Medpedia

Jeffrey T Junig MD PhD

Asst Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Medical College of Wisconsin

Fond du Lac, WI

Professional summary

My background is a bit complicated. After graduating from Carroll College in Wisconsin, I went straight to grad school at the Center for Brain Research, University of Rochester, NY, without any significant thought toward an eventual career. Those thoughts eventually materialized as I was finishing my PhD, leading me to continue my education in Medical School at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. I then did a residency in Anesthesiology at Penn and the affiliated hospitals, and became Board Certified in Anesthesiology in 1993. I worked as an anesthesiologist and pain physician for about ten years in Wisconsin and was Chief of our 8-MD dept for most of that time. I thought I was indispensible… until stupidly treating my own sore throat with codeine cough syrup and eventually developing a full-blown addiction to the opiates that I was using at work. I was ‘dispensed with’ and had many major awakenings about many areas of my life; some during my three+ months in residential treatment, some during analysis for years afterward, some during six years of group AODA ‘aftercare’, and some while sitting on the couch or taking a walk and otherwise doing nothing. I lost a friend who I would love to have as a mentor, Commander Dan Shanower, an amazing patriot who was killed September 11th 2001 at the Pentagon; another friend and gifted local surgeon took his own life shortly afterward. In many ways I thought my life was over after leaving my anesthesia career; the death of my friends helped me see that I was still blessed to be very much alive, and at some point I needed to quit feeling sorry for myself and start the next chapter of my life. I entered residency in psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2003 and became Board Certified in Psychiatry in 2008. After residency I decided to shoot for the type of practice that everyone wants to have, and for the most part that is what I ended up with. I submit to insurers but do not join panels; I see who I want to see; I discount only when I want to discount. My med checks last 30 minutes and those are my shortest appointments. I don’t do much advertising, relying instead on word of mouth; I enjoy working with patients who are ready to beyond the silliness of modern psychiatry, where doctors hardly know their patients and vice versa. While building my practice I spend two years as a part-time psychiatrist for the state Dept of Corrections, seeing male and female patients in maximum security prisons. At the present time I have my solo practice, and I am looking (without any urgency) for the right therapist to join me. I have a weekly radio show where I discuss psychiatry; I am medical director of a residential AODA treatment center, and I teach at the Medical College of Psychiatry, where I am Asst Clinical Professor. My practice includes general psychiatry for patients of all ages, but I also have a significant portion of my practice involved in treating opiate dependence and chronic pain. I consider my expertise to be in areas where my experiences come together; in patients with chronic pain that is maintained either by psychodynamic factors or by addiction to pain medications. I grew up with defense attorneys (my dad and brother) and so I enjoy working with cases that include litigation in one form or another. Finally, while my radio show provides some outlet for me, I am always looking for opportunities to teach or lecture, for either the media or for a live audience.