Meds has changed my life!
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Getting to know Nnamdi Orakpo, M.D.
Dr. Nnamdi Orakpo is a Sleep Medicine Psychiatrist and Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, with a longstanding commitment to advancing care for older adults and individuals with complex neuropsychiatric and sleep disorders. He earned his PhD in Gerontology from the University of North Texas, where he also served as an Adjunct Professor in Minority Aging, before completing his medical degree at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, and clinical training at Mount Sinai at Jackson Park Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Orakpo’s clinical and research interests center on sleep medicine, pharmacovigilance and psychotropic effect on sleep bruxism, ADHD-OSA overlap, interventional psychiatry, and neuromodulation. He has led innovative research, including an opioid-sparing clinical trial investigating Virtual Reality Neurofeedback as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain, supported by institutional funding. His work has been presented at national conferences and published in leading journals such as Frontiers in Psychiatry, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, and the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).
He is an active member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, North American Neuromodulation Society, American Psychiatric Association, and California Sleep Society. Dr. Orakpo continues to contribute to the field through research, teaching, and clinical practice.
Focus Areas
Depression
Stress Management
Bipolar Disorder
PTSD
Women's Issues (Perinatal/
Reproductive)
ADHD
Panic Attacks
Clientele
Adults
People with chronic illness
Veterans
Treatment Approaches
Neuropsychiatry: Combines psychiatry with neurology to treat disorders affecting both the brain and mind.
Sleep Medicine: Treats sleep disorders and their impact on mental health.
Identity
Gender Male | Languages Spoken English Spanish |
Insurance Providers
UMR
PHCS MultiPlan
Medicare
Carelon Health
VHP
ComPsych
Kaiser Permanente
Aetna
Cigna
BlueCross BlueShield
Magellan Health
TriWest
MHN
FAQs
1. What is your approach to working with patients?
I use an integrated, spherical approach to make sure my patients are receiving individualized, specialized care, indentifying medications that fit the patients' lifestyle and condition. I do home sleep apnea (HSAT) for patients who have ADHD symptoms and neurocognitive disorder before starting stimulants, to identify and treat sleep disordered breathing, which can cause ADHD symptoms.
2. How do you integrate medication management?
I use a tailored approach for med management, treating RLS, trauma related sleep disorder, excessive daytime sleepiness in sleep apnea, and narcolepsy, while engaging patients in CBT-INSOMNIA and referring them for higher care (CBT-I) if needed.
3. What types of concerns do you specialize in treating?
Sleep disorders with comorbid psychiatric disorders.
4. What do you believe is the most important part of the healing process?
Having a good rapport and therapeutic alliance with my patients.
5. What kinds of clients do you work with best?
Patients with neurocognitive, mood disorders, and sleep disturbances, specifically, ADHD patients with sleep apnea, and narcolepsy patients with OCD, ADHD, Depression and anxiety, as well as patients with PTSD and trauma associated sleep disorder.
6. Do you have experience with trauma or PTSD?
Yes. I also treat military veterans with PTSD and trauma related sleep disorder, which can resemble REM Behavior disorder.
7. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, I still play basketball, though retired, and I lift weights, dances salsa and I travel nearly every weekend and spend time with my 2 children.