Dr Jeremy Broadhead

Consultant Psychiatrist (General Adult Psychiatry)
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About

Dr Broadhead has been a consultant psychiatrist at Priory Hospital Hayes Grove, since 2002, when he returned from New Zealand. In 2004, he was appointed hospital medical director. In 2012, he was appointed clinical director for private practice for Priory Group. Since 2017, he has concentrated on clinical work. Over the last ten years he has been lead consultant for Priory Hayes Grove’s Keston Unit which is for NHS patients with psychiatric disorders occurring in the context of an autistic spectrum condition.

Training

Dr Broadhead was awarded an open exhibition to Exeter College, Oxford, where he read medicine, specialising in neuroscience, and then completed his clinical training at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, passing final exams with distinction (1983). After working in general surgery, oncology and neurology he became increasingly aware of the primacy of mental health as the determinant of a person’s quality of life. He trained in psychiatry at the prestigious Maudsley Hospital in south London (1985 – 1994), with experience in the fields of old age, general adult, child and addictions psychiatry. During this time he completed a research degree (MPhil) about bipolar illness.

He was appointed to a consultant post at the Bethlem & Maudsley NHS Trust, South London, in 1994. In that role he began development of the Mother and Baby Mental Health Services in Croydon, which were awarded the Sir Graham Day Award (for NHS service development, UK) in 1998.

Research interests

Dr Broadhead has spent approaching ten years working overseas, including roles as a research fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore (1987), as a lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Zimbabwe (1990-1992) and as clinical director for Mental Health Services in West Auckland, New Zealand (1998-2002). He was an honorary clinical lecturer in the section of general practice and mental health at the Institute of Psychiatry (2003 – 2013). In those countries and in the United Kingdom, he has gained considerable experience teaching about mental health to different professional groups and conducting research projects.

His research and publications (see below) include in basic science, on pituitary function and the effect of Alzheimer's disease on the amygdala, about psychiatric illnesses including depression, mania and Alzheimer's disease, on the role of social factors in the development of anxiety and depressive illness, and models for establishing mental health services in developing countries. This latter work was in Zimbabwe and continues. He retains a strong interest in teaching and assisting with the development of mental health services in sub-Saharan Africa.

Current research interests are about affective disorder (anxiety and depression) and the autistic spectrum.

Qualifications

  • Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych)
  • MA (Oxford University)
  • MBBS (University of London)
  • MPhil (University of London)

I assess and treat the range of adult mental health problems but specialise in mood and anxiety conditions. The former includes low moods / depression of all causes, and bipolar illness. There is a spectrum of anxiety disorders, which includes panic attacks, generalised and social anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

My expertise is in making careful assessments, to be sure what contributes to the problem (for example a medical condition, life problems, a psychiatric illness) and to determine what kind of treatment will be of most value, whether it be a talking therapy or medication. I work very collaboratively with whoever is seeing me, and we work out a treatment plan together. Generally, this happens during the first one and a half hour appointment. I have a special expertise in using medication, especially antidepressants. There are many medications and often it is necessary to try a few before finding one that works best without side effects, for example numbness or sexual difficulties. Often Citalopram, Sertraline or Fluoxetine, the drugs most commonly used by GPs are not the best solution. I work closely with psychologists and therapists based between Priory facilities. They use a range of psychological treatments.