Accepting New Patients
Duke Health Provider
Tara Chandrasekhar, MD, BSc
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Duke Health Provider
Accepting New Patients
Where I See Patients
Duke Autism Clinic - Durham, NC
Board Certified
American Board of Psychiatry/Neurology, Psychiatry
American Board of Psychiatry/Neurology, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
My Locations
About Me
I work as a psychiatrist in the Duke Autism clinic and support collaborative care/integrated care initiatives at Duke Health. I am passionate about education and training and take a holistic approach to patient care.
LGBTQ+ Identified or Ally
Current Appointments and Affiliations
- Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry 2025
Languages I Speak
English
Training and Education
Board Certification
American Board of Psychiatry/Neurology, Psychiatry
American Board of Psychiatry/Neurology, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Fellowship
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2013
Residency
General Psychiatry, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2012
Education
MD, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008
Clinical Focus and Research
Publications and Grants
Grants4
Academic Articles17
Book Sections6
Conference Papers3
- Long-term Antipsychotic Pediatric Safety Trial (LAPS) Duke Psych Site Agreement awarded by DCRI-Duke-Site 2018 - 2025
- Verdes, Alyssa, Suvekcha Bhattachan, Alexander Kolevzon, Bryan H. King, Christopher J. McDougle, Kevin B. Sanders, Soo-Jeong Kim, et al. “Predictors of Placebo Response in the Study of Oxytocin in Autism to Improve Reciprocal Social Behaviors.” J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 35, no. 4 (May 2025): 202–10. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2024.0131.
- Brandsen, Sam, Tara Chandrasekhar, Lauren Franz, Jordan Grapel, Geraldine Dawson, and David Carlson. “Prevalence of bias against neurodivergence-related terms in artificial intelligence language models.” Autism Res 17, no. 2 (February 2024): 234–48. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3094.
- Chandrasekhar, Tara, and Qin Hu. “Meeting the mental health needs of autistic college students: a survey of university and college counseling center clinicians.” Journal of American College Health : J of ACH 72, no. 1 (January 2024): 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.2013239.
- Spanos, marina, T. Chandrasekhar, and L. Sikich. “ASD: Challenges During Adolescence.” In Textbook of Mental and Behavioral Disorders in Adolescence, edited by Mario Pissacroia, 159–72. Padua, Italy, 2018.
- Chandrasekhar, T. “Psychopharmacologic Interventions.” In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders, edited by Ellen Braaten, 1333–37. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483392271.n411.
- Chandrasekhar, T., and Linmarie Sikich. “Depressogenic Conditions.” In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders, edited by Ellen Braaten, 372–75. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2018. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483392271.n123.
- Patel, Rikinkumar S., Huseyin Bayazit, Jason Cho, and Tara Chandrasekhar. “6.4 Behavioral Disturbances in Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Relationship of School Break on Psychiatric Hospitalizations.” In Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 62:S287–S287. Elsevier BV, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.09.411.
- Chandrasekhar, Tara, and Qin Hu. “6.21 UNIVERSITY COUNSELING CENTER CLINICIANS' EXPERIENCE WITH AND ATTITUDES TOWARD STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A BRIEF SURVEY.” In Supplement to the Journal of American Academy or Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 50:180–180, n.d. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.08.116.
- Spanos, Marina, Tara Chandrasekhar, and Linmarie Sikich. “6.14 Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial With Open-Label Extension of Intranasal Oxytocin for Autism Spectrum Disorder,” n.d.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.
External Relationships
This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies or institutions listed below. This information has been reported to the health system leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.
- Zenomi Health