General Info

Savita G. Bhakta, MD, is a board-certified psychiatrist who specializes in evaluating and treating mental, addictive and emotional disorders. She treats adult psychiatric patients and is part of a UC San Diego Health program that addresses the unique mental health and psychiatric issues of college students in the San Diego community. Dr. Bhaktas expertise includes psychopharmacology, psychotherapy (also called talk therapy) and cognitive-enhancing therapeutics on schizophrenia.As an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Bhakta instructs medical students, residents and fellows. Her research focuses on developing biomarker-guided, personalized pro-cognitive therapeutics. Dr. Bhaktas current studies, funded by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundations NARSAD grant and the American Psychiatric Foundation, examine the cognitive-enhancing effects of a catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT)-inhibitor drug in healthy adults and identify the neurophysiological and neurocognitive biomarkers sensitive to the drugs effects.She completed her residency at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and earned her medical degree from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College in Mumbai, India. Dr. Bhakta completed a second residency at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, New York, and a fellowship at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. She is board-certified in psychiatry.Dr. Bhakta is member of the American Psychiatric Association, the California Psychiatric Association and the San Diego Psychiatric Society.Outside of work, Dr. Bhakta enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures. She speaks English, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani.UC San Diego Health LinksFor more information, see Psychiatry.