Frisco is a community defined by high achievement and fast growth—nationally ranked schools, competitive athletics, major corporate headquarters, demanding careers, and family life that often feels like a second full-time job. That environment produces some of the best opportunities in the country for kids and families, and it also produces a lot of depression—much of it hidden by continued performance. Adults who are succeeding at work while internally depleted. Teens who are still getting good grades while losing interest in everything else. Parents carrying their own depression while managing their children’s anxiety. All of it is real, and all of it is treatable.
Our location at 3800 Gaylord Parkway, Suite 1100 sits just off the Dallas North Tollway near The Star and Stonebriar Centre. Patients coming from Plano, McKinney, Allen, Prosper, Celina, The Colony, and Little Elm can typically reach us in 20 minutes or less. We’re open Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Saturday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, with same-week appointments available.
Depression is a medical condition, not a character flaw. It involves measurable changes in brain function, hormonal regulation, sleep architecture, and the systems that produce motivation, pleasure, and emotional response. It is not weakness, laziness, or a failure of positive thinking. About one in five adults experiences a significant depressive episode in their lifetime, and depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide—not because people aren’t trying hard enough, but because untreated depression genuinely disables the parts of the brain that produce energy, connection, and forward motion.
The good news—and it’s substantial—is that depression is highly treatable. The majority of patients who receive specialty care see meaningful improvement. The patients who don’t respond to the first medication often respond to the second, third, or to non-medication treatments like TMS. Even patients with years of treatment-resistant depression often find relief once the right approach is identified.
Depression isn’t one condition—it’s a family of related conditions that respond to different combinations of treatment. We treat the full range:
Major depressive disorder (MDD). Episodes of persistent low mood, loss of interest, fatigue, sleep and appetite changes, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and sometimes thoughts of death or suicide. MDD episodes typically last weeks to months without treatment and can recur throughout life.
Persistent depressive disorder (PDD/dysthymia). A chronic, lower-grade depression that’s been present most days for at least two years (one year in adolescents). Many patients with PDD have lived with it for so long they don’t realize they’re depressed—they think this is just who they are. It isn’t, and treatment can produce meaningful change.
Adolescent and teen depression. Depression in adolescents often looks different than in adults—irritability rather than sadness, school avoidance, declining grades, social withdrawal, physical complaints, sleep changes, or sudden drops in performance. Teen depression has climbed substantially over the last decade and is highly treatable when caught early.
High-functioning depression. Depression that exists alongside continued external performance. Patients with high-functioning depression often go undiagnosed for years because they’re still getting work done, still showing up, still keeping up appearances. Internally they’re exhausted, joyless, and running on willpower alone. This pattern is especially common in high-achievement communities like Frisco.
Postpartum depression. Depression that develops during pregnancy or in the first year after delivery, distinct from the brief “baby blues.” Postpartum depression affects roughly one in seven women, is dramatically underdiagnosed, and responds well to treatment. We work carefully with patients who are breastfeeding to select medications that are safe in that context, and we also offer non-medication options.
Seasonal patterns. Both classic winter SAD (less common in Texas but real for some patients) and Texas summer SAD—where the long, hot, humid summers force indoor life and produce a depression pattern similar to what northern patients experience in January.
Depression with anxious distress. Depression that co-occurs with significant anxiety, racing thoughts, agitation, and restlessness. This is extremely common and often responds best to combination approaches.
Treatment-resistant depression. Depression that hasn’t responded adequately to two or more medication trials. This is specifically what TMS and ketamine therapy were developed for, and many of our patients arrive here after years of partial responses. Treatment-resistant doesn’t mean untreatable; it means the first-line approaches weren’t enough.
Depression with co-occurring conditions. Depression that shows up alongside anxiety, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, substance use, or chronic medical conditions. Treating only one condition usually doesn’t work; we assess the full picture and build an integrated plan.
Depression presents differently in different people, but the symptoms tend to cluster in these areas:
Mood and emotional symptoms. Persistent sadness, hopelessness, emptiness, irritability (especially in men, teens, and parents under sustained stress), guilt, worthlessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities that used to matter, and sometimes thoughts of death or suicide. Suicidal thoughts are a serious symptom of depression and a reason to seek care promptly—not a sign of weakness, and not something to be hidden out of shame.
