About Us

Peter Thompson, MD

• Psychiatry Department Chair
• Professor
• Director, Southwest Brain Bank
• Mood Disorders Division Chief
• Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Profile:

Peter M. Thompson, MD, MS is a professor and the Hunt Family Endowed Chair of Psychiatry. He serves as the Director of the Southwest Brain Bank and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at TTUHSC-El Paso. Dr. Thompson’s academic career is dedicated to developing improved treatments for moods disorders and educating the next generation of psychiatrists. He completed his psychiatry residency at Tufts University/New England Medical Center and Psychobiology Fellowship at the University of California at San Diego.

Dr. Thompson founded the Southwest Brain Bank in 2003 and has published his research findings on brain molecular changes in mood disorders, schizophrenia, and alcohol dependence. This work has been supported by both philanthropic organizations and the National Institute of Mental Health.

In his time as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at TTUHSC-El Paso, the department has greatly increased its collaborations with community partners. These partnerships focus on reducing barriers to care and educating medical students and residents how to treat mental illness while incorporating language and cultural values of the border population.

Sarah Martin, MD

• Medical Director, TCMHCC at TTUHSC El Paso
• Director, Psychiatry Residency Training
• Assistant Professor
• Child and Adolescent Division Chief
• Board Certification: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Profile

Dr. Sarah Lynette Martin has been diligent in building a varied and fulfilling professional career. She began her journey at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she completed her bachelor’s degree. Soon after graduating, she served as a Community Services Specialist in the Peace Corps for two years. Upon her return from the Peace Corps, Dr. Martin was awarded a Health Professions Scholarship by the United States Army to attend Tulane School of Medicine and subsequently completed her residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Martin went on to complete a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry prior to transferring to Ft. Knox, where she served as the Chief of Behavioral Health for four years and successfully deployed to Camp Bucca, a detainee facility in Iraq. Dr. Martin completed her military service at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas but went on to serve for two years in a civilian role as the Chief of the Child and Family Behavioral Health Service.

Dr. Martin currently serves the community of El Paso through her involvement with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, both as an assistant professor and as the Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. More recently, Dr. Martin is developing the El Paso Hub of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium through her role as medical director. In her role, Dr. Martin is actively working to improve behavioral health access for children and adolescents, and is reshaping the availability of resources for our current and future primary care providers and child and adolescent psychiatrists through several initiatives spanning 16 counties in Southwest Texas.

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Cecilia De Vargas, MD

• Associate Professor
• Psychiatry Program Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program

Profile

Dr. Cecilia De Vargas is an associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Currently, Dr. De Vargas is the program director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship and dedicates most of her professional hours to supervision of fellows, residents, and medical students at the inpatient, outpatient, and community rotations. She also participates in the Child Psychiatric Access Network (CPAN), providing consultation to pediatricians and other primary care professionals on assessing, diagnosing, and treating children and adolescents with mental health comorbidities.

Dr. De Vargas received her medical education at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, followed by training in General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry when she moved to the USA. Dr. De Vargas has Board Certification in Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has been with the department for over twenty years. Dr. de Vargas’ main professional interests include medical and mental health effects of childhood trauma experiences and resilience in pediatric psychiatric groups, mental health problems in unaccompanied minors who migrate to the US, innovative ways to treat children and adolescents with resistant depression and risk for suicide, and evidence- based interventions in children who have been traumatized, among other things. She is passionate about disseminating a trauma-informed care and practice to all trainees to promote a safe, stigma-free, compassionate and collaborative method of caring for the children, adolescents and their families.

Dr. Aisha Shariq

• Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
• Associate Program Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship
• Director, Child and Adolescent Division, Transmountain campus

Profile

Dr. Aisha Shariq is an Assistant Professor in Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and is a child and adolescent psychiatrist. She is very involved in teaching medical students, CAP fellows and psychiatry residents. She also serves as the psychiatry director at the El Paso County Juvenile Justice Center. Dr. Shariq is involved with Texas Child Mental Health Consortium on several projects. She provides psychiatric consultation to primary care providers treating children with mental illnesses and treats school children through the TCHATT.

