Director's Welcome

Welcome to the Community Psychiatry Research Center, which was established in October 2024 by the Community Psychiatry Program, within the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry. We are embedded in the UC San Diego Health system and have a supporting partnership with the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services (BHS), as well as relationships with Imperial County BHS, local Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) serving individuals with behavioral health needs, and other health systems. 

Our team is comprised of clinicians and scientists dedicated to improving the lives of individuals receiving mental health services in public-sector systems of care, by engaging in research that is inclusive, community-driven, and locally responsive. Public engagement and shared decision-making amongst investigators, community partners, and individuals with lived experience, are core values of our work.  

Our research is focused on locally responsive assessments and interventions for social drivers of mental health; on development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative mental health services for individuals with serious mental health concerns, across the lifespan; and on applying modern assessment methods and novel technologies to promote recovery-oriented care in community-based, public-sector systems of care.  

As part of the Community Psychiatry Program at UC San Diego, our work is naturally intertwined with our education, training, and workforce development efforts. Our faculty and staff are committed to providing mentorship, didactic instruction, and experiential learning opportunities for psychiatry residents, child and adolescent psychiatry fellows, lifespan psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioners, and students across UC San Diego’s diverse schools and programs, in community-engaged psychiatric research.  

We believe strong relationships are key to elevating the mental health of all individuals in our communities, and we look forward to continuing to work together with our partners to imagine the community-based, public-sector behavioral health systems of care of tomorrow and beyond.  

Sincerely,  

Emily A. Troyer, MD