Spokane Teaching Health Center

Program Director

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital

Medical School: University of London

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Training Program, Spokane Track

I was born in Born in Zambia, and raised in England. I lived in a small village in East Anglia, true pig and beet farming country, with land as flat as a pancake. I spent summers running wild in the fields, and winters ice skating on the endless network of drainage canals. I moved to London when I was 11, and went to medical school in the heart of the city, at University College Hospital Medical School. I started psychiatry residency training in the Royal Free psychiatry training scheme, but later moved to New Zealand and then to America to complete residency in the University of Washington Psychiatry Residency, Spokane Advanced Clinician Track. I have been drawn to psychiatry since I first read Sylvia Plath, but what sealed the deal was a truly lucky experience in medical school, where I trained in a pilot psychotherapy scheme, and was able to treat a patient for 18 months, under group supervision with a master psychodynamic therapy psychiatrist. I love psychiatry, and I’ve never seriously considered another field in medicine. My clinical passions are practicing intensive short term dynamic psychotherapy (my best teachers and ongoing mentors still teach in this program!), and collaborative care consultation in the primary care setting. I’m passionate about population based care (I do come from England after all!). I’ve been involved in psychiatry education since 2008, when I started working as the clinical interaction seminar course leader with our previous UW track program. I’ve been the program director of this program since we wrote the initial application for its creation. I actually never thought I would end up in Spokane long term when I first arrived here, but I really enjoy the quality of life I have here. I love the geology of the area, the easy access to the outdoors, and the short commute I have to work, despite living in the country (In London it can take an hour to go half a mile).

I think we have the most amazing group of faculty – I don’t know how we got this lucky, but it sure has been fun to learn from and work with psychiatry attendings who are so smart, different, and supportive of one another. The most rewarding thing about working in this program is seeing the personal and professional development of residents; seeing their confidence and mastery grow. I love the size of our program, small enough to really get to know each other, but with enough clinical training experiences and off site attendings, that you get to spread your wings and ultimately find the right work or fellowship fit for your next steps post residency.

Associate Program Director

Outpatient, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital

Medical School: University of Kansas

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Training Program, Spokane Track

I was born in Kansas City, Kansas, but raised in rural Winfield, Kansas smack dab in tornado alley. I spent my childhood swimming and biking. At the age of eight I rode nearly across the whole state of Kansas with my father. My ride was featured in several local papers as we passed through small towns! I was truly fortunate to get such an incredible education from the State of Kansas. I will be forever indebted. I got a phenomenal start with my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Gardner and her Heart Unit curriculum. She inspired three of the kids in my class alone to go to medical school!! Ultimately, I got a degree in Social Work from University of Kansas in Lawrence. (You may have heard of our basketball team). I first thought about psychiatry as a career path when I was working as a care manager for patients with severe mental illness. I struggled to arrange primary care for my patients which I didn’t think was fair (and I still don’t). This fueled my decision to go back to medical school. I attended University of Kansas Medical School and spent my third and fourth year of medical training in Wichita, Kansas. My training in Wichita was unbelievable. I delivered 8 babies in one night!! I’m telling you, my Kansas education was incredible. I landed at the University of Washington Spokane Tract for residency. I’ve lived in Spokane ever since. I like to call Spokane Wichita West. Despite my enduring love of Kansas, Spokane has been an incredible place to live and I don’t have to drive through the night to ski anymore.

I’m particularly interested in Bi-directional medical and behavioral health integration, addictions psychiatry, mental health disparity work, motivational interviewing and quality improvement. I LOVE WORKING FOR PROVIDENCE PSYCHIATRY RESIDENCY. I’ve never worked for an organization that is so mission driven and supportive of psychiatric services. I’m especially impressed how responsive administration is to community and resident needs. This has been the perfect place for me to “pay forward” all the great training and experiences that were given to me!!

Associate Program Director

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service

Medical School: Creighton University

Residency and Fellowship: Vanderbilt University

Rick was raised by his grandparents in Fox Lake, IL, a small town an hour northwest of Chicago. The first in his family to attend college, he initially majored in biomedical engineering at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. He kept it Jesuit by attending Creighton University in Omaha, NE, where he met his now-wife, a Spokane native. To couples match, he spent a year doing geriatric research as he considered a career in geriatric medicine following years of helping care for his grandfather’s advanced dementia. This changed during a fourth-year C-L psychiatry rotation when a brilliant and hilarious attending demonstrated how much fun it could be to bounce around the hospital helping colleagues manage medically complicated psychiatric presentations. He and his wife matched (her in IM) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, where he served as chief resident before completing a fellowship in consultation-liaison psychiatry. During his training, he developed clinical interests in delirium, catatonia, transplant psychiatry, and alcohol withdrawal management. While he misses Nashville's hot chicken and music scene, he couldn't be happier to now call Spokane home. He spends all of his clinical time attending on the C-L psychiatry service at Sacred Heart Medical Center and could not imagine a more supportive program for both faculty and residents. Outside the hospital, he loves his time with his wife and three young children. He also enjoys meeting new craft beers while cheering on non-championship caliber sports teams including Vanderbilt football, Marquette basketball, Chicago Bears, and Everton FC.

