Dr. Joanna Castillo-Rivera

Dr. Joanna Castillo-Rivera is a consultant psychiatrist at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in Belize City — the country's principal public referral hospital and the primary institution for specialist psychiatric care in Belize. With over 10 years of psychiatric practice, Dr. Castillo-Rivera provides assessment and treatment for adults and adolescents with a wide range of mental health conditions.

Belize faces significant mental health challenges, including high rates of alcohol and substance use disorders, PTSD related to violence, and a scarcity of specialist mental health professionals. Dr. Castillo-Rivera is among a small number of qualified psychiatrists serving a national population of approximately 400,000, making her role both clinically demanding and critically important to public health.

Her practice spans inpatient psychiatric care, outpatient mental health clinics, and community mental health outreach. She is a committed advocate for de-stigmatisation of mental illness in Belizean society and has worked with schools and community organisations to improve mental health literacy. She consults in English, Spanish, and Belizean Kriol.

Dr. Castillo-Rivera completed her MBBS at the University of the West Indies (UWI) — the premier regional university serving the English-speaking Caribbean. She earned the Diploma in Psychological Medicine (DPM) and subsequently passed the MRCPsych examination of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (UK) — the internationally recognised benchmark for psychiatric competence.

Her training included rotations in general adult psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and addiction medicine. She has completed additional training in cognitive behavioural therapy techniques and trauma-informed care for PTSD in populations affected by violence.

Dr. Castillo-Rivera provides comprehensive psychiatric assessment and management. In psychotic disorders, she manages schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder with antipsychotic pharmacotherapy and social rehabilitation coordination. In mood disorders, she manages major depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder.

In addiction medicine, she evaluates and treats alcohol use disorder, cannabis use disorder, and polysubstance dependence, prescribing naltrexone, acamprosate, and buprenorphine-naloxone where appropriate. In anxiety and trauma, she manages PTSD, panic disorder, OCD, and generalised anxiety using pharmacotherapy and brief psychological interventions.

Dr. Castillo-Rivera primarily serves Belize's domestic population at KHMH. She offers video consultations for the Belizean diaspora residing abroad and for expatriates living in Belize who require mental health support in English or Spanish.

For international visitors to Belize who require urgent psychiatric evaluation during their stay, the KHMH emergency department provides assessment services. Second-opinion consultations via video are available for patients and families seeking guidance on complex psychiatric diagnoses.

Dr. Castillo-Rivera holds the MRCPsych credential from the Royal College of Psychiatrists — one of the most respected psychiatric qualifications internationally. She is a member of the Caribbean Psychiatric Association and contributes to regional mental health policy discussions. She has been recognised within Belize's medical community for her dedication to mental health service delivery in a resource-constrained environment and her community outreach work.