Dr. Carl Rogers, the great teacher of humanistic psychotherapy said, “There is in every organism, at whatever level, an underlying flow of movement toward constructive fulfillment of its inherent possibilities.”

Indeed, many forms of therapy aspire to provide a supportive and empathetic environment in which obstacles toward authenticity and the true self can be removed, so that one’s inner potential can naturally mobilize itself. At Harbor-UCLA, we feel that what is true for our patients is equally true for us and for the family of trainees, faculty, and staff that we create. We strive to foster an environment in which residents and fellows feel supported, heard, and seen in such a way that the path to reaching one’s personal and professional potential can proceed as unencumbered as possible.

Harbor-UCLA is a safety net hospital that provides care to those who need it most. We provide public mental health care for more than two million people who reside in the coastal area of Los Angeles County. Collectively, we find deep meaning in caring for the patients that present to us in their difficult times. As Carl Jung said, “The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.” Harbor-UCLA offers a full array of services, including a Psychiatric Emergency room (in addition to one of the first Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Rooms in the country), inpatient services, consultation-liaison services, adult and child outpatient clinics, dual diagnosis treatment, and forensic Psychiatry. Our ACGME-approved general psychiatry program has 29 residents, and our approved fellowship program in child and adolescent psychiatry has 8 fellows. We have 28 full-time faculty, over 60 clinical and voluntary staff, and additional trainees including pre- and post-doctoral psychology fellows, social work masters level students and nursing internship programs.

Teaching trainees is not simply a vocation to us. Teaching is an act of giving and receiving from which each of us derives meaning and joy. This period of training is an important and transformational time, and we are all privileged to participate in this process of learning, creation, and friendship. The faculty and residents both derive a rich experience, and the residents have gained a high level of professional success. The latter includes national fellowship awards during training, placement in highly competitive post-residency fellowships, and placement in professional leadership positions.

It is an interesting time in the field of Psychiatry, as age-old wisdom is juxtaposed with new therapeutic frontiers. Harbor-UCLA teaches proficiency in both. Fluency in traditional psychotherapies such as psychodynamic psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, in traditional psychopharmacology, and in paradigms of acute and outpatient psychiatry are fostered along with exposure to newer paradigms of psychotherapy, interventional psychiatry, and novel therapeutics. They are taught by faculty who are committed to treating the underserved, are versed in modern neuroscience, and are pushing the boundaries of knowledge through their own research. In addition, Harbor-UCLA strongly values the diversity of its patients and its clinicians, the importance of practicing anti-racism, understanding structural and institutional racism and implicit bias, and practicing cultural competency. We strive to foster a beloved community that accepts those of all races, backgrounds, and orientations.  Harbor-UCLA welcomes you!

Michael Makhinson, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor & Interim Chair
Department of Psychiatry