Letter from the Residency Program Director

Adam Brenner, MD
Adam Brenner, M.D.

The mission of the University of Texas Southwestern Adult Psychiatry Residency is to train diverse physician leaders in Healing, Education, Advocacy, and Research. We HEAR our patients from all backgrounds as we champion their recovery. We believe that everything we do should begin with thinking about the patient with mental illness, and that every such patient deserves to have an excellent psychiatrist.

People with mental illness present complicated pictures and deserve psychiatrists who are adept in thinking on many different levels – molecular neurobiology, structural and functional neuroanatomy, subjective narrative experience, social systems, and cultural influences, among others. We need to know how to access and assess the evidence base for all these levels of thinking and for their corresponding interventions, and then immerse ourselves in understanding the current explosion of brain science which will generate new paradigms and interventions in the years ahead.

We believe that a trusting relationship of the patient with his/her psychiatrist is at the heart of all potential for healing and recovery, and that this trust develops when the patient can feel that his/her psychiatrist truly listens to their concerns, and is engaged with the entire person of the patient, even those parts which are disturbing or maladaptive. Indeed, mental illnesses are so challenging that they generally require more than the one-to-one relationship – it takes a team of providers, and it "takes a village." Our patients cannot flourish if they are not part of a supportive community, and therefore advocacy for our patients is an important part of our identity.

We are committed to training psychiatrists who are expert in the brain, the mind, and social systems; who are highly capable at working in teams and care systems; who meet each patient with dignity and the desire to listen; and who feel supported by our training community and in turn support each other. We believe this training can only happen in a community that is dedicated to diversity and inclusion and that pursues social justice and health care equity through vigorous anti-racism efforts.

UT Southwestern’s residents are exposed to a wide variety of systems of psychiatric care and patient populations. Our clinical sites include one of the premier county hospitals in the country (Parkland Memorial Hospital), a rapidly growing university hospital system (Clements University Hospital and Zale-Lipshy University Hospital), a Veterans Affairs hospital that is one of the VA’s academic flagship centers (Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center), a tertiary care pediatric hospital (Children's Health℠ Children's Medical Center), three university student health centers, a psychotherapy training clinic, and an innovative public/community psychiatry system (Metrocare Services). We also offer rural mental health electives throughout North Texas and global mental health electives through collaborations in Guyana and China. Diversity of settings allows our residents to care for the widest possible range of patients by diagnosis, ethnic background, socio-economic status, and location.

Excellence in All Areas of Psychiatry 
A Commitment to the Resident’s Quality of Life 
Education at the Cutting Edge – Evidence Based Psychiatry 
Breadth of Exposure and Diversity of Careers