About our Program
Brain Health USA Van Nuys is home to an ACGME-accredited four-year Psychiatry Residency Training Program. We hope to train the next generation of psychiatrists who are not only clinically excellent but also deeply committed to health equity, community engagement, and culturally sensitive care. We are excited about the future and the opportunity to make a lasting, positive change in mental health care in Los Angeles. By fostering clinical excellence, championing research, and supporting innovative care, we aim to produce psychiatrists who can bring equitable and accessible mental health services to the communities that need it most.
Mission
COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
We are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of graduate medical education. Our leadership team worked diligently to secure initial ACGME accreditation, and we are committed to continuous quality improvement. We hope to achieve excellence in every aspect of our program with the goal of providing residents with an optimal training environment.
Training Sites
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
A central pillar of our program is preparing residents to meet the needs of underserved communities with compassion and cultural competence. This is especially vital in Los Angeles County, a highly diverse region with significant mental health challenges. Our rotations are strategically designed to expose residents to a wide range of patients and communities across different settings (e.g., inpatient, outpatient, mobile crisis outreach). Residents complete training across multiple affiliated sites aligned with the program's community-focused mission. Sites include:
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley
This safety-net hospital serves as a core inpatient psychiatry training site for residents managing adults with acute psychiatric illness. Clinical experiences include diagnostic evaluation, psychopharmacologic management, and interdisciplinary treatment planning.
Brain Health - Van Nuys
This site serves as the primary outpatient psychiatry training location, where residents provide longitudinal psychiatric care. Residents manage patients and develop competencies in medication management, psychotherapy, and continuity of care.
Brain Health- Gardena
This site serves as a community-centered environment, where residents provide care to diverse and underserved populations. Training emphasizes culturally informed psychiatric assessment, treatment planning, and the development of culturally attuned approaches to mental health.
DMH Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) Partnership
This site serves as a training location for emergency and crisis psychiatry through Brain Health USA's partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. Residents receive intensive training in emergency and crisis psychiatry, equipping them to manage acute psychiatric presentations and collaborate with community stakeholders.
Curriculum
Curriculum, Training, and Didactics Structure
Our comprehensive four-year program meets all ACGME requirements for psychiatry training. The curriculum is structured to provide a broad foundation of knowledge and skills, with increasing responsibility as residents progress. Residents will gain exposure to applications of psychiatry in the inpatient and outpatient settings and will get the opportunity to train across different subspecialties of psychiatry, ranging from geriatric and community to child and adolescent psychiatry. Our teaching staff consists of experienced psychiatrists and physicians who are dedicated to didactic excellence and professional development.
Research & Scholarly Activity
Research and Scholarly Activity
Scientific inquiry and evidence-based practice are at the core of our program. Every resident is paired with faculty mentors to complete research projects of their interest. We also provide funding to support residents in presenting their work at conferences.
Faculty & Mentorship
Faculty and Mentorship
Our teaching faculty consists of experienced psychiatrists who are dedicated to didactic excellence and professional development. We have hand-picked our faculty to serve as role models and life-long mentors for our trainees in hopes to create an environment that advocates for servant leadership. Residents will work directly with faculty during their rotations, didactics, and their research endeavors.
