Brett Plyler, M.D.

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Dr. Plyler serves as a staff psychiatrist at the Lindner Center of HOPE and attends to adult inpatients and adult outpatients.

After attending medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis, Dr. Plyler went on to complete a residency in family medicine. While he found family medicine important, his most satisfying moments came from working with patients one on one and delving into their emotional health.  Learning about their thoughts and feelings and how this inner life affected their behavior - these matters drew him in.  After the completion of his family practice education and some considerable reflection, he decided that he needed to pursue a psychiatric residency and focus on his interest in emotional health.

Dr. Plyler enrolled at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL, for his training.  Psychiatry was fascinating to him.  After serving as chief resident, he joined a private practice in Chicago. Dr. Plyler became an attending physician in the Psychiatry Department of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and board certified in Adult Psychiatry.  Furthering his education, he completed the Adult Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Program at the Institute for Psychoanalysis. After completion of this program, Dr. Plyler began supervising Northwestern psychiatric residents in psychotherapy and psychopharmacology as well as teaching a class on psychodynamic psychotherapy. Another area of interest for Dr. Plyler is research, and he served as a primary investigator in over one hundred clinical trials, including the newly approved ketamine nasal spray for depression.

In clinical work, he believes that a collaborative therapeutic relationship is the foundation of treatment.  Mutual decision-making enables us at Lindner Center of HOPE to determine an individually tailored plan for each patient’s particular situation.  We want to attempt to understand what is important to each person and what provides meaning in their life. This gives greater insight and helps shape their treatment plan.  Differing levels of pharmacologic intervention, psychotherapy, and family involvement will be needed for each patient.  Psychotherapy is of particular importance, and Dr. Plyler is committed to identifying and responding to each patient’s psychotherapeutic needs - whether it be insight-oriented, cognitive-behavioral, supportive, or interpersonal.

A particular focus for Dr. Plyler is bipolar disorder.  The work is demanding but rewarding as we attempt to understand and treat the full range of biopsychosocial factors involved with each patient’s illness.

Degrees

• 1989-94     B.A. in psychology and history from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• 1994-98     M.D. at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine, Memphis
• 1998-2001  Residency at University of Tennessee Hospital, Knoxville
• 2001-04     Residency at Rush Medical College in Chicago IL
• 2005-08    Program in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at the Psychoanalytic Institute, Chicago IL

Licensure and Certification

• 1998 Medical License Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners
• 2001 Diplomate American Board of Family Medicine
• 2004 Diplomate American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
• 2019 Medical License Ohio Board of Medical Examiners