Dr. Shariq finished her medical school from Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Pakistan. Then completed her residency and fellowship in CAP at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Shariq is Diplomat American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and has a special interest in treating childhood mood disorders.

In addition to Dr. Shariq’s clinical and education activities, she is very involved in research. She participates in projects studying youth depression, suicide and developing improved treatments for these disorders.

Adrianne Harrel, MS

• Program Manager, Telemedicine

Profile

Ms. Adrianne Harrel currently serves as the Project Manager for Telemedicine Implementation at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Originally from California, Ms. Harrel completed her Bachelor of Arts in Child Development, concentrating in Social and Community Settings at California State University Sacramento. Ms. Harrel developed a passion for working with children and adolescent programs while supervising a Rural Central California Grant for migrant children’s engagement and enrichment. In 2013 she relocated to Lubbock, Texas, where she subsequently completed her Master of Science degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Ms. Harrel is an integral member of the El Paso Hub for the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC). She brings over seven years of experience overseeing and expanding state and federal grants and programs from her contributions to the Department of Rural and Community Health at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. Ms. Harrel is excited to combine her interests in supporting the growth and development of children while incorporating technological advances in telemedicine in the Sun City.

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Paulina Rodriguez

• Unit Manager

Profile

Joined the TTUHSC El Paso team in 2015 and since her onboarding, has been able to serve in multiple roles within the TTUHSC community. It is through her own merit, she has gained the opportunity to acquire knowledge in different areas as she not only fulfills her responsibilities but proactively uses her experience to excel in functions that need to be performed in conjunction with a positive attitude. Again, Ms. Rodriguez displays a willingness to perform her duties while also effectively influence her peers with a leadership style. Ms. Rodriguez currently serves as a Program Coordinator of the Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN) program. Her duties involve internal administration and external support services. Ms. Rodriguez is excited and motivated to participate in a program that involves the improvement of youth’s mental health in her community.

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Bethany Shrewsbury MS/CC, NCC, LPC.

• Senior Mental Health Clinician, CPAN

Profile

Is a Nationally Board Certified Counselor and a Sr. Mental Health Clinician at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso. Bethany received a Master’s of Science degree in Clinical Counseling from Bellevue University in 2015 and went on to work as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas. She has worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor with many different populations and many of the Community Partners throughout El Paso. Her work experience in Mental Health includes working with children, adolescents, and also adults. Bethany specializes in crisis stabilization, trauma recovery and grief counseling.

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Hanna Garza, PhD, LPC, CAMF

• Program Director, TCHATT

Profile

Dr. Garza serves as the Clinical Director for Texas Child Health Access through Telemedicine (TCHATT), at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, Texas (TTUHSC EP). She earned a Master's of Science in Mental Health Counseling, a Master's of Science in Psychology, and a PhD in Psychology from Walden University. Dr. Garza is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Trauma Therapist, and a Certified Anger Management Facilitator.

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Vicki H. Thomas, PhD

• Instructor and licensed clinical psychologist

Profile

Dr. Thomas received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago. Her degree in cultural anthropology allowed her to work in Child Protective Services in New Mexico for 12 years before she returned to school to work on her degree in psychology. Dr. Thomas completed her pre-doctoral internship in Pediatric Psychology at the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. She earned her postdoctoral hours in Community Mental Health at The Counseling Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico. She worked in private practice before accepting a position with the US Army Medical Command where she specialized in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas and at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Dr. Thomas was involved in the development and operation of two Intensive Outpatient Programs for the US Army providing treatment for active duty service members and veterans with moderate to severe PTSD. She retired from Civil Service in 2020 in order to focus on patient care and the training and mentoring of the next generations of care providers.

