RESEARCH EXPERTISE
Eric Rafla-Yuan, MD, FAPA, is a board-certified psychiatrist, educator, researcher, and health policy expert. He is Chief Financial Officer for the Social Determinants of Health Network, a multi-disciplinary worldwide research network which aims to better define, assess, understand, and intervene on the social determinants of health, and serves as a contributing editor for the journal Psychiatric Services where his research focuses on policy drivers of health outcomes. He is the first person to write about 988 and clinical crisis services in a major medical journal and his work is published in popular media as well as the New England Journal of Medicine and Health Affairs. He has been interviewed by the New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, ABC, NBC, Politico, and others.
HEALTH SYSTEMS AND POLICY
Dr. Rafla-Yuan is actively engaged in improving the health of communities in California and across the nation. He is currently appointed to the 988 Technical Advisory Board for the California Office of Emergency Services and chairs the 988 Equity and Accessibility Working Group. These bodies oversee and advise on the implementation of 988 and crisis services for California's 58 counties. He previously served as a senior policy advisor with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, where he advised on health and human services program implementation for San Diego County’s 3.3 million residents and has held leadership roles with local and state professional organizations. He formerly served in Washington, D.C. as Health Counsel for Congressman Tony Cárdenas and as Staff Director of the bipartisan 988 & Crisis Services Congressional Task Force in the United States House of Representatives during the 117th session of Congress.
LEADERSHIP, EDUCATION, AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Dr. Rafla-Yuan continues to be recognized nationally for his work and leadership, serving as the chair of American Psychiatric Association Caucus on the Social Determinants of Mental Health. He is Vice President of AGLP: The Association of LGBTQ+ Psychiatrists, the oldest LGBT professional organization in the United States. He holds positions on the board of directors of the San Diego County Medical Society and San Diego County Psychiatric Society, and is a delegate for the California Medical Association. He also serves on the board of the Miles Hall Foundation, which advocates for alternatives to criminalization for mental health emergencies, and is launching a first-in-the-nation, cost-free therapy program for families who have lost loved ones with mental illness to police violence.
He completed his Bachelor's degree with latin and program honors at Chapman University and is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed psychiatry residency training at the University of California San Diego, where he served as chief resident and formed the residency program's first diversity committee, which he then led for a number of years as faculty. In addition to being an invited lecturer and grand rounds speaker across the country, Dr. Rafla-Yuan has trained and supervised medical students and resident physicians, registered nurses and nurse practitioners, pharmacists, social workers, and other mental health professionals.
CLINICAL PRACTICE
As a board certified psychiatrist, Dr. Rafla-Yuan specializes in emergency psychiatric response and stabilization, working with individuals who live with severe mental illness or who are experiencing both medical and psychiatric conditions, and helping those who are recovering from trauma. He utilizes a mentalization-based treatment (MBT) approach and believes that being patient-centered and trauma-informed is the most effective way to meet patients wherever they are.
As a board certified psychiatrist, Dr. Rafla-Yuan specializes in emergency psychiatric response and stabilization, working with individuals who live with severe mental illness or who are experiencing both medical and psychiatric conditions, and helping those who are recovering from trauma. He utilizes a mentalization-based treatment (MBT) approach and believes that being patient-centered and trauma-informed is the most effective way to meet patients wherever they are.
Dr. Rafla-Yuan has worked with patients of all ages and backgrounds, in a wide range of settings, such as academic medical center hospitals and clinics, residential treatment programs, public mental health services and community clinics, federally qualified health centers (FQHC), assertive community treatment (ACT) teams, and the Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital system. He maintains a small private practice which accepts patients by referral only.
Professional Memberships
Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
American Association for Community Psychiatry
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
AGLP: Association of LGBTQ+ Psychiatrists
California Medical Association
California State Association of Psychiatrists
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality
San Diego County Medical Society
San Diego Psychiatric Society
