Grief Expertise
I am a Consultant Psychiatrist working in Perth, Western Australia. I trained in ‘Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy’, developed by psychiatrist Dr Kathy Shear, at Columbia University in New York. This is an evidence-based brief psychotherapy for treatment of Prolonged Grief Disorder. I developed my expertise in grief as few clinicians had skills in assessment or management of grief and bereavement.
In 2017 I started private practice exclusively providing Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy. I have since helped hundreds of patients who have consulted me with difficult grief. The pandemic has contributed to an upsurge in people with difficult bereavement and grief. It impacted my practice such that I moved to online practice exclusively. This has enabled more people to access my skills and resources.
I am experienced in grief education, training and supervision to psychiatrists, psychiatry trainees, medical and allied health professionals in grief. I have professional publications on grief.
Qualifications
MBBS (London) 1987
FRANZCP 1998
Background
I have broad experience in clinical psychiatry, administration, education and medical report writing. I have interest and experience in Palliative Care psychiatry, psycho-oncology and Psychiatry of Old Age. I held the position of Director of Advanced Training – Psychiatry of Old Age in Western Australia for five years.
I am a registered medical specialist with AHPRA. I am an accredited member of both the RANZCP Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age and Faculty of Forensic Psychiatry. I am a member of the RANZCP Faculty of Psychotherapy. I am a member of the ‘Association for Death Education and Counselling’ and the ‘Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement’. I am actively involved in regular peer review and continuing medical education.
Philosophy
I am committed to working to the highest standards of medical ethics, professionalism and confidential practice. My approach builds on patient strengths. I use a wellness philosophy that embraces the importance of healthy mind, body and soul. This is balanced by expert knowledge of contemporary evidence based best practice, extensive clinical experience and the inbuilt power of natural healing.
I embrace compassion, acceptance, gratitude, hope and forgiveness as wings to lighten life’s struggles. Although my clinical focus is grief, I believe ‘laughter is the best medicine’ and that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’. This means that a little progress on any of the ‘parts’ will disproportionately benefit the ‘whole’.