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Outro co-founder Dr. Mark Horowitz was prescribed an antidepressant while in medical school, on his way to earning a PhD in the neurobiology of depression and the pharmacology of antidepressants. Years later, as a training psychiatrist in the UK, Mark followed traditional guidance to wean himself off his antidepressant, only to experience panic attacks, sleep disruptions, and a depression far worse than anything he had experienced before.
Left searching for solutions, Mark found an online community of thousands of others in similar situations. Founded by Adele Framer, an advisor to Outro, this community inspired Mark’s research into safely stopping antidepressants and the development of the hyperbolic tapering approach that is now the standard of care in the UK, and the backbone of Outro’s individualized tapering plans.
Having had her own difficulties going off an antidepressant, Adele has dedicated more than a decade to being a lay researcher in and patient advocate for safe tapering, counselling more than 10,000 people through their journeys off medication. We draw on Mark and Adele’s world-leading knowledge to support our team in providing the highest level of care and safety to our members.
We're a dedicated team of medical specialists and people with lived experience, working together to build the safest and most sustainable off-ramp for medication. We’re there when you need us, and cheering you on when you don’t.
Monica, RN(EC), MN, NP-Adult, is an adult/acute care nurse practitioner. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including public health, acute care, and in mental health. Having lived through the experience of antidepressant withdrawal herself it was highlighted to her the lack of expertise and help available in her medical treatment team to discontinue medications safely. She comes to Outro Health with a passion for helping individuals meet their mental health goals while practicing with a holistic client-centered approach.
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Martha is a psychotherapist with experience working in various clinical settings and with a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, developmental trauma, life transitions, grief and identity. She is a certified yoga teacher, a certified hypnotherapist and has extensive experience practicing and teaching meditation. Martha has a passion for changing the delivery of care in our health care systems and taking a holistic approach to mental health. Her client work is rooted in fostering an individual’s innate capacity to heal, build resiliency and ultimately live a more meaningful life.
Nicole, RN (EC), MN, NP-Adult, spent many years working in the hospital setting, in areas ranging from intensive care to cardiac surgery. Her value of holistic healing prompted her to shift to private practice where she works as an integrative nurse practitioner and psychotherapist. She comes to Outro with a love of supporting others where they are on their journeys, and incorporating a whole person approach to healing that includes mind, body and spirit.
Dr. Horowitz is a neuroscientist, Clinical Research Fellow in Psychiatry at the National Health Service in England, and a world-leading researcher in psychiatric medication deprescribing. Mark co-wrote the Royal College of Psychiatrists' guidelines on antidepressant discontinuation, based on the principle of gradual, hyperbolic tapering. His firsthand experience of the difficulty of coming off antidepressants, the lack of professional support, and the help he received through peer support websites inspired him to pursue research and clinical work in safe deprescribing of psychiatric drugs. He co-founded Outro Health to give others the professional support he was unable to find for himself.
Tyler is an experienced operator with a passion for start-ups and mental healthcare. Most recently, Tyler was an early employee and Director of Finance at Field Trip Health, and before that, the same at HelloFresh Canada. After spending years navigating the troubling yet poorly understood side effects and withdrawal symptoms of antidepressants, Tyler is proud to be supporting Outro’s team and its members in accomplishing their goals.
Brandon comes with broad background in the healthcare space. He has a passion for building solutions that help people gain autonomy, and enjoys working with companies that are honest in their missions. Prior to starting Outro, Brandon was the first employee at Field Trip Health, and spent three years at Novo Nordisk's headquarters in Copenhagen. Brandon has degrees in biology, philosophy and global health, and had a past life as an NCAA Division 1 athlete.
Dr. Apkon is an experienced healthcare executive, having served as the CEO of SickKids Hospital in Toronto and Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He has held faculty positions at University of Pennsylvania, Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Management. As a healthcare executive, Dr. Apkon has led systems’ development and improvement to drive high quality and safe care, improve clinical operations, and promote an integrated approach to health care across a continuum of services.
Adele Framer is a patient advocate and lay expert in psychiatric drug tapering and withdrawal, having studied it since her own experience with antidepressant withdrawal syndrome, in 2004. She founded a leading peer support website in 2011, offering peer support for tapering, and in 2021 published a well-received paper in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology.
Dr. Appasani is an Integrative & Addiction Psychiatrist with an extensive background in entrepreneurship, neuroscience, global mental health, psychedelics, nutritional/ metabolic health, and psychotherapy. He is currently investigating the applications of psilocybin for mental health conditions at UCSF and additionally operates a concierge's psychiatric practice focused on bridging eastern and western practices.
Dr. Vora is a board-certified psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and yoga teacher, and she is the author of The Anatomy of Anxiety, which looks at how one can overcome anxiety by first understanding it as a physiological response rooted in the body. She takes a functional medicine approach to mental health—considering the whole person and addressing imbalance at the root. Dr. Vora received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.D. from Columbia University.
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