Physical symptoms. Fatigue and low energy, sleep changes (insomnia, early-morning waking, or excessive sleeping), appetite and weight changes, slowed movement and thinking, headaches, body aches, and unexplained physical complaints. Many depression patients see their primary care doctor first for fatigue or sleep problems before the depression is recognized.
Cognitive symptoms. Difficulty concentrating, indecisiveness, memory problems, negative or pessimistic thinking, rumination about past mistakes, and a sense that the future is closed off.
Behavioral symptoms. Withdrawal from people and activities, neglecting responsibilities, declining work or school performance, increased alcohol or substance use, and difficulty starting or finishing tasks that used to be routine. In high-functioning patients, depression can also hide behind overworking or staying constantly busy as a way to avoid feeling.
Depression frequently shows up alongside other mental health conditions. Anxiety and depression together are extremely common—each amplifies the other and treating only one usually doesn’t work. Depression often accompanies OCD, PTSD, ADHD, and substance use disorders. Chronic medical conditions—diabetes, heart disease, thyroid disorders, chronic pain, autoimmune conditions—often have a depression component that deserves its own treatment, and treating the depression often improves the medical condition outcomes too.
During your first visit, we assess the full picture rather than just the most obvious symptom. Treatment plans that address the actual constellation of what’s going on tend to work better than plans that target one diagnosis in isolation.
Adolescent depression has been climbing nationally for the last decade, and rates in high-achievement school districts like Frisco ISD, Plano ISD, McKinney ISD, Allen ISD, Prosper ISD, and Lewisville ISD tend to track or exceed national patterns. Teen depression often looks different than adult depression and is sometimes missed for years because high-achieving teens work hard to hide it.
Warning signs parents and teachers can watch for. Declining grades or sudden academic struggles in a previously strong student. Withdrawal from friends, sports, or activities that used to matter. Increased irritability or anger, especially at home. Sleep changes—either much more or much less than usual. Frequent physical complaints (headaches, stomachaches, fatigue) with no medical explanation. Loss of interest in eating, or sudden change in eating habits. Increased screen use combined with reduced in-person social contact. And, importantly, any expressions of hopelessness, worthlessness, or self-harm—including expressions that might be brushed off as “venting” or “just being dramatic.”
The high-achievement masking problem. In Frisco specifically, the cultural expectation of continued high performance can make teen depression especially hard to recognize. A student who’s still pulling A’s and still showing up to practice can be significantly depressed; the symptoms may show up only at home, or only late at night, or only in private. Parents often tell us they didn’t realize how serious things had gotten until after a crisis.
Depression in young athletes. Frisco’s athletic culture—youth sports, club programs, FISD athletics, the training facilities at The Star—produces a substantial population of teen athletes whose identities are tightly tied to their sport. Depression after an injury, after a difficult season, after losing a position, or after the end of a sports career can be significant. Athletic identity loss is a real and treatable depression trigger.
Treatment for teen depression. Teen depression responds well to treatment, particularly when started early. Treatment typically involves a combination of medication (with careful attention to age-appropriate options and FDA-approved use), therapy, and family involvement. For teens who haven’t responded to first-line medications, TMS is an option—it has been studied in adolescents and provides a non-medication path. Family involvement is typically part of treatment, with parents coached on how to support recovery without inadvertently increasing the pressure that contributed to the depression.
If you’re a parent reading this and worried about your child. Trust your instincts. Parents are often the first to notice changes that don’t fit, and the patients who come in sooner do better than the ones who come in later. The same is true if you’re a teen reading this and recognizing yourself: this is a treatable condition, and there are options—including ones that don’t involve daily medication.
Frisco draws families specifically for the schools, the careers, the opportunities. That’s a real advantage and worth what it costs. But it also creates an environment where depression is widespread, normalized, and dramatically underdiagnosed—because in a community where everyone is performing hard, the signs of clinical depression in someone who’s still performing can look like just keeping up.
What high-functioning depression looks like. Still hitting work deadlines, still managing the kids’ schedules, still showing up to events—but feeling emptier and emptier inside. Loss of pleasure in things that used to bring it. Going through the motions. The growing sense that you’re operating at a level that’s not sustainable. Exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. Sometimes irritability that family members notice before you do. From the outside, you look fine. Inside, you’re depleted.
