EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 Texas Tech Health El Paso has graduated the first two physicians from its new forensic psychiatry fellowship program, a milestone leaders say could help address a shortage of specialists in El Paso and across Texas.<\/p>\n
The program’s inaugural class includes Dr. Lizette Lara, one of two graduates of the fellowship and Dr. Amanda Pynes. Dr. Patricia Ortiz, fellowship program director and assistant professor of psychiatry at Texas Tech Health El Paso, said the specialty helps bridge medicine and the legal system.<\/p>\n
2026 Texas Tech Health El Paso Forensic Psychiatry<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“We practice at the intersection of psychiatry and the law, so most psychiatrists spend their time evaluating patients, diagnosing them, treating them. Forensic psychiatrists apply that clinical knowledge to the legal setting. So we help courts, attorneys, and other areas of the justice system understand mental health and how it interplays with the justice systems. We help answer questions for them. And help them understand the nuances of mental health as necessary,” Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
Lara said she became interested in the field after completing a forensic psychiatry rotation during her fourth year of residency.<\/p>\n
“It was actually for me very interesting because I had the opportunity to do a rotation in forensic psychiatry when I was doing my fourth year of residency. And that was a really awesome experience. I got to see very complex psychiatric cases and I also experienced the huge gap that’s between psychiatry and the legal system,” Lara said.<\/p>\n
She said that experience motivated her to pursue the specialty.<\/p>\n
“I found it very interesting to be able to bridge that gap,” Lara said.<\/p>\n
Lara also said the shortage of forensic psychiatrists has real consequences for people involved in the justice system.<\/p>\n
“Also helping people that’s sitting in jail for long periods of times waiting for an evaluation due to the lack of resources that we have here in the border region. So that was also motivating for me to want to do this work,” Lara said.<\/p>\n
Ortiz said delays affect much more than just defendants.<\/p>\n
“It’s not just the people sitting in jail. I mean, there’s victims out there too, right? I mean that there’s defendants. These are criminal cases that are ongoing. The justice system has been paused. The whole process has been pause pending this evaluation. And since there’s such a shortage of evaluators, people are just waiting and these cases are remaining open. Judges can’t proceed with the cases. The defendants are sitting in jails. Victims are waiting for justice. And so. If we can help move this process along and get these evaluations done, then the justice system can move forward and do the work that it’s meant to do,” Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
According to Ortiz, the shortage extends well beyond the Borderland.<\/p>\n
“Yeah, I mean in a nation there’s a lack of forensic psychiatrists. We’re actually a very small sub-specialty of psychiatry and certainly that effect is magnified on the borderlands. So when I got here I think I was one of two, maybe three forensic psychiatrists in the area, one of the very few board-certified forensic psychiatrists,” Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
She said Texas historically produced very few forensic psychiatrists each year, contributing to backlogs in court-ordered evaluations. Texas Tech Health El Paso’s fellowship was created after the state funded new forensic psychiatry training programs to help increase the workforce.<\/p>\n
Ortiz said many people misunderstand what forensic psychiatrists actually do.<\/p>\n
“I think when we think about things like criminal responsibility, so the insanity defense, it’s actually not that common a defense to be used. And it’s successful even less, a very small percentage of the time,” Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
She said competency evaluations are requested much more frequently than insanity evaluations and are often necessary before a criminal case can move forward.<\/p>\n
Lara said another misconception is that forensic psychiatrists primarily work with violent offenders.<\/p>\n
“I also feel like a lot of people have a misconception of what forensic psychiatry is. A lot of people think that we deal with criminals, violent people, in really violent settings, when that’s really not the case. I have never felt unsafe doing this type of work. It’s just treating any person with mental health problems,” Lara said.<\/p>\n
Both physicians encouraged medical students interested in psychiatry and the legal system to consider forensic psychiatry as a career.<\/p>\n
“It’s a super rewarding career. I mean, if you’re interested in medicine and the law, like Dr. Lara said, it requires a lot of analysis and curiosity and organizational skills, great communication skills. It’s very rewarding area, in my opinion. This is also a growing field, so it’s nice to be part of a field that’s expanding, and I feel like great things are going to happen in this area of forensic psychiatry,” Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: Downtown El Paso\u2019s Rocketbuster Boots teams with Coach on limited-edition line<\/a><\/p>\n