Psychiatrist joins county Behavioral Health staff
Brawley native Belen Davila returned to the Imperial Valley as a psychiatrist for the Imperial County Department of Behavioral Health Services stated a press release from the county Behavioral Health Department.
Dr. Davila began work July 12. Her duties include seeing clients at the adult anxiety
and depression clinic in El Centro and the Youth and Young Adult centers in Brawley and El Centro.
A graduate of Brawley Union High School, Dr. Davila earned her medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2013 and has completed a variety of post-graduate work in psychiatry.
“It is inspiring that a young physician such as Dr. Davila would return to her home community to practice medicine,” Behavioral Health Director Andrea Kuhlen said. “She is an example of the dedication and ability our staff has in meeting the needs of our clients.”
Dr. Davila earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physiology with a minor in chemistry from California State University, Long Beach, in 2006. She participated in a pre-internship program at New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, from 2012-13.
After graduating from medical school, she completed an internship and adult psychiatric residency at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. Her residency included work at Banner’s adult crisis response center.
“I feel blessed to come back to Imperial Valley. When I was 7-years-old I said ‘I am going to be a doctor and come back to the community,’” Dr. Davila said. “I chose the psychiatric residency (in Arizona) because it involved a lot of community psychiatry with underserved populations such as that in Imperial County.”
Dr. Davila also has experience in psychotherapy, in-patient and out-patient psychiatric care, mental health courts and telemedicine. She is a member of the American Psychiatry Association and the American Medical Association.