Dr. Eric C. Li, a Brentwood-based psychiatrist, has been named a 2025 Castle Connolly Top Doctor, marking his 12th consecutive year receiving this prestigious recognition. The honor places him among approximately 7 percent of the nation's licensed physicians selected annually as Castle Connolly Top Doctors in their regions and specialties. This consistent recognition underscores the sustained excellence and peer validation of his clinical practice over more than a decade.
Since establishing his private practice in West Los Angeles in 2004, Dr. Li has specialized in treating patients of all ages suffering from anxiety disorders, depression, addiction, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and eating disorders. Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, he provides both outpatient and inpatient care using cognitive behavioral therapy and, when necessary, medication management. His approach is particularly significant given the ongoing national conversation about mental health treatment modalities and access to quality care.
Dr. Li emphasizes a conservative approach to psychotropic medications, explaining that the cognitive component of CBT helps patients recognize faulty thinking patterns while the behavioral aspect focuses on practical problem-solving. This methodology is crucial in an era where overprescription concerns and the long-term effects of psychiatric medications are widely debated. His patient care philosophy is deeply personal, drawing from his experience as a father of two. He consistently asks himself whether he would make the same clinical decisions if the patient were one of his own children, using this principle as his guiding standard. This ethical framework is important as it models a high standard of empathetic, individualized care that prioritizes patient well-being over routine treatment protocols.
This approach has shaped his two decades of practice and his collaborations with local schools and community organizations to provide urgent mental health services to youth. Such community integration is vital for addressing the growing mental health crisis among adolescents and young adults, particularly in school settings where early intervention can be most effective. Dr. Li maintains affiliations with UCLA Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, where he served for 15 years as a child and adolescent psychiatry attending physician and clinical instructor. This institutional connection highlights the importance of academic-clinical partnerships in advancing treatment standards and training future psychiatrists.
The Castle Connolly selection process involves peer physician nominations and rigorous evaluation by a physician-led research team that assesses medical education, training, hospital appointments, and disciplinary histories. This peer-nominated recognition system matters because it represents validation from within the medical community itself, rather than commercial or marketing-based awards. His medical background includes a degree from Keck School of Medicine of USC, followed by a three-year general psychiatry residency and two-year child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCLA. Prior to medical school, Dr. Li completed Columbia University's post-baccalaureate premedical program and earned a BA in quantitative economics from Stanford University. This diverse educational foundation is noteworthy as it demonstrates the multidisciplinary background that can inform a more holistic understanding of patient care, blending scientific rigor with humanistic principles.
