July 9, 2026

Take a Texas Behavioral Health Center video tour

Take a peek inside the Texas Behavioral Health Center and learn more about its mission and services with the video tour linked from the. main page of the Psychiatry Department website. The tour includes views of many interior spaces and an overview of plans for the hospital. Visit the Department of Psychiatry homepage for a link to the tour.

Employee Advisory Council nominations are open

Want to make a meaningful difference for those who work at UT Southwestern? Consider nominating yourself or a colleague to serve on the Employee Advisory Council (EAC), a peer-elected group of employees designed to enhance employee communication and build community. Council members represent five districts across UTSW to include a wide spectrum of voices. ‌

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‌Submit nominations for your district by July 10. Voting runs Aug. 10-21. The EAC is seeking council members from all districts. ‌‌For more information, check out the membership and nomination criteria on the Employee Advisory Council SharePoint site. Please note that UTSW VPN login is required for EAC nominations and criteria.

UTSW hosts ribbon cutting for TBHC

UT Southwestern held a ribbon cutting for the Texas Behavioral Health Center (TBHC) on June 16 in preparation for the hospital's official opening on June 30. State and local leaders filled the hospital's patient recreation area to celebrate the first state behavioral health hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. When fully operational, the hospital will provide 292 patient beds, 92 of which will be reserved for pediatric patients. The facility offers therapeutic, recreational, and social spaces, including a beauty salon, café, gym, greenhouse, and chapel. Read more about it in the official news release or stories in the Dallas Morning News (may include paywall) and KERA.

See the smiling faces of our resident, fellowship grads

After two great graduation ceremonies, the pictures are now out. Congratulations to all of our residents and fellows on their time at UT Southwestern. We wish them well on the next stages in their careers.

General Psychiatry, Internal Medicine-Psychiatry Combined, and Child and Adult Psychiatry Combined Residency Program Graduates, Program Faculty, Staff

Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Graduates, Faculty, Program Director

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and Triple Board Graduates, Faculty, Staff

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship Faculty and Graduate

Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Faculty (middle) and Graduates

UPDATE: Accessible docs need 'Titles' not just 'filenames'

All documents have filenames when saved, but for accessibility, documents also need a title in the file properties. In Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, click on “File” in the menu bar at the top left of the screen, and then click “Info” (fourth item down the list on the left on a PC), and click “Properties” in the top middle of the resulting screen. Click the button “Advanced Properties,” and in the “Summary” tab of the box that appears, enter text in the Title box and click OK. On a Mac, click “Properties” under the “File” menu, and fill out the title there. 



Not all accessibility tools are available in Office 365. To open a OneDrive or SharePoint file on your desktop, click on the "File" menu from the top left of the online document screen, then click on "Info" (the last item of the list), and then select "Open in desktop" at the bottom of the file properties list to ensure you have full functionality for making your documents accessible while keeping the file up to date on the shared drive. 

Jane Skief joins the Psychiatry Department with more than 20 years of dedicated clinical nursing experience across a diverse range of health care specialties. A dual-certified Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), she holds certifications as both a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) and a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC). She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and her Post-Master’s PMHNP certificate from the University of Massachusetts (UMASS Global). Returning to the UTSW community brings her career full circle. In her early years, Jane worked as a Registered Nurse at Zale Lipshy-UTSW.

Lauren Holmes recently joined the Department of Psychiatry as a Clinical Research Assistant II for Dr. Jennifer Coughlin, M.D. In this role, she supports molecular imaging research on neuropsychiatric conditions through participant recruitment and study coordination. Lauren graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. 

Noureen Hoq has joined the lab of Dr. Joseph Guillory, M.D., as a Clinical Research Assistant II. In this role, she will help facilitate communication between research team members and participants to support the ongoing study recruitment. She graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with bachelor's degrees in Neuroscience and Biology followed by earning her Master's in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience in May 2025.

Angeli Patel recently joined the Psychiatry Department as a Temporary Staff Specialist in the Rajji Lab. She received her bachelor's degree in Plan II Honors at The University of Texas at Austin. She has experience working in patient care as well as volunteering with several youth mentorship programs.

NEW! Dr. C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., was part of the team who contributed to a study on the role of gait tests after exertion in determining whether an athlete is ready to return to sports after a concussion. A news release on the study was published by UT Southwestern. Read it here.

Dr. Collin Vas, M.D., and Dr. Courtney Sanders, Ph.D., were interviewed for a MedBlog titled, "The neuroscience behind bad habits – and 7 tips to help you break them." Click here for the MedBlog.

A profile on Dr. André Brunoni, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., was recently published on the UTSW Physician Resources site exploring his development as a doctor and researcher. Read the story here.

Dr. Tyler Evans, Ph.D., psycho-oncologist, was interviewed by WebMD for an article titled "How to Handle the First Few Days After Learning Your Small-Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) Has Spread." Read the article here.

NEW! Dr. Adam Brantley, M.D., a PGY3 resident in General Psychiatry, has been selected for the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative (NNCI) Ambassadors program.

NEW! Davon Breedlove and Joann Chen have been named Chief Residents for the Clinical Psychology program. Dr. Richard Robinson, Ph.D., and Dr. Veronica Bordes-Edgar, Ph.D., thanked outgoing Chief Residents Matt Hutnyan and Logan Shurtz for their service.

Dr. Ashley Woolbert, M.D., has been honored with an Association for Academic Psychiatry Early Career Development Award.

Dr. Darlene King, M.D., has been elected to serve on the Epic Behavioral Health Steering Board. This committee of 10-12 individuals elected from across the country make recommendations to Epic on how to improve its functionality for psychiatry and behavioral health. Her two-year term began on July 1.

