Robert M. McCarron
Biography
Robert M. McCarron, D.O., DFAPA, FAIHM, is Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and HSCP Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, where he also serves as Director of Education for the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. McCarron received his D.O. from Midwestern University – Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed combined Internal Medicine/Psychiatry residency training at Rush University, where he also served as Chief Resident. His work focuses on integrated behavioral health care delivery and training primary care providers in psychiatric care, particularly for underserved populations.
McCarron is Founding Director of three Train New Trainers (TNT) fellowship programs at UCI: the Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship, the Primary Care Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, and the Primary Care Training and Education in Addiction Medicine Fellowship. These programs have received over $53 million in funding and train primary care providers to deliver behavioral health services in community settings. He has authored or co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and edited multiple textbooks, including "Preventive Medical Care in Psychiatry: A Practical Guide for Clinicians" and "Primary Care Psychiatry." McCarron serves as Section Editor for Depression and Somatic Symptom Disorder for UpToDate and has been Section Editor for the Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders since 2009.
McCarron serves as Chairperson of the American Psychiatric Association Assembly Committee on Psychiatric Diagnosis and the DSM and is an appointed member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Psychiatry Residency Review Committee. He is Past President of the California Psychiatric Association, Past President of the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry, and serves as Vice President of the National Alliance on Mental Illness - California Board. His honors include the 2017 Alan Stoudemire Award for Innovation and Excellence in Psychosomatic Medicine Education from the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, the 2019 Creativity in Education Award from the American College of Psychiatrists, the 2024 George E. Thibault, MD Nexus Award from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, and the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Board of Trustees Psychiatric Services Award for the Train New Trainers Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship.
Return to topEducation
- B.S. in Psychobiology, Loma Linda University, 1991
- D.O., Midwestern University – Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, 1998
- Fellowship in Integrative Medicine (Honors), Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM), 2023
Distinctions
- George E. Thibault, MD Nexus Award, National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, 2024
- Board of Trustees Psychiatric Services Award: Train New Trainers Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship, American Psychiatric Association, 2023
- Fellow, Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (FAIHM), 2023
- AACME Commendation (Co-recipient: Jen Reino, CHCP), 2024
- Alan Stoudemire Award for Innovation and Excellence in Psychosomatic Medicine Education, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, 2017
- Victor J. Teichner Award, American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry (AAPDP) and American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT), 2021
- Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 2009-2014
- Distinguished Teacher and Mentor Award, American College of Physicians, 2012
- Outstanding Leadership Award, Integrated Education and Clinical Care, Association of Medicine and Psychiatry, 2013
- Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association, 2014
Areas of Expertise
- Integrated Behavioral Healthcare Delivery
- Primary Care Psychiatric Assessment
- Preventive Medicine in Psychiatry
- Somatic Symptom Disorder Management
- Interprofessional Workforce Development
- Motivational Interviewing Techniques
- Telepsychiatry Implementation Models
Recent Publications
- Welsh JW, Masoumirad M, Delisi S, Garcia C, Rivera J, McCord E, Stehli A, Neikrug AB, Maruti S, Marcovitz DE, Salisbury-Afshar E, DeMoss D, Gagliardi JP, McCarron RM, “Primary Care Training and Education in Addiction Medicine Fellowship: Expanding the Addiction Medicine Workforce” (opens in new tab), BMC Medical Education, vol. 25, 2025.
- McCarron R.M., Hilty D.M., Krysta K., “How digital mental health adds to traditional outpatient and newer models of integrated care for patients, providers, and systems” (opens in new tab), Digital Mental Health the Future is Now, pp. 255-274, 2025.
- McCarron RM, Malik S, Gerenz M, “Integrative Medicine in Psychiatry: Beyond Just Treating the Disease” (opens in new tab), Psychiatric News, vol. 59, pp. 19-22, 2024.
- Masoumirad M, Gagliardi J, Wagner M, Hebert C, Ramezani A, McCarron RM, “Train New Trainers Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship : Advancing and Expanding Global Behavioral Healthcare Delivery Through Interprofessional Primary Care Psychiatric Training Program”, Global Mental Health & Psychiatry Review, vol. 5, pp. 21-22, 2024.
