Dr. Joshua Claunch has long had an interest in clinical psychology, family medicine, and psychiatry. However, when he learned that he could train in neurology and psychiatry at the same time, he jumped at the chance. He now enjoys practicing as a neurologist at Reliant Medical Group with a special interest in neuroimmunology. “Being a neurologist is very rewarding to me since there is almost always something you can do to help any patient,” he explains. “Neurology is a field that brings together many different areas of science and medicine, which is why I find it so fascinating.”

According to Dr. Claunch, there is a lot of overlap between neurology, psychiatry, and neuroimmunology. Many issues that bring patients distress involve both the nervous system and immune system.  “Neuroimmunology is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in all of medicine in regards to new treatments,” he explains. “As neurologists, we are learning more every year about these connections and changing the way we diagnose and treat many complex illnesses. Most commonly, multiple sclerosis treatments have changed dramatically in the last ten years, and we have newer medications that have can help patients improve their physical and mental quality of life.”

In his practice, Dr. Claunch is fundamentally a general neurologist, caring for patients with neurological disorders including peripheral neuropathies, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, myasthenia gravis, and a host of other common maladies. Dr. Claunch says that he enjoys the challenge of treating neurological illnesses but enjoys the human interaction of being a neurologist the most. “There is something incredibly rewarding about sitting across from someone and getting to know them, figuring out together where their suffering comes from, and then finding something to help their problem,” he explains.

In his spare time Dr. Claunch enjoys being around nature. “I’m a beekeeper, I like to garden and brew beer and make bread,” he explains. Dr. Claunch and his wife also have two dogs, a cat, and two ferrets (for now).