Suzanne Holroyd, M.D.

Photo by Marshall Health

By Megan Bevins

When Suzanne Holroyd started medical school, she never would’ve seen herself working in psychiatry. Today, not only is she the professor and chair of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry but she has also spearheaded Marshall University’s psychiatry residency programs and two fellowships, significantly broadening mental health resources in West Virginia.

Holroyd has a connection to the Mountain State that reaches back to her childhood. Growing up in Washington, D.C., she would often spend summers visiting her father’s family in West Virginia.

Her medical career began at the University of Virginia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry in 1982, followed by a Doctor of Medicine in 1986. It was during her time working on the psychiatry rotation that she gained a particular interest in pursuing a career in the field.

“It was so interesting and challenging, and I knew my career would always be fascinating. Similarly, when I rotated on a geriatric ward, I realized I loved working with this age group,” Holroyd says.

After completing medical school, she did a psychiatry residency and geriatric psychiatry fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, she met Dr. Paul McHugh, chair of psychiatry, and Dr. Peter Rabins, a geriatric psychiatry professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Holroyd describes both McHugh and Rabbins as being major influences in her medical journey.

“I had many people along the way who inspired and encouraged me, including Dr. Paul McHugh, who was the chair of psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, who I actually consider one of the most brilliant people I have ever met,” she says. “As well, Dr. Peter Rabins sparked my interest in geriatric psychiatry, and I completed a fellowship with him before there were actual accredited fellowships in the field.”

At Johns Hopkins, she worked as a geriatric psychiatrist for two years before accepting a position at the University of Virginia, where she began developing its geriatric psychiatry program. She was the program director of the geriatric psychiatry fellowship and director of geriatric psychiatry and eventually became the vice chair of education.

Having a father from West Virginia and growing up visiting the state each summer, it was no question that Holroyd would one day move to the Mountain State. While living in West Virginia, she saw the opportunity to create mental health resources for many citizens whose needs weren’t being properly served.

It was in 2014 that Holroyd joined Marshall’s Department of Psychiatry as chair and began working to develop its academic psychiatry department. Originally, that department had only two psychiatrists and a few psychologists, but with Holroyd’s help, it has now expanded to 11 full-time psychiatrists and eight doctoral-level psychologists.

Holroyd also created Marshall’s psychiatry residency program and is in the process of developing another Marshall psychiatry residency program in Point Pleasant, WV.

“We have been fortunate to recruit our own trainees to service the need for psychiatry services in West Virginia and the surrounding region. In addition, we also have a psychology internship program to train psychologists to provide critically needed services to this area,” she says.

Holroyd enjoys mentoring and works directly with the resident trainees, fellows in her geriatric psychiatry fellowship and faculty in the academic psychiatry department.

“I love to teach, and I love to see new faculty develop that passion as well,” Holroyd says.

The growth of the department has opened the door for many more West Virginians to seek assistance with their mental health. The faculty and residents staff the Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital, one of only two West Virginia’s state psychiatric hospitals, run an inpatient service at St. Mary’s Medical Center and provide many different services such as therapy, psychological testing and specialty clinics throughout the state.

Throughout her career, Holroyd says her greatest challenge has been working full-time while also being an involved mother to three children. However, her work has allowed her the opportunity to pursue a meaningful and successful career while never having to miss the important moments in her children’s lives.

She also says her determination and the support of people in the state inspire her to keep going.

“I have been so welcomed and had so much support on our mission to develop and expand mental health services in West Virginia that I want to stay and keep our work going.