There is the occasional parent who maintains a psychiatric practice with his or her son or daughter, but far rarer is the psychiatric dynasty.
Nakleh Zarzar, M.D., is now retired, but during the late 1990s, he practiced psychiatry with sons Michael, David, and Nicholas in Raleigh, N.C.
“The practice with my sons has gone smoothly,” he said.
The family consulted one another about clinical issues and said running the practice was a “democratic decision-making process.”
After graduating from medical school in Beirut, Lebanon, Zarzar completed his psychiatry residency at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill in the late 1950s.
In the following years, Zarzar served as medical director of Dorothea Dix and John Umstead hospitals. From 1973 to 1977, he served as North Carolina’s director of mental health.
Zarzar entered private practice in 1977, but it wasn’t until 1990 that the eldest of his three sons, Michael, joined the practice. Nicholas joined a few years later, and the youngest, David, joined in 1997.
“My dad has always encouraged us in whatever we wanted to do,” Michael told Psychiatric News. “He has always been there for us.”
Since their father’s retirement, the three brothers maintain a private practice with two other psychiatrists and three mental health professionals.
Michael and his brothers admit to being influenced by a parent who loved his work.
When Michael was a college student, he volunteered at some of the hospitals where his father worked. “People would approach me and tell me how well my father took care of his patients and how he interacted with staff,” Michael said.
The three brothers spent part of their childhood in a house just 100 yards from John Umstead Hospital. “Patients with grounds privileges would sometimes come over to the house and talk to us,” Michael recalled. “I enjoyed talking to them.”
Nicholas said the experience of living so close to the hospital was a positive one. “I grew up with a respect for patients with serious mental illness,” he said.
Said David, “Just watching Dad do something he loved influenced me.”
There is much about the three brothers that is alike. For instance, their spouses all work in the health field: Michael’s wife is a school psychologist, Nicholas’ wife is a nurse, and David’s is an occupational therapist.
The fact that the Zarzar brothers look alike can be confusing to patients, David admitted. “I grew a moustache so there would be more of a distinction between us,” he said.
It probably doesn’t help that the brothers sound alike, too. “When one of us is on call for the practice,” David said, “sometimes one of our patients will mistake us for a different brother over the phone.”
Despite hectic schedules, the Zarzar family finds time each month to spend together outside of work, according to the brothers, and mental health topics are verboten. Instead, they talk about “Carolina sports,” “Dad’s garden,” and “family.” ▪
