Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic

Clinical Services

The Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital is a resident-led initiative that provides specialized psychiatric clinical service designed to provide advanced clinical care to monolingual Spanish-speaking patients. Our clinic is located on the 8th floor of the Wang Building, and it is staffed by Spanish-speaking psychiatry residents and staff psychiatrists who have received specialized training. The mission of the Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic is to promote professional education of Hispanic psychiatry trainees, and improve access to high quality mental health care for Spanish speaking patients.

One of the primary goals of the Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic is to foster partnerships and collaborations between primary care physicians and other specialists providing care for Hispanic Spanish patients. This interdisciplinary approach to care ensures that patients receive comprehensive and coordinated care that is tailored to their specific needs and cultural background.

In addition to delivering clinical care, members of the Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic actively engage in research and education. The clinic is dedicated to advancing our understanding and treatment of mental health conditions in Hispanic populations. Additionally, the clinic offers valuable training opportunities for psychiatry residents and other mental health professionals who are interested in working with Hispanic patients. The training program aims to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to provide culturally sensitive and effective care to Hispanic Spanish patients.

Referring Providers

Our comprehensive approach to psychiatric services involves assessing each patient's unique needs and tailoring treatment plans accordingly. This may involve prescribing appropriate medications, closely monitoring their effectiveness, and making adjustments as necessary. Additionally, our skilled clinicians provide psychotherapy, utilizing evidence-based techniques to address the psychological and emotional aspects of mental health concerns.

The referral process from primary care physicians and specialists is vital in facilitating a coordinated and cohesive treatment approach. By closely collaborating with referring providers, we ensure that patients receive integrated care that addresses their specific psychiatric needs while considering any underlying medical conditions.

The Hispanic Psychiatry Clinic is committed to delivering high-quality psychiatric services by leveraging our expertise, working in tandem with referring providers, and prioritizing the well-being of our patients.

Mass General Primary Care Providers, or providers from specialty clinics, can refer adult patients, who designate Spanish as their sole language of expression, for psychopharmacology or psychotherapy services via the PTIS Epic referral. You can also contact our clinic coordinator: Manuela Quintero Balbin (617-643-7998).

