One Week Later: Crystal Kim Psychiatry
Providing compassionate and personalized mental health care both in-person and via telehealth.
Crystal Kim
Who is the brains behind your organization?
My name is Crystal Kim and I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner who started the practice in 2020.
Where are you located?
Our office is in Midtown, Manhattan (31st Street & 5th Avenue), but we are operating remotely via telemedicine in the state of New York.
What’s your mission?
We want people to have access to quality, personalized mental health care provided by experienced, warm and understanding clinicians.
Tell us your origin story.
After spending several years at Columbia Psychiatry’s Faculty Practice, I made the leap to start my own private practice in January 2020 — 6 weeks before the pandemic lockdown! I started off as a solo provider after recognizing that I wanted to both challenge myself professionally and also have more quality time with my toddler son.
I quickly realized in the first year of the pandemic that people were struggling with their mental health more than ever, but also, mental health care was becoming more accessible than ever through virtual visits. While my patients were struggling with loneliness and isolation, I was also starting to miss being part of a cohesive clinical team to share ideas, collaborate on cases, and continue learning about the treatment of mental health disorders together. That is when I invited Haley and Melissa to join the practice. Our teamwork was incredible — almost 10 years ago we worked together and we picked up right where we left off!
Haley Lee
Three words to describe your team?
Empathic, diligent, resourceful.
Workplace/workspace/office essentials?
High-speed internet access for our daily video visits! We don’t need much equipment other than our mouths, but my patients know I always have my cup of coffee within reach.
Best source of creative inspiration?
I moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn during the pandemic and the distinct culture and aesthetic of my neighborhood have been incredibly inspiring.
What would people be surprised to know about your organization?
We all worked at the same Psychiatric Emergency Department together. When you’ve witnessed psychiatric emergencies together, worked to clear a busy and chaotic ER together and shared a few tears from the burnout and stress together, your teamwork is virtually indestructible!
Melissa Ciccarello
What are your favorite features of your WOTW site?
The customized doodles, lines, and color blocking. The rotating text on the home page got me pretty excited!
What was your favorite part of working with the WOTW team?
The team was so cohesive and organized. Everyone had a specific skill set to offer, and through collectively brainstorming and discussing the structure of the website, color palettes and content, this beautiful website was born! It was amazing to witness and be a part of the process.
Where can people find you? (website, social outlets, etc.)
On the web at www.cknp.com. We are not currently on social media.
What are your hopes for the near future?
We are expanding our services to NJ and possibly CT. We may also add members to our team, so stay tuned!
