Reza Farokhpay

Biography

Reza Farokhpay, M.D., is Associate Clinical Professor and Associate Residency Training Director in the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. He received his M.D. from the University of California at Davis and completed his psychiatry residency at the University of California at San Diego, where he served as Chief Resident. Prior to his academic appointment at UC Irvine in 2018, Farokhpay served as Medical Director of Royale TRC, a 124-bed private inpatient psychiatric hospital contracted with Orange County to serve as the de facto county psychiatric hospital, where he oversaw a team of 10 staff and per diem psychiatrists and participated in executive administrative leadership.

As Associate Residency Training Director since 2018, Farokhpay oversees the Clinical Skills Verification certification process for all residents, conducts semi-annual evaluations for half of the residents, and chairs the Clinical Competency Committee. He serves as course director for multiple residency courses including Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorders, Treatment of Bipolar Disorder, Neurology, and Psychodynamic Psychopharmacology, the latter of which he designed and implemented for the first time at UC Irvine. He also directs the PGY3 Process Group curriculum and the Individual Psychodynamic Psychotherapy PGY3 Activity. In 2018-2019, he established and conducted the first Clinical Skills Verification Faculty Training and examinations at UC Irvine Department of Psychiatry, recruiting 15 faculty evaluators and coordinating participation of patients and residents.

Farokhpay has served in multiple leadership roles within the American Association of Directors in Psychiatry Residency Training (AADPRT), including as California Caucus Representative from 2021 to 2024 and Co-Chair of the Poster Symposium from 2021 to 2023. He serves on the UC Behavioral Health Access Workgroup, a consortium of psychiatrists from various UC campuses tasked with generating an updated report on mental health care delivery across the UC system. He has received the UC Irvine Department of Psychiatry Outstanding Faculty of the Year award twice and the Orange County Medical Association Physician of Excellence award.

Education

• B.S. in Biological Sciences, University of California at Irvine, 2001
• M.D., University of California at Davis, School of Medicine, 2007

Distinctions

• APA Irma Bland Certificate of Excellence in Teaching Residents, 2024
• UC Irvine Department of Psychiatry Outstanding Faculty of the year, 2018-2019, 2021-2022
• Orange County Medical Association Physician of Excellence, 2022
• Excellence in Medical Student Teaching, 2007-2008