Why it gets missed. Standard depression screening relies heavily on visible functional impairment—missing work, withdrawing from family, neglecting responsibilities. High-functioning depression doesn’t produce those signs until late in the process. Patients often don’t get diagnosed until they hit a wall they can no longer push through. And by then, the depression has often been present for months or years.
Why it’s treatable. High-functioning depression responds to the same treatments as more visible depression: medication, therapy, and—for patients who haven’t responded fully to either—TMS or ketamine. The hardest part is often acknowledging the problem in the first place. The patients we see most often tell us, after a few sessions, that they wish they had come in years sooner.
Beyond the high-achievement context, certain other patterns show up frequently in our patient population. Naming them isn’t about defining anyone by their stressors—it’s about recognizing that some of what people are carrying is shaped by the realities of life here:
Parental depression in high-pressure parenting communities. Parents of FISD kids carry significant ongoing stress that can develop into depression—the relentless schedule of school, sports, activities, college planning, and social comparison. Sometimes parental depression is triggered or amplified by watching a child struggle. Sometimes it’s the cumulative effect of years of running hard. Treating parental depression often helps the whole family.
Corporate and professional depression. Frisco’s economy is anchored by major corporate headquarters—Toyota North America, JPMorgan Chase, Frito-Lay, Comerica, Liberty Mutual, FedEx Office, Keurig Dr Pepper, and others. The high-stakes, high-pace professional culture produces burnout that often crosses into clinical depression, especially after major project cycles, reorganizations, or sustained periods of overwork.
Postpartum depression in young-family Frisco. Frisco is heavily young families. Postpartum depression is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions we treat—partly because new mothers expect to feel tired and overwhelmed, partly because the gap between “baby blues” and clinical depression isn’t well understood. Treatment is available, breastfeeding-compatible options exist, and TMS provides a non-medication path for new mothers who prefer to avoid systemic medication.
Healthcare worker depression. Nurses, techs, and physicians at Texas Health Frisco, Baylor Scott & White Frisco, Children’s Health, Medical City Plano, and the broader North Dallas health systems carry significant burnout-related depression loads. Healthcare worker depression often goes unaddressed because of the same “I’m supposed to take care of others” framing that keeps clinicians from seeking care.
Community grief after Allen Outlets. For some Frisco families—particularly those who knew victims, whose kids witnessed the May 2023 event, or who lost a sense of community safety afterward—the ongoing grief has shifted into depression patterns over time. This is distinct from PTSD, though the two can overlap. Treatment can address both.
Living in North Texas creates conditions that interact with depression in ways patients in milder climates don’t experience. We’ve noticed several patterns worth naming:
Summer SAD and indoor confinement. North Texas summers are long, hot, and increasingly extreme. Months of avoiding outdoor activity, less sunlight contact, and reduced incidental social interaction can produce a real seasonal depression pattern. For patients prone to depression, July through September can be a difficult stretch.
Winter SAD. While less severe than in northern climates, shorter winter days and cooler weather still affect mood for some Frisco patients—particularly transplants from southern states or those with a family history of seasonal depression. Light therapy and TMS can be helpful adjuncts.
Sleep disruption from heat. Even with air conditioning, North Texas summer nights affect sleep quality for some patients. Disrupted sleep amplifies depression—both as a symptom and as a driver.
Year-round outdoor recovery in the better seasons. North Texas spring and fall are excellent for outdoor behavioral activation—Frisco’s many parks, the trail systems through Plano and McKinney, the broader Collin County outdoor network. Depression recovery often involves rebuilding physical activity and connection to outdoor spaces, and this region supports that work for most of the year.
Our clinic offers a comprehensive range of depression treatments, from first-line care to advanced options for treatment-resistant depression. Most depression patients arrive at specialty care after their PCP started them on an SSRI that didn’t work well enough. Our value is in what comes next: a careful re-evaluation, broader medication options, and access to TMS and ketamine—treatments that primary care typically doesn’t offer but that have strong evidence for depression that hasn’t responded to standard care.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is one of the most significant advances in depression treatment in decades. It is FDA-approved for major depressive disorder, including treatment-resistant depression, and it works fundamentally differently from medication. Instead of changing brain chemistry through drugs that affect the whole body, TMS uses targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain involved in mood regulation. The result: meaningful improvement for many patients who haven’t responded to medication, with no systemic side effects.
