Welcome Statement
Greetings from the Heart of the Rio Grande Valley!
It is with tremendous excitement and pride that I welcome you to explore our pioneering Psychiatry residency program at DHR Health. As we prepare to inaugurate our state-of-the-art 192-bed hospital facility, we are poised to transform psychiatric education and patient care along the Mexico-US border—a region extraordinarily rich in cultural diversity and profound in both clinical need and opportunity for meaningful impact.
A Unique Training Environment
Our program offers a distinctive training experience within a physician-owned healthcare system that exemplifies comprehensive, integrated care. You will train alongside distinguished faculty board-certified across the full spectrum of psychiatric specialties: General Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, and Geriatric Psychiatry. This breadth of subspecialty expertise, rare within a single institution, ensures comprehensive mentorship across all domains of psychiatric practice.
The DHR Health system provides an unparalleled clinical environment, encompassing our Women's Hospital, Physical Rehabilitation services, Medical-Surgical facilities, Emergency Department, and multitude of specialty services. This integrated model allows our residents to develop exceptional skills in collaborative care and consultation psychiatry, understanding the intricate relationship between mental and physical health. You will collaborate with obstetricians managing perinatal mood disorders, work alongside rehabilitation teams addressing psychological trauma, and provide emergency psychiatric assessments—exposure that produces psychiatrists uniquely prepared to practice in any setting.
A Transformative Patient Population
The Rio Grande Valley represents one of the most traditionally underserved communities in the United States, yet it is experiencing remarkable growth and transformation. Our residents have the privilege of providing culturally-informed, linguistically-appropriate psychiatric care to a predominantly bilingual and bicultural population. You will conduct assessments and psychotherapy in Spanish, navigate complex cultural contexts of symptom expression, and address social determinants of mental health in profound and tangible ways.
This experience cultivates clinical skills and cultural competencies increasingly essential in our diverse nation. Whether you ultimately practice in major metropolitan areas or underserved communities, the sophistication you develop working with our border population will serve you and your patients extraordinarily well. Moreover, you will have the profound satisfaction of making a tangible difference in a community with desperate mental health needs—where your work truly matters.
Life in the Rio Grande Valley
The border region offers a distinctive tapestry of experiences where Texas hospitality meets Mexican warmth, where traditional values embrace modern innovation, and where our residents discover a deeply rewarding lifestyle. Our community provides family-friendly living with excellent schools, safe neighborhoods, and a cost of living that allows young physicians to purchase homes, eliminate debt, and build financial security impossible in major metropolitan areas.
The geography offers significant advantages: proximity to South Padre Island beaches, easy access to Mexico, and weekend trips to San Antonio, Austin, or Houston. The warm climate supports year-round outdoor activities, and the tight-knit medical community fosters collegiality and lifelong professional relationships. Many residents discover the Valley becomes home—choosing to establish practices and raise families here after training.
Our Educational Philosophy
Our educational approach balances rigorous clinical training with attention to resident wellness and professional development. We are committed to evidence-based psychiatric practice informed by the latest research while honoring the fundamental importance of the therapeutic relationship and the art of healing. You will receive comprehensive training in multiple psychotherapy modalities, develop sophisticated psychopharmacological skills, and learn to integrate medication management with psychotherapy effectively.
Our faculty are deeply committed to teaching and mentorship, maintaining reasonable clinical volumes that allow for thoughtful supervision and development of clinical reasoning. We encourage scholarly activity, quality improvement projects, and community engagement. We support residents in exploring career interests through tailored elective experiences and developing teaching skills through medical student education.
We recognize that residency, while fulfilling, can be demanding. We are committed to resident wellness, providing robust support systems, reasonable work hours complying with ACGME requirements, and a culture valuing self-care and work-life balance. We believe well-supported residents become better physicians and that modeling appropriate self-care is essential to training psychiatrists who sustain long, fulfilling careers.
An Invitation to Build Something Extraordinary
As a new program, we offer unique advantages: the opportunity to shape program culture, the excitement of building something meaningful, close mentorship with smaller cohorts, and the pride of being founding members of a program destined to make lasting contributions. Our residents bring fresh perspectives and passionate idealism that reinvigorate our faculty and remind us why we devoted our lives to healing the human spirit. In turn, we provide mentorship honoring both the science and art of psychiatry, respecting your individual career goals, and preparing you to excel in whatever path you choose.
Our mission is clear: to train exceptional, compassionate, culturally-competent psychiatrists prepared to address 21st-century mental health challenges with clinical excellence, ethical integrity, and profound humanity. We seek residents who are not only academically accomplished but who understand that psychiatry is ultimately about human connection, instilling hope, and the privilege of accompanying people through darkness toward healing.
We value diverse perspectives and backgrounds, fostering an inclusive learning environment where all trainees feel respected and empowered. We believe diversity strengthens our education, enhances our ability to serve our patient population, and reflects the values of equity that should characterize modern medicine.
Welcome to DHR Health Psychiatry
I invite you to discover how our innovative program, exceptional faculty, comprehensive clinical experiences, unique border population, and deeply meaningful mission can support your journey toward becoming the psychiatrist you envision—one combining clinical expertise with cultural humility, scientific knowledge with compassionate presence, and professional excellence with personal integrity.
As you explore residency programs, consider not only clinical training but also the kind of physician you want to become and the life you want to live during these formative years. Consider where you will feel supported, challenged, and inspired. Consider where your work will make a meaningful difference. Consider where you might discover not just a training program but a professional home.
We look forward to meeting you, learning about your aspirations, sharing our vision, and exploring together how you might contribute to and benefit from this exciting chapter in psychiatric education along the border. Please contact us with questions, schedule a visit to experience our community, and engage with our faculty to gain an authentic sense of who we are.
The future of psychiatry is being written by dedicated physicians who choose to serve, to heal, and to make a difference. We hope that future includes you as part of the DHR Health Psychiatry family.
With warm regards and great anticipation,
Jose E Igoa MD
Life time Distinguished Fellow APA
FRCP ©,FRC Psych
Program Director, Psychiatry Residency Training Program
DHR Health Rio Grande Valley, Texas
