Our Founder
Dr. Ranjan received his initial training in psychiatry as a resident (1989-1993) at Akron General Medical Center, Akron, Ohio (Affiliated with Northeast Ohio Medical University — NEOMED, Rootstown, Ohio) and as a research fellow (1993-1994) in psychopharmacology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (CWRU). Thereafter, Dr. Ranjan served as the Medical Director of The Psychobiology Clinic, founded by much celebrated psychiatrist, Dr. Herbert Y. Meltzer. During his time at CWRU, he also had an opportunity, in his early career, to work at a community mental health center (CMHC), which provided him invaluable insights into the challenges inherent in treatment of the severely mentally ill.
The Psychobiology Clinic was featured in numerous local and national television/radio shows. It was also featured in Time Magazine as a cover story. The story included accounts of profound recoveries that many of Dr. Ranjan’s patients had experienced as a result of treatment with clozapine, a revolutionary drug to treat schizophrenia at the time.
​
In 1996, after he left CWRU, Dr. Ranjan, joined by family members (many of whom were prominent Cleveland citizens) of his patients at CWRU, founded a brand-new outpatient psychiatric clinic named The Psychobiology Clinic of Greater Cleveland in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. In his role as executive and medical director of the newly founded clinic, his interview was featured in Crain’s Cleveland Business. Dr. Ranjan always believed in empowering his patients and their families; therefore, the entire board of The Psychobiology Clinic of Greater Cleveland consisted of family members of patients receiving care at the clinic. During his leadership this fledgling non-profit clinic was able to receive grants from numerous local foundations such as Prentiss Foundation, Mount Sinai Foundation, St. Lukes Foundation, Woodruff Foundation, to name a few.
​
Dr. Ranjan left The Psychobiology Clinic of Greater Cleveland in 2000, and founded his own private clinic, initially known as Rakesh Ranjan MD and Associates, Inc which has now come to be known today as Charak Center for Health and Wellness. What once started as a singular clinic located in the heart of Cleveland, has now expanded to five different locations spanning 5 different counties covering Northeast Ohio: Cuyahoga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, and Summit Counties. Charak Center is a unique hybrid of private practice and community mental health center settings. It is certified by Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH), Ohio Department of Drug and Alcohol Services (ODADAS), and The Joint Commission. ODMH and ODADAS now operate under one entity called Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services (Ohio MHAS).
​
Having worked in various mental healthcare settings, Dr. Ranjan has developed an acute awareness of the fragmented nature of mental healthcare delivery. One of his main goals as a health executive and a psychiatrist has been to create a system which provides seamless delivery of integrated care involving both mind and body. To this end he also founded, in 2007, Spectrum Home Health Care, LLC, later known as Charak Home Health Care, LLC one of very few home health care agencies which provided both psychiatric and non-psychiatric in-home medical care. Once again, in his role as the CEO of Spectrum Home Health Care, LLC, he continued his advocacy for empowering patients and their families by providing coordinated psychiatric and medical care, and when asked by the Crain's Cleveland Business about his work, he championed the need for integrated systems that provide effective and accessible delivery of mental health services—a practice model that has since been adopted by other psychiatric practices across the Northeast, Ohio area.
​
​Dr. Ranjan has been performing clinical research since his days at CWRU. He has now conducted over 250 drug research trials thus, contributing to the advancement of mental health treatments. Dr. Ranjan has also authored numerous papers covering a wide variety of mental health disorders.
​
Dr. Ranjan's dedication to exceptional psychiatric care, patient empowerment, and education has earned him numerous accolades. Notably, he received the NARSAD (National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia & Depression) Young Investigator Award, the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) /NCDEU (New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit) New Investigator Award. He was also recognized by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) of Ohio with the Psychiatrist of the Year Award and by National NAMI with the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award. As a nationally recognized speaker, he has also made numerous media appearances.
​
Having grown up in India, Dr. Ranjan had an early exposure to aspects of what is now known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). As a young man, he witnessed firsthand the benefits of the remedies, such as; yoga, meditation, specialized nutrition, etc. as propounded by Ayurveda—the oldest known system of medicine. It was with this inspiration and vision, to bring the benefits of CAM to his patients, that he chose to name his clinic after Charak, one of the founder physicians of Ayurveda.