What’s involved. TMS is delivered in brief outpatient sessions—typically 19-37 minutes each—over a course of 4-6 weeks. You sit in a chair (similar to a dental chair); a magnetic coil is positioned against the head; you’re awake throughout, and most patients read, watch something, or just rest during the session. There’s no sedation, no IV, no recovery time. You can drive yourself home and return to work or school the same day.
Who it’s especially good for. Patients who haven’t responded to multiple medications. Patients who can’t tolerate medication side effects (weight gain, sexual side effects, fatigue, GI issues). Patients who want to avoid medication entirely. Older adults already on multiple prescriptions where adding another carries interaction risks. Patients who are breastfeeding or pregnancy-planning (under appropriate guidance). Teens and adolescents whose families want non-medication options. High-functioning professionals who want a treatment that doesn’t show up on prescription records.
Insurance coverage. TMS is covered by most major insurance plans for treatment-resistant depression. We help patients navigate the prior authorization process.
Ketamine IV therapy is another major advance in depression treatment, particularly for severe or treatment-resistant cases. Unlike traditional antidepressants, which work through serotonin and can take 4-8 weeks to show full effect, ketamine acts on the glutamate system and can produce noticeable mood improvement within hours or days of the first infusion. For patients who have been depressed for months or years, that speed can be transformative.
What’s involved. Ketamine is delivered under medical supervision in a series of carefully monitored IV sessions in our Frisco clinic. Each session typically takes about an hour, including monitoring time. Most treatment courses involve six initial sessions over 2-3 weeks, followed by maintenance sessions as needed.
Who it’s especially good for. Patients with treatment-resistant depression, severe depression with significant suicidal thoughts (where the speed of response matters), depression with significant co-occurring anxiety, and patients who have not been able to wait the weeks that traditional antidepressants require.
What to know. Ketamine is not appropriate for everyone, including most adolescents. We screen carefully for medical contraindications, substance use considerations, and other factors. We’ll have a clear conversation about whether it’s the right fit during your evaluation.
Medication is one of the most effective treatments for depression when it’s prescribed thoughtfully and monitored carefully. The most common first-line medications are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine, and citalopram, and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) like venlafaxine and duloxetine. Other options include bupropion (which often has fewer sexual side effects and can be activating rather than sedating), mirtazapine (often used when sleep is a major issue), and trazodone (used adjunctively for sleep). For patients whose depression hasn’t responded fully to one medication, augmentation strategies—adding a second medication to enhance the first—often work where switching alone doesn’t.
Time to effect. Antidepressants typically take 4-8 weeks to show full effect, which is one of the most discouraging facts about traditional treatment. Many patients give up before the medication has had time to work. We monitor closely during this period and adjust as needed.
Side effects matter. Side effects are one of the most common reasons people stop antidepressants. We pay close attention to side effects and adjust accordingly—often the side effect profile is more important than the choice between medications in the same class.
Medication for adolescents and teens. For teen depression, we use FDA-approved age-appropriate medications and monitor closely, with attention to the specific considerations that adolescent prescribing involves. Family involvement is part of treatment.
Our medication management services in Frisco are led by Dr. Alex Chung, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, alongside our psychiatric nurse practitioners Erica Canterbury, PMHNP, and Zahra Hassanally, PMHNP. Together they oversee careful monitoring of dosage, side effects, and overall effectiveness. We prioritize finding the right medication at the right dose with minimal side effects, which often takes some adjustment. Regular follow-ups ensure changes can be made promptly.
Therapy is a meaningful part of depression treatment for most patients. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps patients identify and revise the thought patterns that maintain depression, and behavioral activation—structured practice of doing activities that produce mood improvement even when motivation is absent—is one of the most evidence-based approaches for major depression. For patients dealing with grief, life transitions, relationship issues, or unprocessed past experiences, longer-term therapy approaches can be valuable. For teens, evidence-based approaches like CBT for adolescents are particularly effective.
We provide therapy referrals to trusted local therapists when therapy is the right next step, and we coordinate care so that your medication, TMS or ketamine, and therapy work together rather than at cross purposes.