• Residents:
  • Andrea Soto Ordoñez, MD
    • Dr. Soto Ordoñez is originally from Colombia. She moved to the U.S. with her family as a child. She graduated from Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society for her academic achievements and service to others. Dr. Soto Ordoñez is interested in community psychiatry and wishing to dedicate her career to providing psychiatric care for underserved populations. She enjoys taking long walks with her family and eating delicious Colombian food in her spare time.
  • Alejandra E. Morfin Rodriguez, MD
    • Dr. Morfin Rodriguez is a resident in the Mass General/ McLean Psychiatry Program. She was born in Pihuamo, Jalisco in Mexico and immigrated to the US at a young age. She grew up in Houston, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University for undergrad and UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine. Growing up as an undocumented immigrant in a low socioeconomic status community, Dr. Morfin Rodriguez learned about health disparities firsthand and pursued medicine with the goal of improving health outcomes, reducing barriers, and providing equitable care to our community. Her clinical interests include psychotherapy, obesity medicine, Hispanic psychiatry, and psychotic disorders. She is passionate about immigration advocacy and healthcare reform and is an American Psychiatric Association Leadership Fellow.
  • Juliana Zambrano, MD, MPH
    • Dr. Zambrano is a psychiatry resident in the Mass General/ McLean Psychiatry Program and Physician Scientist Training Program. She is originally from Colombia and grew up between there and the United States. Dr. Zambrano attended medical school at Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia. She then completed a Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a postdoctoral research fellowship in cardiac psychiatry at Mass General. Her clinical interests are in Consultation-Liaison and Hispanic and Global Mental Health. Her research is focused on implementation science of bio-psychotherapeutic interventions for psychosomatic disorders and expanding mental health care for marginalized populations in the U.S. and abroad. She is a 2023-2024 SAMHSA Minority Fellow at the American Psychiatric Association.
  • Adriana Cantos, MD
    • Dr. Cantos was born in Portoviejo, Ecuador and raised in South Florida. She completed her medical degree at Loyola University Chicago, where she was co-president of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) and the Mental Illness and Neurologic Disease (MIND) group. She was also a Medical Spanish teacher to her peers. Dr. Cantos has presented at numerous conferences, co-authored a book chapter, and published research papers on mood disorders and sociodemographic disparities in healthcare.
  • Kyle Sellers, MD
    • Dr. Sellers was born and raised in Florida to a Cuban family. He earned his medical degree at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. Dr. Sellers has conducted research on identity and role formation, adverse childhood experiences, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the homeless population. Among his accomplishments are publications in Cureus and the Journal of American College Health. He also earned recognition by the AMA for his work with the homeless population. Dr. Sellers has strong interests in psychotherapy and psychedelic psychiatry.
  • Jose Juan Hermina-Perez, MD
    • Dr. Hermina-Pérez was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He completed his medical training at Universidad Central del Caribe in Puerto Rico. During medical school, he performed research on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students. During his residency in the Mass General/ McLean Psychiatry Program, Dr. Hermina-Pérez presented at an international conference, XXXII Congreso Latinoamericano de Psiquiatría-APAL 2022, on the role of digital psychiatry in Latin America and has been a co-author in a psychiatric journal, Ferris clinical Advisor 2024, and a book chapter, Paranoid personality disorder. He is interested in neuropsychiatry, interventional psychiatry, and psychedelic medicine. He enjoys walking along the Charles River Esplanade in his spare time with his partner and dog Milo.
  • Maria Camila Velez Florez, MD
    • Dr. Velez Florez is a psychiatry resident in the Mass General/ McLean Psychiatry Program and a member of the physician-scientist training track. She is an international medical graduate from Bogotá, Colombia. After graduating from Universidad del Rosario, she worked as a hospitalist for three years. She then did a post-doctoral research fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she led education and emergency research projects. She was the principal investigator of a project where she invented and studied a transparent origami facemask for ASD assessments, awarded a grant by Children´s National Hospital - the NCCPDI. Dr. Velez Florez was also a co-investigator on a National Science Foundation translation of innovative technology solutions to meet frontline medical shortages related to COVID-19. She has also presented various projects as oral presentations in different national and international meetings (RSNA, SPR, ESPR, IPR and APAL).
  • Francisco J. Barrera Flores, MD, SM
    • Dr. Barrera Flores is a psychiatry resident in the Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Adult Psychiatry Program and a member of the Physician-Scientist Training Program. He is originally from Monterrey, Mexico, where he studied medicine at the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon. He then moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study and received his Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He continued conducting research as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan and in the Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program at the MGH. He also was a Teaching Fellow for the Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard Chan. He is interested in Consultation-Liaison, and in Public and Community Psychiatry. He wants to apply advanced epidemiological and statistical methods to predict events such as suicide attempts and psychotic episodes and understand what would work to prevent them.

Education & Training

The clinic plays a vital role in equipping residents with the requisite knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional care to Hispanic monolingual Spanish-speaking patients. To further enhance residents' education, the clinic facilitates monthly didactic sessions featuring guest speakers who specialize in the delivery of mental health care within Hispanic communities. These sessions focus on providing valuable insights, evidence-based practices, and emerging trends specific to serving the Hispanic patient population. This empowers residents to provide high-quality and culturally responsive care.

By establishing the Hispanic Psychiatry Resident Clinic, we are investing in the development of a new generation of psychiatrists who possess the expertise and sensitivity necessary to meet the mental health needs of Hispanic patients effectively. This transformative approach contributes to reducing healthcare disparities and promoting equitable access to high quality psychiatric care.

Research

Conducting a thorough evaluation of the Hispanic Psychiatry Resident Clinic's effectiveness is crucial in assessing the impact of this intervention on trainees' competence and confidence in providing culturally appropriate care to Hispanic patients. This research has the potential to identify areas for enhancement and inform the implementation of similar programs at other healthcare institutions.

In addition, we are actively collecting patient referral data to gain insights into the specific needs of the monolingual Spanish-speaking patient population seeking care at our clinic within Mass General. This data will serve as a valuable resource in guiding the development of future clinical services, ensuring that we can effectively address the unique requirements of the Hispanic community.