Student Health Psychiatry Staff

Dr. Jacobs-Elliott began her academic career by receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, Florida. She then pursued a Medical Degree at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida. After graduating from the University of Miami, she completed her psychiatry residency, as well as a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of Florida. She currently works at the Student Health Care Center as a staff Psychiatrist.

Recently, Dr. Jacobs-Elliott was co-chair of a search committee for a Counseling and Wellness Center Psychiatrist position. She has also participated in various presentations on topics such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Jacobs’s consults with undergraduate freshmen students as well as other university professors and staff from various departments, including the College of Nursing regarding mental health. In the future, she plans to continue her service to the university by becoming involved with the admissions process for the University of Florida College of Medicine.

As Co-Director of the Neuromodulation Fellowship Training Program and Chief of Electroconvulsive Therapy Services, I oversee the management of UF’s dual-hospital ECT facilities while spearheading psychiatric Deep Brain Stimulation programming and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. My role fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across neurology, neurosurgery, and anesthesia, reflecting a shared commitment to innovation in patient care. Beyond these clinical and academic responsibilities, I maintain a part-time engagement at the Student Health Center, where the pursuit of patient well-being remains paramount.

My intellectual and clinical pursuits traverse psychiatry and its peripheries, encompassing neuromodulation, the esoteric foundations of electromagnetic field theory, and avant-garde psychiatric frontiers such as psychedelic neuroscience and neurophenomenology. Within this breadth, I am also engaged in psychiatric movement disorders and collegiate sports psychiatry, addressing both the neuropsychiatric complexities of movement disorders and the distinct mental health needs of student-athletes. Beyond the empirical, I advocate for the integration of the arts and humanities into medicine, recognizing their capacity to deepen empathy, enrich therapeutic rapport, and elevate patient-centered care. The most profound discoveries emerge at the boundaries—where disciplines converge, where certainty fractures, and where the unknown demands to be explored.

My academic foundation was laid at Louisiana State University, where I earned undergraduate degrees in zoology, physiology, and philosophy in 1992 before completing medical school at LSU New Orleans in 1996. I pursued my psychiatry residency at Tulane University, where I remained for two decades, serving as director of ECT. Further refining my expertise in neuropsychiatric interventions, I completed fellowships in electroconvulsive therapy at Emory University and transcranial magnetic stimulation at Duke University, solidifying my commitment to advancing the domain of psychiatric therapeutics.

Mentorship is not merely guidance—it is the ignition of inquiry, the scaffolding of scholarly independence, and the refinement of academic articulation. I potentiate students and residents to lead as first authors, amplifying their work on global stages such as the World Federation of Neurology, the World Congress of Psychiatry, and the APA. Our collaborations span neuropsychiatric frontiers, from psychotropic innovation to the biophysical dynamics of neural modulation. In fostering this scholarship, I aim not only to shape the next cadre of psychiatric leaders but to propel the field itself forward, advancing rigorous inquiry, and redefining possibilities in mental health care.

— ✦✧✦ — Students with a keen interest in scholarship or residents seeking to pursue the Neuromodulation Training Fellowship are encouraged to initiate direct correspondence via email. — ✦✧✦ —

Rizan Yozgat has been an Adult Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with the University of Florida’s Student Health Psychiatry since 2002 when she graduated with her MSN from UF. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from UF and a Master of Arts in Education with a Mental Health Counseling specialization from Western Kentucky University. She enjoys providing supportive therapy as well as psychopharmacology for the students with whom she works. Her interests and expertise are in treating anxiety and mood disorders, PTSD, ADHD and the various mental health issues facing young adults.

Dr. Ludmila De Faria has been a psychiatrist in Florida for over 15 years, seeing patients, teaching psychopharmacology and participating in research. She is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. De Faria was born in Brazil where she earned her Medical Degree from the Universidade de Brasilia and moved to United States in 1991 to complete medical training at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami.

Dr. Lauren Schmidt, received her Medical Doctorate from Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA. After graduating from Penn State College of Medicine, she completed her psychiatry residency at Yale University in New Haven, CT. She is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She devoted her final year of residency to working with undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at Yale University’s Student Mental Health and Counseling Center. Dr. Schmidt was recognized by the Yale Psychiatry’s Resident Association for her commitment to veterans with their Resident Diversity Award.

Dr. Schmidt is primarily invested in integrating therapy and medication management. She brings special expertise in perinatal mental health. Of note, she recently worked at Emory’s Women’s Mental Health Clinic, where she was able to provide perinatal to patients often excluded from traditional Women’s Mental Health Clinics. Dr. Schmidt is also passionate about teaching and was awarded a Medical Student Teaching Award while at Emory University.

Dr. Schmidt works in the Adult Psychiatry Division and provides patient care services at the UF Health at Springhill clinic where she serves as an important academic teacher and mentor for medical students, interns, training residents and fellows.