Short version. DepressionResource.org is funded entirely by shrinkMD Publishing Inc. It carries no advertising, no sponsored content, no affiliate links, and nothing for sale to readers. The editor founded a telepsychiatry practice that's named on this site and has a financial interest in it, which is disclosed inline wherever that practice is mentioned.
How the site is funded
DepressionResource.org is a publication of shrinkMD Publishing Inc., a privately held Florida corporation. The site is funded entirely by the publisher. It doesn't accept advertising, sponsored content, paid placements, native ads, or affiliate links. It doesn't run an email funnel, a paid newsletter, or a paywall. The site sells nothing to readers.
The publisher isn't owned by any pharmaceutical company, device maker, insurer, hospital system, or platform. The publisher receives no grants from industry, no unrestricted educational funding from drug companies, and no payments from any entity whose product, service, or category is discussed on the site.
The editor's relationships
The editor and medical reviewer, Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, has the following financial interests relevant to the topics covered on this site:
- shrinkMD. The editor is the founder of shrinkMD, a multistate telepsychiatry practice, and has an ownership and management interest in it. shrinkMD is referenced on this site as one of several telepsychiatry options a reader might investigate. It isn't presented as a recommendation, and DepressionResource.org doesn't receive a fee, commission, or referral payment of any kind when a reader contacts the practice. This relationship is disclosed inline on every page that names the practice.
- Books. The editor is the author of the three books listed on the Books page and earns royalties on their sale. DepressionResource.org receives no revenue from book sales and doesn't sell the books. Book links go to the author's personal site at shariqrefai.com.
- Clinical income. The editor earns income from clinical psychiatry practice. Patients seen in that practice aren't readers of this site in any identifiable form, and no reader information from this site is shared with the clinical practice.
What the editor doesn't have
- No consulting, advisory, or speaking relationships with pharmaceutical or device companies.
- No equity, stock options, or other financial interest in any pharmaceutical or device manufacturer whose products are named on this site.
- No paid relationships with insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, or healthcare platforms.
- No paid relationships with hospital systems, professional societies, or non-profits in exchange for content on this site.
- No relationship of any kind with an organization that would be in a position to direct the clinical content of this site.
How conflicts are handled
Where the editor's outside interests touch a topic on the site, the relationship is disclosed inline on the page, the same recognized clinical sources are used as for any other topic, and the editor doesn't make a clinical recommendation that would benefit those interests. Pages that name shrinkMD, for example, present it alongside other resources of the same kind, with the disclosure on the same page. The standards we hold ourselves to are on the Editorial Standards page.
FTC \u00a7 255 disclosure
Disclosure (FTC \u00a7 255). shrinkMD is a telepsychiatry practice operated by an affiliate of shrinkMD Publishing Inc., which publishes this site. The editor, Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, founded the practice and has a financial interest in it. It's listed on this site as one of several resources, not as a recommendation, and the site receives no fee, commission, or referral revenue for any listing.
Reviewing this disclosure
This disclosure is reviewed at least annually. The current version is dated at the bottom of this page. Material changes to the editor's relationships will be reflected here within 30 days.
Reporting an undisclosed conflict
If you believe a page on this site discusses a topic in which the publisher or the editor has an undisclosed financial interest, please write to editor@depressionresource.org with the URL and a short description. We treat these reports as priority editorial work and respond within ten business days.
Please do not include medical history, symptoms, or other protected health information in email. Email is not a secure channel and is not monitored for clinical purposes.