- Neikrug A, Cho S, Nguyen E, Stehli A, Huo S, Garcia C, Au S, Masoumirad M, Cant W, Le-Bucklin K, Gagliardi J, Xiong G, McCarron RM, “Improving Behavioral Healthcare Access Disparities by Training Providers in Disadvantaged Communities – Evidence of Strategy Effectiveness” (opens in new tab), Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol. 40, pp. 102-112, 2024.
- Huo S, Bruckner B, Das A, Xiong G, Marcovitz D, Neikrug A, McCarron RM, “Opioid Prescriptions Following Behavioral Health Training Among Primary Care Providers” (opens in new tab), BMC Medical Education, vol. 24, 2024.
- Huo S, Bruckner TA, Xiong GL, Cooper E, Wade A, Neikrug AB, Gagliardi JP, McCarron RM, “Antidepressant Prescription Behavior Among Primary Care Clinician Providers After an Interprofessional Primary Care Psychiatric Training Program” (opens in new tab), Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, vol. 50, pp. 926-935, 2023.
- Hardoy CR, Shipley JH, Kramer EN, McCarron RM, “Mental Health Is Heart Health: Adjusting Clinical Guidelines for Depression After Myocardial Infarction” (opens in new tab), Harvard Review of Psychiatry, vol. 31, pp. 287-292, 2023.
- Neikrug AB, Xiong GL, Stehli A, Suo S, Le-Bucklin, Cant W, McCarron RM, “Train New Trainers Primary Care Psychiatry Fellowship—Optimizing Delivery of Behavioral Health Care Through Training for Primary Care Providers” (opens in new tab), Journal for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (JCEHP), vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 105-114, 2022.
- Lu Y, Ann L, McCarron RM, “Steroid-Induced Psychiatric Symptoms: What You Need to Know” (opens in new tab), Current Psychiatry, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 33-38, 2021.
- Lieng M, Magi A, Kang Y, McCarron RM, “Primary Care Physician Adherence to Telepsychiatry Recommendations: Intermediate Outcomes from a Randomized Clinical Trial” (opens in new tab), Telemedicine and e-Health, vol. 28, pp. 838-846, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- McCarron RM, Shapiro B, Rawles J, Luo J, “Depression” (opens in new tab), Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 174, pp. ITC65-ITC80, 2021.
- Hilty D, Sunderji N, Suo S, McCarron RM, “Telepsychiatry and Other Technologies for Integrated Care: Evidence Base, Best Practice Models and Competencies” (opens in new tab), International Review of Psychiatry, vol. 30, pp. 292-309, 2019.
- Chwastiak L, McCarron RM, Han J, Wisse B, “Clinical Management of Diabetes and Psychosis” (opens in new tab), Lancet Psychiatry, vol. 2, pp. 465-476, 2015.
- Yellowlees PM, Parsih M, Gonzalez A, Chan SR, Hilty DM, McCarron RM, “Clinical Outcomes of Asynchronous Versus Synchronous Telepsychiatry in Primary Care: Randomized Controlled Trial” (opens in new tab), Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 27, no. 7, 2021.
- Nguyen C, Xie L, McCarron RM, “Epidemiology and Economic Burden of Serotonin Syndrome With Concomitant Use of Serotonergic Agents: A Retrospective Study Utilizing Two Large US Claims Databases” (opens in new tab), Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 19, no. 0, 2017.
- Wang A, McCarron RM, Azzam D, Stehli A, Xiong G, DeMartini J, “Utilizing Big Data from Google Trends to Map Population Depression in the United States: Exploratory Infodemiology Study” (opens in new tab), Jmir Mental Health, vol. 9, no. 3, 2022.
- Leung MW, Xiong GL, Leamon MH, McCarron RM, Hales RE, “General-medical Hospital Admissions from a Public Inpatient Psychiatric Health Facility: a Review of Medical Complications over 30 Months” (opens in new tab), Psychosomatics, vol. 51, no. 6, pp. 498-502, 2010.
- Chen J., McCarron R.M., “Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome: A result of chronic, heavy Cannabis use”, Current Psychiatry, vol. 12, pp. 48-54, 2013.
Contact Information
Email: r.mccarron@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-3645
Address: Co-Director, UCI / UCD Train New Trainers Psychiatry Fellowship
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Last updated on 5/19/2026.