Candidate for 2026 Treasurer
Biography
Melissa Stennett Deuter, M.D., is a psychiatrist, educator, and leader dedicated to advancing psychiatric care, training the next generation of physicians, and strengthening the voice of psychiatry. Originally from Eastland, Texas, she grew up in Clarksville, Tennessee, where her stepfather served in the U.S. Army. She graduated with honors in Biology from the University of Arkansas in 1996 and went on to complete her medical degree at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2000.
Dr. Deuter pursued psychiatry residency training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, where she served as Chief Resident from 2003 to 2004. Her training provided broad experience in military psychiatry, psychiatric emergency care, psychotherapy, child psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry. Following residency, she established a private practice, but after a decade she innovated to expand access to urgent psychiatric care in her community. In 2015, she founded Sigma Mental Health Urgent Care, where she continues to serve as Medical Director while maintaining an active clinical practice and oversees a team of psychiatric physicians, psychiatry residents, and advanced practice professionals. In her clinical role, Dr. Deuter works closes with a number of non-profit organizations, including NAMI San Antonio, Haven for Hope, and the Kickapoo Tribal Nation.
A passionate medical educator, Dr. Deuter has been involved in student and resident training since 2004. She began precepting students from the new University of the Incarnate Word School of Medicine in 2019 and in 2021 Sigma Mental Health Urgent Care became a clinical site for psychiatry residents at the Texas Institute for Graduate Medical Education and Research (TIGMER). She was appointed Program Director of TIGMER Psychiatry in 2025.
Dr. Deuter has been deeply engaged in organized psychiatry and serve throughout her career. She is a Past President of the Bexar County Psychiatric Society and currently serves as President of the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians (2025–2026). She is also Director of the South Texas Psychiatric Practice Based Research Network. Her leadership has extended to advocacy, disaster response, homelessness, and initiatives to ensure that national priorities in psychiatry reflect the needs and perspectives of state organizations. She has been a member of the Texas Foundation for Psychiatric Education and Research, and Federation of Texas Psychiatry, and is a past Chair of the Finance Committee for TSPP. She serves as Treasurer of the Impact Youth Nonprofit Theatre.
Dr. Deuter and her husband, Brian—whom she met in medical school—have three children: Christopher, Zachary, and Mia.
Awards and Honors
- Spencer Bayles Outstanding TSPP Member Award
- Top Psychiatrists in Texas
- NAMI-SA Mental Health Professional of the Year
- San Antonio Top Doctor
- San Antonio Doctors Best of List
- Texas Super Doctors
- Patients’ Choice Award
- Compassionate Doctor Award
- Bexar County Psychiatric Society Service Award