History and Purpose
The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center (UTHCPC) was established by the State of Texas Legislature in 1986 with a legislative mandate to function as a university mental health care hospital. UTHCPC’s mission is one of service to patients, education of those interested in the treatment of the mentally ill and research of new methods of treatment and community service in an effort to reach and educate more people about mental illness.

Programs

For the past 20 years, UTHCPC has been the primary provider of acute inpatient psychiatric care for all of Harris County’s indigent residents, serving persons with mental illness and those with mental illness and substance abuse illnesses. Since opening, UTHCPC has provided comprehensive psychiatric and clinical social services to more than 75,000 patients. Thousands more have been reached through numerous community-based seminars, programs and educational events.

During FY 2007, UTHCPC’s expanded treatment options included inpatient and intensive outpatient services and programs for children and adults. Services to children and adolescents include a cooperative program with the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, Neighborhood Centers and Gulf Coast Community Head Start. A residential treatment center, serving adolescents ages 12-17, was opened. A unit serving those in the custody of the Harris County Sherriff’s Department/Harris County Jail System was openend to serve those inmates with mental health problems.

UTHCPC is the only facility of its kind in the state that serves as an operating unit of a major university and provides primary psychiatric care. UTHCPC serves a diverse population in culture, ethnicity, race, education and economic status (including the homeless, those with marginal incomes, private insurance and entitlements such as Medicare and Medicaid.)

UTHCPC provides clinical rotations for approximately 600 undergraduate and graduate students in medicine, nursing, psychology, pharmacy, health administration, recreation and occupational therapy, pastoral counseling and clinical social services each year.

Members of the UT Medical School at Houston department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the Mental Sciences Institute work in conjunction with staff at the UTHCPC on various research activities. New technologies enable sophisticated research exploring the functioning of the brain. This research may be instrumental in developing innovative treatment modalities for psychiatric disorders. Research collaborations include the UT School of Nursing at Houston, the University of Houston, the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County and the Mental Sciences Institute.

UTHCPC research can and often does involve many treatment options besides medication. These include using neuro-imaging to develop more effective diagnostic procedures; refining criteria of treatment choice; improving crisis treatment options; measuring patient outcomes; developing various patient education models; and studying the effect of therapeutic interventions from all disciplines – nursing, psychology, music therapy, etc. – that improve service delivery.

Facilities
UTHCPC is a licensed 250-bed, acute care, inpatient psychiatric facility. It is housed in a three-story, 180,000 gross-square-foot facility on seven acres near the Texas Medical Center. The outpatient facility is located in close proximity to the hospital.