My approach to mental health
I have a holistic, biological and cognitive-behavioural approach to mental health. This means I see mental health problems emerging from a combination of factors including biology, genetics, upbringing, psychological tendencies, personality traits and environment. While the genetic component of psychiatric difficulties cannot be doubted, I recognise that huge progress can be made by leveraging psychological techniques. Medications can be unquestionably useful in specific situations, but their effects can often be augmented when used in conjunction with psychotherapeutic support and healthy lifestyle decisions. Moreover, I regard the human body as a complex interplay of various systems, each uniquely and powerfully impacted by different lifestyle factors, such as movement, sleep, sunlight, nutrition and connection with others. For this reason, I believe in promoting a healthy style of living and providing psycho-education to empower patients into making decisions that are conducive to a fulfilling and successful life. I want my patients to feel that we are tackling their difficulties together as two people on the same team, that their experiences and opinions are valid and that my expertise is at their disposal, to use and implement as they see fit.
My approach to medication
Psychopharmacology can be incredibly useful across a variety of mental health conditions, in many instances I do explore medication as an option for my patients, I take time to discuss the pros and cons with them so that they feel empowered, instead of fearful or ashamed, by their decision to use or not use medication. I have significant experience using medication to treat a wide range of mental health problems. Whenever possible, I am very keen to explore other treatment options, including psycho-education, psychotherapy or lifestyle changes as an adjuvant to medication.
Training and education
I finished my Medical studies to become a Medical Doctor in Spain in 2001. I then completed my training in Psychiatry at Bellvitge Hospital, Barcelona, Spain, in 2006. I completed a Masters in Affective Neuroscience at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, specialising in Anxiety, Depression and related disorders. I have also completed a Masters degree in Research Methodology in Health Sciences at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2007. In 2010 I completed my PhD thesis in hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.
Professional qualifications, accreditations and memberships
- Doctor of Medicine (LMS)
- Specialist Associate member of the Royal College of psychiatrists (RCPsych)
- Accredited Adult psychiatrist, GMC Specialist Register. The General Medical Council (GMC) is the organisation that sets the standards that doctors need to follow in the UK. I am registered on the Specialist Register as General Adult psychiatrist with a license to practise as a General Adult psychiatrist. You can check my registration – and that of any registered UK doctor – on the GMC website.
- PhD, Institute of Psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital, King’s College London (2010)
- Masters in Science (MSc), Affective Neuroscience (Anxiety, Depression and related disorders), Maastricht University, Netherlands
- Masters in Science (MSc), Research Methodology in Health Sciences (Barcelona, Spain)
- Section 12 approved & Approved Clinician status since 2011
- Honorary Researcher at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma (CADAT), South London and Maudsley Trust (SLaM) from 2015 to 2017
Professional publications
- I completed my PhD thesis at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, in 2010.
- I have published over 30 scientific articles and book chapters in international peer-reviewed scientific publications.
- I have been an Associate Editor of the Spanish Journal of Psychology, edited by Cambridge University Press
- I have been an independent peer reviewer for a range of scientific journals including Archives of General Psychiatry.
- I have been the Research & Development Lead for Cambian Healthcare, a large organisation comprising over 50 Mental Health Hospitals in the UK, from 2013 to 2016
My personal interests
I have many and varied interests. I am a keen piano player, both classical and jazz as well as improvisation.
As a teenager, I qualified as a massage therapist and have pursued many disciplines of lifestyle medicine, such as nutrition, craniosacral therapy and osteopathy. I retain my interest in nutrition today and pay close attention to developing research trends that demonstrate the prevailing power of diet in the gut-brain axis.
Although I do not hold any official qualifications in lifestyle medicine, such as functional medicine practitioner, I have a cautious interest in its development. In particular, I am intrigued about the potential use of ketogenic diets in mental health. I am also interested in therapeutic fasting, and Longevity Medicine, which seeks to optimise and elongate lifespan.
I also enjoy philosophy (Eastern and Western), economic theory and the psychology and behaviour of the financial markets, and, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, in particular how they can be applied to healthcare.
