SAN MARCOS — Casa de Amparo, UC San Diego Health and the UC San Diego School of Medicine have announced a new collaboration under which UC San Diego faculty and clinicians will provide psychiatric care to clients of the San Marcos-based nonprofit.
As part of the partnership, UC San Diego associate professor of psychiatry Dr. Emily Troyer has been named Casa de Amparo’s first chief medical officer.
Founded in 1978, Casa de Amparo provides behavioral health counseling to children and young adults who have experienced neglect or abuse, as well as counseling for their families. The San Marcos campus houses more than 80 youths, while the Oceanside campus serves older youths, ages 18 and up, in transitional housing.
Troyer told The Coast News that accepting the position was an easy decision.
“The exciting thing for me is just being part of advancing health equity. This is one of the first times in history that youth in California with Medi-Cal will have access to this treatment. It just hasn’t been available to youth with Medi-Cal.”
Patty Maysent, CEO of UC San Diego Health, said in a news release that the university entered into the partnership because “We believe every child and young adult deserves access to compassionate, high-quality mental health care.”
Kathy Karpé, CEO of Casa de Amparo, said one challenge the organization has faced is a lack of full-time medical staff, making it difficult for youths in the program to build trust as providers cycled in and out.
“We were having psychiatrists give virtual treatments. She’s in-person with the kids. They are used to a lower level of care, and what they’re being provided with. The very first time she started seeing patients on site, we got some tremendously positive feedback from the kids. She spent more time with the clients than they’ve ever had. It’s hard for them to be medication-compliant. It’s hard for them to understand why the medications are important, so having a physician who cares is hugely important.”
Troyer explained that telehealth is less than ideal for providing trauma-informed care.
“For kids who have undergone so much trauma, that’s a really hard concept.”
However, she said providing care in a residential setting offers opportunities to build trust with children whose trust has been repeatedly challenged.
“The teens are all in a residential-type setting, so the place where they receive their care is also where they live.”
Troyer said she has already played basketball with some of the youths outside their treatment sessions, helping build relationships beyond the clinical setting.
Although Troyer’s position with Casa de Amparo is currently limited to one day per week, she said she expects her involvement to increase. In addition, UC San Diego’s role as both a medical school and a teaching hospital will provide Casa de Amparo with additional resources through the partnership.
“I’m one person, but I represent various training programs at U.C. San Diego. We’re an academic medical center, giving world-class medical care, accessing medical trials – there’s a lot of teaching going on. Our model is to take the academic medical center level of care out of the ivory rower and into the community where people need it.”
Troyer said children at Casa de Amparo will also receive care from UC San Diego medical students working under her supervision.
The new program operates through the UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, where Troyer remains a faculty member, and is funded in part by San Diego County Behavioral Health Services.
Separately, Casa de Amparo is building a 20-bed Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility on its San Marcos campus with the help of a $19 million state grant.
Psychiatric residential treatment facilities, or PRTFs, provide an intermediate level of care for patients who do not require hospitalization but need more intensive treatment than outpatient services can provide. The new facility is scheduled to open in 2028.
Although grants have helped fund both the UC San Diego partnership and construction of the treatment facility, Karpé said Casa de Amparo also relies on private donations to support its work with abused and neglected children.
“We really need help from the community right now. We’re in the midst of a $6 million campaign to help us take us to the next level of care.”
For more information, visit Casa de Amparo’s website at https://www.casadeamparo.org/.