Program Director Child/Adolescent Fellowship

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane Teaching Health Center; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Outpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: University of Washington School of Medicine

Residency and Fellowship: Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Dr. Erik Loraas was born in Tacoma, WA and raised in University Place, WA. He earned a BS in biology and a BA in religion at Pacific Lutheran University. After college, he spent two years doing research and started the application process for doctorate programs in ornithology (yes, the study of the birds). By chance a close family friend encouraged Dr. Loraas to consider medicine and invited him to spend a few days at her pediatric clinic. This fortuitous experience ignited his interest in medicine and he completed a few additional prerequisite courses before applying to medical school. He earned his medical degree at the University of Washington in Seattle. Psychiatry was not on his radar at the start and he spent his first two years of study and research with the aim to become a surgeon. His psychiatry rotation at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle proved to be his favorite rotation as a third year and guidance by amazing faculty shifted his career goals yet again. He completed his residency and child and adolescent fellowship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (now Western Psychiatric Hospital) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He served as house staff president, earned the Academic Administrator Clinician Educator (AACE) certificate for his work on demoralization, and served as Chief Resident of psychotherapy training. He was thrilled to join Psychiatry Residency Spokane after graduation and continues to describe his position as his “dream job.” Much of his clinical work is at an adolescent partial hospital and intensive outpatient program at Holy Family Hospital. Dr. Loraas is also busy building and developing the new child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship in Spokane. Areas of interest within psychiatry include early development, attachment theory and disorders, psychodynamic psychotherapy (he is grateful for the opportunity to learn intensive short term dynamic therapy from Spokane’s amazing faculty), history and philosophy of psychiatry, clinical neuroscience, and teaching. Outside of work, Dr. Loraas enjoys time with his amazing wife, his growing pack of animals (two dogs, four cats, with goats and chickens on the way), tending to his orchard and rose gardens, baking, building LEGO, expanding his electronic music library, and playing tennis.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; Inpatient/Outpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota

Residency: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Dr. Anisha Boetel grew up in the beautiful Black Hills in Rapid City, South Dakota. She studied Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology at Carroll College in Helena, MT, and returned to South Dakota for medical school at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine. She had no idea she would fall in love with and pursue Psychiatry until she experienced her longitudinal Psychiatry clerkship during her 3rd year of medical school. Anisha attended residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and completed two years of combined training in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry and in her third year of residency decided to transition to categorical Psychiatry to better align with her career goals. After visiting Spokane during her college years, and with the geographical region reminding her of home, she decided to practice with Providence as she valued the mission of the hospital and serving the underserved. She enjoys and is passionate about her role as a clinical educator and is involved in teaching residents and medical students on the inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and consult-liaison teaching services. She is particularly interested in the med/psych interface and truly enjoys practicing in the residency program as the collegiality amongst the faculty and residents is unique and unrivaled. In addition to her career, Anisha enjoys the great outdoors, traveling, attending concerts, and spending time with friends and family.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane Teaching Health Clinic; Outpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: University of Colorado School of Medicine

Residency: University of Colorado School of Medicine, Psychiatry Residency Program

Dr. Lucas Salg is originally from Madison, WI, but grew up in Denver, CO. He completed both medical school and residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where he also served as Chief Resident in 2018-19. He has a BA in English (also from CU), and previously worked in the newspaper and marketing industries, as well as played the drums for a few Denver-area bands. Lucas has particular areas of interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy, emergency and outpatient psychiatry, student mental health, and medical student education. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, three children, and bulldog, in addition to playing board games, collecting vinyl, and reading about/listening to/playing music.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; Inpatient/Outpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: University of California, San Diego

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Training Program, Seattle

Dr. John Wurzel III was born in Tucson, AZ and raised mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. During undergrad, he studied ecology and comparative ancient military history at Brown University in Providence, RI. He attended medical school at University of California San Diego, and residency training in Seattle through the University of Washington. He’s passionate about teaching and is the site director for medical student clerkships through PRS. John enjoys a variety of pursuits in the field of psychiatry, including working on therapeutic interviewing techniques, consult-liaison work, and collaborative care. Outside of work, he loves to travel, spend time with his family (including an unnecessary number of pets), play games, work on his property, woodwork, and write. He’s built a couple tables, framed lots of paintings, taught himself to fall trees (or fell, depending on where you are from), and managed to write three-and-a-half sci-fi novels and a book on communications skills so far. His favorite part of the Psychiatry Residency Spokane is the amazing people that he gets to work with on a daily basis, but the warm cookies in the cafeteria are pretty good too.

Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; Inpatient/Outpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: University of California, San Diego

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Training Program, Seattle

Dr. Kelly Wurzel was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in a coastal small town in rural Northern California. The town is so small that there are no stop lights, and internet and cell phone service are spotty at best. She pursued undergrad at the University of California, Berkeley obtaining a BS in Molecular Environmental Biology with an emphasis in Human Health, while also pursuing Italian studies and traveling abroad to Italy. She participated in the Biology Scholars Program and focused on tutoring biology and physics, and completing an undergraduate research project involving cystic fibrosis cells and the innate immune response. She attended medical school at the University of California San Diego, while spending her free time volunteering at the student run free clinic and traveling to India to learn about healthcare in resource poor areas. She completed psychiatric residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, served as chief resident for inpatient and consult-liaison psychiatry at the UWMC, and then moved to Spokane to be involved in developing a wonderful and exciting new psychiatry residency program. In Spokane, she particularly enjoys patient care, teaching, organizing the residents didactics schedule, and working with residents on the inpatient, emergency, and consult-liaison teaching services, as well as providing supervision for residents on their ECT/TMS elective rotation. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, dogs, cats, international travel, hiking, gardening, and cooking.

Dr. Jane Phelps-Tschang joined the faculty in fall 2019. Originally born in Taiwan, she had lived in a number of places -- including Baltimore, New York, London, and Pittsburgh, before arriving in Spokane. Having long been interested in inner world of human thoughts and emotions, Dr. Phelps had a prior life as art historian before psychiatry. She received her BA (cum laude) in History of Art and Architecture from Brown University and MA (with honors) in Contemporary Art Criticism from the University of London, and had worked at both The Smithsonian Institute and The Museum of Modern Art prior to medical school. Dr. Phelps completed medical school at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and postgraduate training in both Adult Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She also completed a fellowship in Public Service Psychiatry, as well as advanced training in psychodynamic psychotherapy at the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center. Academically, Dr. Phelps is interested in medical student and resident clinical education. She is excited to have joined this wonderful, thoughtful and energetic group of psychiatric faculty in Spokane, and looks forward to the opportunity to grow the child psychiatric training portion of the residency. From a clinical perspective, Dr. Phelps-Tschang is interested in anxiety/OCD, trauma informed care, family work, and community psychiatry. She also has a special interest in improving children’s emotional literacy through the use of story books.

Eastern State Hospital; Inpatient Psychiatry

Medical School: University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Jackson, Miss.

Residency: University of Chicago Medical Center

Eastern State Hospital Forensic Services Unit

Medical School: Seton Hall University

Residencies: San Diego County Hospital, USC, UCLA and Metropolitan State Hospital

Spokane Psychiatry and Psychology

Doctoral Degree: University of Southern California

Spokane Psychiatry and Psychology

Medical School: University of Illinois

Residency: Menninger School of Psychiatry; Topeka, Kansas

Medical Director, Washington State University Program of Excellence in Addictions Research Medical Director, Opioid Treatment Program, Spokane Regional Health District; Clinical Associate Professor, WSU College of Medical Sciences; Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behaviorial Sciences

Medical School: University of Kansas

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Training Program

Gonzaga University Counseling Center

Doctoral Degree: Washington State University

Fellowship: University of California, Santa Barbara

Spokane Teaching Health Center/Addictions and Outpatient Psychiatry Care; Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Medical School: George Washington University

Residency: University of Washington Psychiatry Track

Fellowship: Spokane Community Mental Health Center/University of Washington, Spokane

General Psychiatry, with interest in mood disorders, psychosomatic conditions, and addictions

Faculty, Spokane Psychiatry Residency

Clinical Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Medical School: Wayne State University, Detroit

Psychiatry Residency: University of Washington, Seattle

Psychoanalytic Training: Seattle Psychoanalytic Institute

Other Professional Experience: VA Medical Center, State Hospital, Private Hospital System, Organizational consulting and development

Doctoral Degree: Washington State University

Predoctoral Internship: Veterans Affairs Medical Center Puget Sound in Seattle

Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Washington Reproductive & Sexual Medicine Clinic

Mental Health Clinic at the Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Spokane

Doctoral Degree: University of Utah

Internship: Southwest Consortium Doctoral Psychology Internship

Fellowship: Interprofessional Couple and Family Care at the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System - Seattle Division

Doctoral Degree: George Fox University

Internship and Residency: Spokane/Walla Walla Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

Postdoc/Fellowship: Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Doctoral Degree: Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Pre-Doctoral Internship: Clemson University

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic & Northwest Psychology LLC

Doctoral Degree: George Fox University

Department of Social Security and Disability

Doctoral Degree: George Fox University

Medical Director

Frontier Behavioral Health

Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine

Residency: University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio