James G. Hunter, M.D.
Biography / Credentials and Services

Dr. James Hunter is a psychiatrist with three decades of experience in the treatment of children, adolescents, adults, and families in an extraordinary variety of settings. He holds board certification in general and in child and adolescent psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and is a past president of the Greater Kansas City Regional Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

A graduate of Louisiana State University Medical School, Dr. Hunter completed his general psychiatry residency and then a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. From 1980 to 1983, he was Assistant Chief and then Chief of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service of the Frankfurt Army Regional Medical Center where he had responsibility for directing a multidisciplinary staff that provided services to children and their families throughout Europe. In this capacity, he not only oversaw consultation services to 75 schools, but also played a central role in developing the policies that implemented the Education for All Handicapped Children Act for the Department of Defense School System. In 1983, he joined the staff of the Water Reed Army Medical Center, where he was Assistant Chief of Child and Adolescent Services and Chief of the Pediatric Consultation Liaison Section. During this time, he also held an appointment as Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland and was responsible for training and supervision of general psychiatry residents, child psychiatry fellows, and psychiatric social workers. Since his discharge from the Army, he has been a Colonel in the United States Army Reserve. Recalled to duty from 1990 to1991 during Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm, he led a detachment of 65 psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who were responsible for offering services to half of the army troops stationed in the war zone.

Since coming to Kansas in 1986, Dr. Hunter has provided a wide range of services. From1986 to 1988, he was Medical Director of Youth Services at the Tri-County Mental Health Center, where he supervised inpatient and outpatient treatment for children and adults and developed an innovative partial hospital program for adolescents. From 1989 to 1994, he was Medical Director of the Kansas Institute, where he was responsible for two psychiatric facilities with 106 beds. Subsequently, he was Medical Director of the Menninger Psychiatric Units at Providence Medical Center. In 1996 Dr. Hunter founded Midwest Psychiatry, an interdisciplinary group of independent practitioners that provides high-quality outpatient services to the community.

Dividing his practice evenly between children and adults, Dr. Hunter treats patients ranging in age from 5 to 85. He specializes in the treatment of attention deficit disorders, depression and bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, Tourette’s Syndrome, and developmental disorders. A recognized authority on psychiatric medications, he speaks nationally on their use with a wide variety of conditions. However, although believing strongly in the power of biological interventions, he stresses that they are often only one component of successful treatment. Having had extensive training and experience in individual and family therapy, he also believes that psychological treatment, work with parents, and consultation to schools can play important roles as well. Because of his wealth of practical experience, Dr. Hunter is committed to responding rapidly to patients when called upon for help, but also working thoroughly, giving careful attention to biological, psychological, and family issues bearing upon their treatment. He is also committed to public service and speaks to numerous community groups on a variety of topics related to parenting issues and psychiatric problems.

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