The medical review board provides clinical oversight for educational content published across the Shrink Network. Every clinical entry on the four core editorial sites is read by a board certified psychiatrist before it publishes. Right now that reviewer is Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, who serves as medical editor and chair.
Role of the board
Board members review educational pages on participating properties for clinical accuracy, currency, and tone, both before publication and on a recurring schedule afterward. The reviewer checks that every claim is supported by the cited evidence, that the evidence strength is tagged honestly, that nothing claims more certainty than the research supports, and that the language is clear without being dumbed down. Reviewers don't diagnose or treat readers, and the review process is independent of any commercial activity at the clinical or product properties in the network.
Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, medical editor and chair
Dr. Refai is a board certified psychiatrist with fifteen years of clinical practice and the founder of shrinkMD, an independent multistate telepsychiatry practice. He reviews every clinical entry on the network's core editorial sites.
Training
Before medical school, he worked nights as a psychiatric technician while studying at the University of North Florida, an experience he credits with teaching him early that mental illness doesn't sort people by income, status, or background. He earned his medical degree from St. George's University School of Medicine, completed psychiatry residency training at the University of Hawaii and at John Peter Smith Hospital, and holds an MBA from Duke University. He also holds certificates of training in electroconvulsive therapy and in obesity medicine from Columbia University.
Clinical experience and interests
His clinical focus is on anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, treatment resistant cases, and the integration of medication and psychotherapy. He has a sports psychiatry background, and his writing for general readers centers on anxiety, overthinking, panic, and rumination. The through line in his clinical and editorial work is the same: use real clinical concepts, but say them in language a person can actually read.
Books
He's the author of three forthcoming books for the general public: Your Mind Is Full of Sh*t, its companion Workbook, and The Havoc in Your Head, published by shrinkMD Publishing. You can read more at shariqrefai.com/books.
Credentials
- Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
- NPI 1467680660
- ORCID 0009-0009-1090-4373
- Wikidata Q139822307
- Active medical license in good standing; shrinkMD operates as a multistate telepsychiatry practice
- Certificates of training in electroconvulsive therapy and obesity medicine (Columbia University)
Financial interests are disclosed on the disclosures page.
His role on the network
Dr. Refai is the medical reviewer of record for every clinical entry on the four core editorial sites (Shrinkopedia, AnxietyResource, DepressionResource, PsychiatryRx), and his review extends across the other editorial properties as their content comes to standard. He reads the clinical content himself rather than delegating it. The reviewer credit on an entry means he personally checked it against the sources.
How review happens in practice
The editorial team drafts an entry against current evidence, following the evidence methodology. The draft comes to Dr. Refai for medical review. He checks each claim against its cited source, confirms the evidence strength tag is accurate, and pushes back where an entry overstates certainty, omits an important caveat, or reads in a way a patient could misapply. If it needs work, the entry goes back for revision and another pass. Only after it clears review does it publish, with the reviewer's name and review date shown where that's implemented.
An entry is flagged for re-review when significant new evidence or guidance appears (a new meta analysis, a revised specialty guideline, an FDA label or safety change), on a recurring schedule even absent obvious changes, and whenever a reader reports a possible error through the corrections process. Substantive corrections are logged publicly.
How members are selected
Future board members are clinicians who are board certified or board eligible in psychiatry or a relevant specialty, who hold an active license in good standing, and who are willing to follow the network's editorial standards, evidence methodology, and conflict of interest disclosure rules.
Scope of review
The board reviews general educational content. It doesn't provide individualized medical advice through the network. Readers seeking clinical care should contact shrinkMD or another licensed provider in their jurisdiction.
Conflicts of interest
Reviewers disclose any financial interests in companies or products that could be perceived as influencing their review. Reviewers don't review content about products in which they hold an interest without explicit disclosure on the reviewed page.
Contact
Questions about medical review can be sent to [email protected].