Our staff .
Advanced Pain Treatment and Diagnostics Group employs a staff comprised of certified professionals, each with experience in addiction medicine.
George G. Graf, MD
Dr. Graf is a board certified internist and anesthesiologist who came to Los Angeles from the Yale University School of Medicine where he served as a member of the academic faculty. He has been active in the research and development of various anti-nausea and pain medications and has published works on various topics in critical care and anesthesia. He believes that the complexities of chemical dependency demand the dedication of a multi-talented team of professionals. Previously president of AMGI, he founded Advanced Pain Treatment and Diagnostics Medical Group to continue his commitment to the development of dynamic teams that will lead the field in detoxification and pain treatment. Dr. Graf is married and is the father of two sons and a daughter.
Gary S. Richman, CCDC
Mr. Richman is a certified chemical dependency counselor with ten years experience in the Los Angeles area. He has distinguished himself by developing a successful private practice working with clients and helping them to identify the problems and patterns that contribute to addiction. His focus is counseling and customizing an individual program that will maximize success in life and sobriety while minimizing the risk of relapse.
Mr. Richman is also affiliated with MAP (Musician Assistance Program) as a facilitator for group sessions for recovering musicians.
William Deardorff, Ph.D., Clinical Health Psychologist
Dr. Deardorff is board certified in clinical health psychology, founding president of the American Academy of Clinical Health Psychology and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in two divisions: Health and Independent Practice. He is an examiner for the American Board of Professional Psychology (Clinical Health Psychology) and as an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine he is active in teaching and research.
Dr. Deardorff is co-author of seven books including two textbooks on the practice of clinical health psychology in medical settings. His books written for the layperson include Preparing for Surgery (New Harbinger, 1997), Win the Battle Against Back Pain (Bantam Doubleday, 1996) and Back Pain Remedies for Dummies (IDG, 1999). His book, Preparing for Surgery, won the Small Press Book award in Health and Medicine in 1998. He is co-author of the book, A Compendium of Spine Treatment Outcome Measures, published by the North American Spine Society. He is also co-author of a professional textbook on surgery screening and enhancing surgery outcomes entitled The Psychology of Spine Surgery (2003). See all Dr Deardorff's publications at Amazon.com
Dr. Deardorff has published numerous scientific articles and book chapters in the area of clinical health psychology, mostly in pain evaluation and treatment. He has lectured extensively in clinical health psychology with a special emphasis in pain management, preparing for surgery, and pre-surgical psychological screening.
Dr. Deardorff is one of the few psychologist-members of the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the National Association of Spine Specialists. He is a member of the Outcome Measures Task Force for NASS, as well as being on the yearly scientific review committee for the national professional meeting. Dr. Deardorff is on the medical advisory board for Spine-Health.com.
Nicholas Fuller, MD
Dr. Fuller is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the American Board of Pain Medicine. His areas of interest are in the evaluation and treatment of patients with spine-related pain as well as operating room anesthesia. He has extensive experience in caring for patients who have developed chemical dependency related to their spinal condition.
Dr. Fuller completed his internship in Medicine at the University of Colorado and then went to Boston, for his residency in Anesthesiology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital which is the premier teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School.
After residency, he completed a fellowship in Pain Management at the University of Washington in Seattle, the first multidisciplinary pain center in the nation established by Dr. John Bonica.
Dr. Fuller has extensive experience in all aspects of pain management but his area of expertise is in spinal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. He is a national instructor for the International Spine Intervention Society and a member of the North American Spine Society. in the past, he served as the Director of In-Patient Pain Management at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center as well as being an attending in their highly regarded Pain Center.
Sylvia Cameron, R.N. , Clinical Coordinator
Ms. Cameron originally hails from Glasgow Scotland. She initially trained in England and obtained a certificate in orthopedic nursing before receiving her state registered nursing license.
After moving to Corpus Christi Texas, she became an RN Specializing in Medical Critical Care. On arrival in California, she showed dedication and hard work by working in a Medical/Surgical Transplant ICU for 19 years. She is now a coordinator for admissions for day surgery.
Sylvia’s hobbies include walking, hiking, reading, and taking trips to the British Isles to visit friends and family.
