Dr. Rathore brings over 10 years of experience spearheading healthcare initiatives and projects in the Sikh community. He has been instrumental in initiating Gurdwara- based Health Fairs in Queens, NY and is a strong proponent of inculcating a mental health, addiction component and trauma work into the primary care outreach(es). He presented a paper and poster board titled, “Sikhs and Alcoholism” at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Conference in 2007 and presented “Sikh and Addiction” at the North American Sikh Medical Dental Association (NASMDA) in 2013.
For over 10 years, Varinder was Medical Director at Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project where he provided health care for homeless youth with mental illness and chemical addictions. He was involved in Thrive NY’s Mental Health Roadmap to provide mental health services to minority communities, is a speaker for National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI) and presenter/member of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP).
He is Double Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry and an expert in treating the Mentally Ill-Chemical Abuse (MICA) patient. He completed his Adult Psychiatry Residency at Albany Medical Center and Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, NY where he was an Assistant Professor. He was formerly an American Psychiatric Association (APA)/Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Minority Fellow. On the weekends he helps teach children Panjabi at his local Gurdwara.