Postpartum depression deserves its own attention because it’s common, serious, and dramatically underdiagnosed in young-family communities like Frisco. Postpartum depression isn’t just feeling tired or overwhelmed—it involves persistent low mood, loss of pleasure in the baby or in other things, intrusive thoughts (often distressing), feelings of inadequacy as a parent, and sometimes thoughts of self-harm or harming the baby (which are symptoms, not predictions of behavior, and are a reason to seek care promptly).
Treatment options for postpartum depression include medications that are compatible with breastfeeding (sertraline is the most commonly studied and used), TMS (which involves no systemic medication and is compatible with breastfeeding), and therapy. The choice depends on the severity, the patient’s preferences, and the breastfeeding situation. We work carefully and respectfully with new mothers, recognizing that the bar for asking for help is especially high in the postpartum period.
Frisco, Plano, McKinney, and the surrounding North Dallas suburbs are tight-knit communities where neighbors know each other through schools, sports, churches, and shared social networks. Concerns about being seen at a mental health clinic are legitimate and common—and they’re often heaviest for the people who feel they should be “handling it” themselves. We take this seriously. Mental health treatment records are protected by HIPAA, our office is designed to be private rather than visible, and our extended hours make it possible to get care without rearranging your week in ways that prompt questions. You don’t owe anyone an explanation for taking care of yourself or your child.
In-person appointments in Frisco provide a valuable opportunity for direct interaction with experienced clinicians. Whether you are coming from Plano, McKinney, Allen, Prosper, or further out in Collin or Denton County, these sessions allow for thorough assessments, real conversations about treatment options, and the kind of steady, present care that virtual visits can’t fully replicate.
For depression in particular, being physically present matters. Clinicians can observe subtle signs—slowed movement, flat affect, the energy in the room—that are easy to miss on video. We also pace sessions so you leave with at least a small sense of forward motion, not feeling worse than when you arrived.
Our Frisco clinic is led by a board-certified psychiatrist and two psychiatric nurse practitioners, all with training in mood, anxiety, and related disorders:
Dr. Alex Chung, MD — Board-certified Psychiatrist. View profile.
Erica Canterbury, PMHNP — Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. View profile.
Zahra Hassanally, PMHNP — Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. View profile.
Our Frisco team takes a patient-first, evidence-based approach: treatment plans built around your specific symptoms, life, and preferences; transparent conversations about what each option can and can’t do; and a steady pace that respects how you’re actually doing. With same-week appointments, extended hours, Tricare accepted, and access to TMS and ketamine on site, we’re committed to delivering specialty depression care that fits the way North Dallas families and professionals actually live.
Starting depression treatment can feel daunting—especially when depression itself is making it hard to do almost anything. Your first visit is designed to be welcoming, thorough, and unhurried. Most first appointments run 60 to 90 minutes—long enough to actually hear your story without rushing through it.
We’ll talk about what’s bringing you in, how symptoms have been affecting your life, your history, any medications you’ve tried, and your goals. We’ll discuss treatment options—including TMS and ketamine if those might be a good fit—and answer your questions. You won’t be pushed into anything; we’ll come up with a plan together. For teens and adolescents, parents are typically involved in part of the visit, with appropriate space for the teen to speak privately. Many patients tell us that just having a clear plan and someone in their corner makes a meaningful difference even before treatment starts producing its effects.
The comprehensive evaluation includes a detailed clinical interview, standardized depression assessments, screening for co-occurring conditions (anxiety, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, substance use, sleep disorders, medical conditions like thyroid disease that can cause depression-like symptoms), and—when appropriate and with your permission—input from family members or other healthcare providers. This process helps identify the full picture of what’s going on, which is the only way to build a treatment plan that actually addresses it.
We also explore your history with depression, any previous treatments, and the strategies you’ve already been using to cope. That history matters; it tells us what’s been tried, what’s helped, and what to do differently this time.
Following the evaluation, we collaborate with you to create a personalized treatment plan that fits your needs and preferences. The plan outlines recommended treatments, expected timeline, and how we’ll measure progress. Goals in depression treatment often start practical—better sleep, more energy, the ability to get through a workday or care for kids without collapsing—and expand from there into the broader work of reclaiming the life you want.
We encourage open communication and ongoing feedback so that treatment stays responsive to your evolving needs. Recovery from depression isn’t always linear; we expect that and adjust the plan accordingly.
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