Dr. Eman Rettig, Psy.D., received the 2026 Mentor Award presented by the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN) Student and Trainee Affairs Committee, Mentorship Subcommittee at the recent AACN annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

NEW! Dr. Catherine Karni, M.D., DFAACAP, and Dr. Alexis Clyde, Ph.D., ABPP, ABPA, presented a poster at the 27th World Congress of the International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) in Hamburg, Germany, July 1-4. The title of their poster was "The Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Preschool-Aged Children in an Outpatient Mental Health Clinic: A Decade of Findings."

NEW! Dr. Tyler Evans, Ph.D., was the guest speaker at Refreshing Springs Church of God in Christ in Lancaster's first-ever health fair on June 27. Her presentation was titled "Caring for your mind through breast health, diagnosis, and support."

Dr. Evans was also the guest speaker at Sisters Network Inc. Dallas’ C.A.R.E. Brunch (above). Sisters Network is a national African American breast cancer survivorship organization with affiliates all over the country.

Dr. Chadrick Lane, M.D., recently participated as an invited panelist at the 6th International Conference of the Functional Neurological Disorder Society in Baltimore, Maryland. He spoke on contemporary formulations of and treatment approaches to chronic fatigue, as well as addressing the role of avoidance and fear as impediments to treatment response. Dr. Lane also joined the UT Southwestern Department of Neurology for Grand Rounds (pictured above), exploring brain-mind-body interface disorders, their underlying pathophysiology, and the essential role of varying medical specialties in collaborative care.

Several members of the Psychiatry Department attended the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP) conference in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 18-20. Dr. Lia Thomas, M.D., presented three workshops: "Life after Clerkship: Helping Educators with Career Development" (with co-presenter Dr. Adriane dela Cruz); "You're Doing a Great job, Read more: Teaching Medical Students Effective Ways to Ask for [useful] Formative Feedback"; "Looping in Learners; Strategies to Connect Medical Students with Opportunities in Psychiatry (with Dr. Rachel Russo [former UTSW faculty and resident alum] and Dr. Lindsey Pershern [former UTSW faculty]). Dr. Thomas is a Past President and will serve on the Council Member for one more year. Dr. Sarah Baker, M.D., M.A., Dr. Latoya Frolov, M.D., M.P.H., and Dr. Darlene King, M.D., co-presented "Facilitating Formative Growth: Innovations in Simulation Education." Dr. Baker also presented "Real Talk: Navigating Hard Truths in Medical Student Advising" (with Dr. Juan Sosa, M.D., authored by Dr. Ashley Woolbert, M.D.) and "From Dishonesty to Development: Navigating Student Deception in Clinical Education" (with Dr. Sosa). Dr. dela Cruz also presented poster awards on behalf of the Awards Committee. 

Dr. C. Munro Cullum, Ph.D., participated in a panel about sports-related concussion at Texas Christian University's inaugural Athlete Engineering conference. UTSW was one of the event sponsors, and Dr. Cullum believes the conference may mark the beginning of "good long-term collaborations in the space of athlete brain health." Learn more about the Institute of Athlete Engineering here.

NEW! CE tracking requirement webinar planned July 22

All health care practitioners in Texas are required to have their continuing education compliance verified through a CE tracking system prior to license renewal. This new requirement is mandated by state law. Beginning Sept. 1, 2026, licensees renewing their license must:

• Have an active CE Broker account (basic accounts are free)
• Ensure all completed continuing education is reported in CE Broker

If the Texas Medical Board cannot verify CE compliance through CE Broker, affected physicians will not be able to complete their license renewal. The Texas Medical Board (TMB) has partnered with CE Broker as the official CE tracking platform. ALL TMB licensees should, at a minimum, establish a free, basic account with CE Broker.

A webinar covering multiple aspects of the CE Broker system as it relates to physicians is planned from 6-7 p.m., on Wednesday, July 22. Register for the webinar here. Additional webinar dates and registration opportunities will be shared on the Texas Medical Board website, TMB Bulletin, and social media as they become available.

OBI Physician-Scientist Trainee Symposium is July 17

Medical students from UT Southwestern and institutions around the U.S. will present their neuroscience research at the updated OBI Physician-Scientist Trainee Symposium, from 8:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m., Friday, July 17, in the T. Boone Pickens Auditorium (NG 3.112). Join us to hear about their exciting original work and network with our clinician/scientist community. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Full talk titles are included in the calendar invitation, which will be sent to individuals who complete the RSVP link below. Have questions? Contact Mary-Colette.

Minority Mental Health Awareness Month events set

UT Southwestern will host two events in celebration of Bebe Moore Campbell Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Both events are virtual and feature UTSW faculty and staff.

Dr. Julie Trivedi, M.D., CPCC, FIDSA, will deliver the keynote address, "Unbecoming," which covers "shedding the false identities, expectations, and conditions we assumed throughout the years" as a way to have a better life. The Zoom presentation is scheduled from Noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14. Sign up for the keynote here.

A panel presentation, "Breaking Old Patterns: Rethinking What We've Internalized," will explore how cultural messages, family dynamics, and societal expectations shape our views of mental health. Attendees will gain insight into challenging stigma, promoting healing, and fostering healthier conversations about mental wellbeing across generations and communities. The panel includes Psychiatry Department members, Dr. Melanie Chung-Sherman, D.S.W., LCSW-S, CEDS, and Dr. Juan Sosa, M.D., as well as other UTSW staff and faculty. Register for this Zoom presentation here.