After qualifying as a doctor, my career took me to Namibia where I had my first internship in Orthopaedics and Ophthalmology. I was thrown in at the deep end by this immensely formative and unique first job experience, working in the only hospital in a very large country. Subsequently, training in paediatrics at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh (specifically neonatology and oncology) inspired my training in psychiatry through observing what children and families were going through and the complexity of emotion in family systems. I became inspired by the power that comes from being listened to and understood and by the evident benefits of psychological interventions. With this motivation, I continued and received expert training in child and adolescent psychiatry and have been on the specialist register as a child and adolescent psychiatrist since 2013.
Having now worked in psychiatry since 2000, I have extensive experience working as a consultant psychiatrist in both NHS CAMHS and early intervention services into young adulthood and as a private practitioner. In my private practice roles, I developed a strong interest in working with children, adolescents, university students and young adults alongside a team of multidisciplinary colleagues.
My pursuit in understanding all aspects within the treatment of mood, anxiety and trauma disorders to neurodevelopmental conditions have led me to gain skills in a range of therapeutic methodology including psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, cognitive analytic therapy as well as systemic family therapy, group work and motivational interviewing.
Additionally, I have always enjoyed teaching. My experiences as an appraiser and mentor have allowed me to contribute to various teaching programmes such as the South East Scotland MRCPsych training programme, GP fellowship teaching training in Lothian and medical student teaching. My aim is to work collaboratively whilst incorporating an understanding of a person’s life; their strengths and difficulties, to establish a formulation based approach that bests support their needs.
I believe in a holistic whole-person perspective and paying attention to physical and mental health aspects of care informed by evidence-based practice. I aim to offer responsive and patient-centred care to all of my clients.
I treasure being a part of this wonderfully therapeutic environment where my colleagues and I strive to provide high-quality care.