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Melissa Carrasco, LPC-S

• Senior Mental Health Clinician, TCHATT

Profile:

Ms. Melissa Carrasco is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has been a lifelong resident of El Paso, Texas. She has experience in working with the Geriatric Community, Adults, Children and Adolescents in many areas, including Autistic/Sensory Integration. She has worked in Private Practice, and both inpatient and outpatient environments at the El Paso Psychiatric Center and Atlantis Health Services, respectively. Ms. Carrasco is currently on her sixth year as a volunteer with Ysleta School District and most recently joined the Texas Tech Health Science Center at El Paso to work with Children and Adolescents as part of the TCHATT program.

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Joyce Gonzalez, LPC

• Senior Mental Health Clinician, TCHATT

Profile

Ms. Gonzalez is a Senior Mental Health Clinician at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso. She is a mental health employee with ten years relevant experience in a variety of environments and capacities (i.e. outpatient/inpatient/jail/courts). Ms. Gonzalez earned her Master’s degree from Webster University in Community Counseling, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas at El Paso.

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Nancy Ramirez

• Post Doctoral Psychology Fellow

Profile

Dr. Nancy P. Ramirez is a postdoctoral psychology fellow. She completed her doctorate in clinical psychology at John F. Kennedy University, in Pleasant Hill, California. Dr. Ramirez has experience working with people of all ages after working in community mental health, integrated health care, and college counseling settings. She is dedicated to providing culturally-appropriate care as well as increasing access to mental health services for people of diverse cultures. Dr. Ramirez relocated to El Paso in 2019 for predoctoral training, but decided to stay permanently after she fell in love with the community. She is bicultural and bilingual and loves being surrounded by the cultural richness she has found in El Paso, Texas.

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Crystal .V. Carrillo

• CMA

Profile

An El Paso native is the Patience Service Specialist at Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso (TTUHSC). In this position, Mrs. Carrillo proudly assists her peers and contributes a positive patient experience trough her enthusiasm, passion and ambitions. Mrs. Carrillo displays a genuine attitude to lean and is self-motivated. She contributes to her current position by coordinating meeting, scheduling patients, and fulfilling daily tasks to allow her peers to effectively provide mental health services to youth in the community. She is dedicated, reliable, and sociable. Mrs. Carrillo’s resourcefulness ensures a smooth operation of the clinic. She is committed to providing excellence in services and applies her Medical Assistant certification from Vintage College to streamline a patient’s experience. Further, on her free time Mrs. Carrillo enjoys spending time with her family and watching the Dallas Cowboys.

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Eden Hernandez Robles, PhD, MSW

• Director of Education and Research

Profile

Dr. Eden Hernandez Robles serves as the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) Program Director at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso. Dr. Robles has extensive experience in social work, with training on qualitative research methods, health services and service user evaluations, and qualitative data analysis. As a research associate on several university and NIH-funded grants, she has laid the groundwork for the proposed research grant by investigating the social, cultural, and other psychosocial factors relevant to Latinos on the US/Mexico Border. Dr. Robles currently serves as the co-convener for the Paso del Norte Recovery Oriented System of Care (ROSC) in El Paso. As co-convener, she has helped lead the strategic vision of the ROSC through professional guidance and mentorship. In addition, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Recovery Alliance, Inc. in El Paso.

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Caitlin Chanoi, B.S

• Analyst II

Profile

Graduated with great distinction, summa cum laude and University Honors from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Ms. Chanoi earned her B.S. in Biology with a concentration in biomedical science. During her attendance at UTEP, Ms. Chanoi managed to serve in a number of leadership roles and complete several research projects in various subjects outside of science. Since joining TTUHSC this year (2021), Ms. Chanoi is excited to be working as a research analyst serving on the Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (YDSRN) and Childhood Trauma Research Network (CTRN) studies led by UT Southwestern Medical Center and Dell Medical School, respectively. Through these projects, Ms. Chanoi hopes to be part of an initiative that will significantly impact and improve the understanding of youth’s mental health issues in Texas. Ms. Chanoi seeks to continue to further her education and purse a medical degree to grow her career as a Physician. Ms. Chanoi feels confident in her future endeavors as she will use her experience and knowledge gained from her peers at TTUHSC to make a change in her community.

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