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Multilingual psychiatric care

Psychiatric care,
in your language.

English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Tagalog — spoken in-house, never through a phone interpreter. Culturally informed care across four California clinics and statewide by TelePsychiatry.

Book an appointment Call (925) 825-1766

SMS appointment reminders are optional. You may opt in during booking — consent is not required to schedule or receive care. Msg & data rates may apply for opted-in numbers. Reply STOP to opt out anytime. See our SMS Consent & Terms.

Warm sunset glow over calm water
Universal Medical GroupPsychiatry · Est. 2008
5
Languages spoken in-house
4
California clinics
58
Counties via telehealth
100+
Years combined experience
2008
Caring for CA communities
TelePsychiatry across all 58 CA counties
Now accepting new patients
Aetna · BCBS · Cigna · United & most insurance
(925) 825-1766
Care in your language

Five languages, one team.

Mental health care works best when you can fully express what you’re going through — without an interpreter, without translating culturally complex feelings into English.

Our team speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Tagalog — natively, not via a phone interpreter. We see patients across all four California clinics and via TelePsychiatry statewide. For South Asian and Filipino-American families especially, mental health stigma can keep people from getting help for years. We’ve structured our practice to lower that barrier — culturally informed care, respectful confidentiality, and providers who understand both Western psychiatry and the cultural context you bring.

  • EnglishSpoken by all providers
  • Hindi · हिन्दीDr. Surender Punia, MD
  • Urdu · اردوDr. Surender Punia, MD
  • Punjabi · ਪੰਜਾਬੀDr. Surender Punia, MD
  • TagalogMichelle and Manuel
Meet the team
Warm sunset glow over calm water
Inside the practice — calm, private, unhurried.
Why language matters in mental health

More than translation.

When you describe symptoms in your native language, you describe them more accurately. That accuracy directly affects diagnosis and treatment.

01

Real vocabulary

Mental health terms don’t always translate cleanly. “Anxiety” in English isn’t quite “ghabrahat” in Hindi. Our providers understand both the clinical word and the lived experience.

Accurate diagnosis
02

Family context

Joint family pressures, arranged marriage stress, intergenerational expectations — these shape mental health for many South Asian and Filipino patients in ways that need cultural understanding.

Cultural understanding
03

Stigma-aware care

In many cultures, “seeing a psychiatrist” carries weight. We treat that reality directly — strict confidentiality, no judgment about why it took you so long to come in.

No judgment
04

Medication discussion

Concerns about psychiatric medications are common across cultures. We explain side effects, options, and alternatives in your language — so the choice is genuinely yours.

In your language
05

Provider expertise

Dr. Punia is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (FAPA) with 30+ years of clinical practice — full clinical authority, not a language match alone.

FAPA · 30+ years
06

Statewide via telehealth

Hindi-speaking psychiatrists are rare anywhere in California. Our TelePsychiatry serves all 58 counties — Fresno, LA, San Diego, Sacramento, anywhere — in your language.

All 58 counties
Communities we serve

South Asian & Filipino-American mental health.

California is home to one of the largest South Asian and Filipino-American populations in the United States. Mental health care that reflects that community has been chronically underserved.

Our patients come from communities across the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and Southern California. Many have spent years searching for a psychiatrist who could understand both the symptoms and the context — and many tell us their first appointment with us was the first time they could fully describe what was happening.

Whether you’re an international graduate student in Davis, a tech worker in Fremont, a parent in Pleasant Hill, or a senior in Vallejo — we’ve likely seen someone like you.

What patients tell us

In their words.

Finding a Hindi-speaking psychiatrist felt impossible. Dr. Punia understood not just my symptoms but my cultural context. Being seen in my own language made all the difference.

Verified patient · Multilingual care

My parents wouldn’t have let me come if the doctor couldn’t explain things to them in Punjabi. Dr. Punia did, and now they actually support my treatment.

Verified patient · Multilingual care

Statewide care

A psychiatrist who speaks your language — anywhere in California.

Hindi-, Urdu-, Punjabi-, and Tagalog-speaking psychiatrists are rare anywhere in the state. Our TelePsychiatry serves all 58 California counties — Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego, Sacramento, or anywhere — so distance never decides whether you can be understood.

Explore TelePsychiatry

Questions

Common questions.

Yes. Once we match you with the right provider, the entire visit — intake, history, diagnosis discussion, medication explanation — happens in your language.
Yes — with your consent. Many of our patients bring a parent, spouse, or adult child to their first visit. We’re comfortable explaining diagnoses and treatment plans to family in the same language.
Yes. Our TelePsychiatry serves all 58 California counties. You can see us from Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego, or anywhere in CA.
Yes. All visits are protected by HIPAA. We do not contact family members, employers, or anyone else without your explicit written consent.
About multilingual care at UMG

Universal Medical Group provides multilingual psychiatric care in English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Tagalog — spoken in-house, not through a phone interpreter. Dr. Surender Punia MD, an ABPN board-certified psychiatrist and Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (FAPA) with more than 30 years of clinical practice, speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi; Michelle and Manuel speak Tagalog. Culturally informed care is available in person at four California clinics — Pleasant Hill, Vallejo, Davis, and Fremont — and via TelePsychiatry across all 58 California counties, serving South Asian and Filipino-American communities throughout the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and Southern California. The practice accepts most major commercial insurance.

Begin

Be understood — in your own words.

Universal Medical Group is accepting new patients across California — in person and by TelePsychiatry. Tell us which language you’d like, and we’ll match you with the right provider.

Book an appointment Call (925) 825-1766

SMS appointment reminders are optional. You may opt in during booking — consent is not required to schedule or receive care. Msg & data rates may apply for opted-in numbers. Reply STOP to opt out anytime. See our SMS Consent & Terms.