New Psychiatry Residency Program Brings Expanded Mental Health Care to East Texas
New Psychiatry Residency Program Brings Expanded Mental Health Care to East Texas
A new psychiatry residency program is launching in the area to help meet the state’s growing behavioral health workforce needs. Developed through the Sam Houston Regional Education Consortium (SHREC), in partnership with Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare and Huntsville Memorial Hospital, the program plans to welcome its inaugural class of four residents in July 2026. SHREC, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited institutional sponsor housed within the Sam Houston State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (SHSU-COM), will oversee the residency.
Texas faces one of the most significant shortages of mental health providers in the nation. Nearly all of Texas’s 254 counties are either wholly or partly designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, with more than 170 counties lacking a single licensed psychiatrist. The impact is felt strongly in rural regions, where expanded training pipelines and community-based care are especially needed.
The SHREC Psychiatry Residency Program was developed to expand access to psychiatric care for Texans while training physicians who understand the needs of the communities they will serve. Residents will complete rotations through Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare’s outpatient and community-based programs, gaining experience across a wide range of behavioral health services.
“Texas continues to face critical shortages in behavioral health, and the need for well-trained psychiatrists is only growing,” said Thomas J. Mohr, DO, dean of SHSU-COM. “This program represents an important step forward in improving access to care in East Texas and strengthening the behavioral health workforce across the state. Through our partnership with Tri-County and Huntsville Memorial Hospital, we are creating a supportive training environment that equips residents to serve where they are needed most.”
Tri-County Behavioral Healthcare, a longtime provider of mental health services for Walker, Montgomery and Liberty counties, brings decades of experience in community-based care. Huntsville Memorial Hospital will contribute clinical experiences that give residents insight into the needs seen in a community hospital setting. Together with SHSU-COM, these partners will deliver a range of clinical experiences that prepare residents to treat patients across the behavioral health spectrum.
“Tri-County’s service area includes some of the fastest-growing communities in the state of Texas,” said Evan Roberson, Tri-County’s executive director, emphasizing the regional impact of the collaboration. “This collaboration is a critical step in expanding mental health resources by training compassionate, competent psychiatrists who are equipped to meet the growing needs of the populations we serve. Additionally, we are excited about the opportunity to expose these residents to work within rural Texas Community Mental Health Centers.”
The program’s 4-4-4-4 structure will train 16 residents when at full capacity. SHSU-COM will support the residency with curriculum development, faculty training, educational oversight and academic resources.
The residency is intentionally designed to meet the behavioral health workforce needs of East Texas, where access to psychiatric care is limited. Research consistently shows that physicians often remain in the communities where they complete residency training, making this program an important investment in long-term regional access to care.
“Strengthening behavioral health care in our communities requires long-term investment in training and education,” Mohr said. “This residency program builds on SHSU-COM’s mission to increase the physician workforce in our region and prepare physicians who are committed to serving the people of Texas.”