PIF Introduction to Psychiatry Online Short Course 2024

Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi, MBBS Syd, MD ANU, DMedSc Melb, FRANZCP, AFRACMA, FAMA is a clinical academic neuropsychiatrist, in clinical private and public practice, and Head of the Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at Schoolof Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University. Jeffrey leads health services, health policy, and neuroscience research, and is Editor-in-Chief of Australasian Psychiatry. He has received multiple research and leadership awards including: a Fulbright Scholarship, Australian-Davos-Connection Future Summit Leadership Award and Fellowship of the AMA. Jeffrey is a co-author on more than 350 peer-reviewed papers, with 5598 citations, and an h-index of 34.

Sharon Taylor lives in Perth, Western Australia. Her childhood was on a farm in South Australia. She has also lived in Brisbane and Melbourne. Sharon’s past work has included teaching and clerical work with Telstra. Sharon experienced Major Depression and Anxiety for over 20 years. She used many mental health services in WA, including being an inpatient, ECT, medications, psychotherapy and Group Therapy. For 17 years the help was ineffective, but from 2013 -2015 Sharon’s life was transformed through a different approach. Over a four year period Sharon was able to gradually withdraw from the psychiatric medications. Sharon has been living really well for about 10 years.  

Sharon now works as a part-time Pastoral Care Co-ordinator in Aged Care, Lived Experience Educator with 2 Universities and as a Consumer Consultant in Mental Health. Sharon has been the inaugural “Community Member” on the WA RANZCP Branch Committee for over two years. She has learned a lot about the mental health system and clinical perspectives. She has contributed valuable consumer perspectives to many discussions. 

Sharon has a son, a daughter and three young grandchildren in Perth. Sharon has a strong Christian faith and an interest in holistic physical/mental/spiritual/emotional health. Sharon loves reading, learning, the outdoors, bushwalking, travel, theatre, her dog and getting to know people.

Dr Emily Hartman is a Stage 3 Trainee who most recently completed her Consultation Liaison term in Sydney. Emily is currently on a break in training for maternity leave following the birth of her second daughter. She feels strongly about the importance of flexible training options and has completed some of her training part-time. Emily is looking forward to commencing her advanced training in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry having greatly enjoyed her Child & Adolescent rotations as a basic trainee at Rivendell and Camperdown Adolescent Outreach Service (CAOS). Prior to medicine, Emily completed a combined Economics/Law degree.

I have worked as a psychiatrist at the Alfred Hospital for over 20 years. My clinical interest has been predominantly in acute community adult psychiatry.  I have also held the role of  Director of Training for over 10 years. In this role I have been responsible for overseeing the integrity of psychiatric training provision in the Southern Region of Victoria, as well as selecting doctors into accredited training positions on behalf of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Dr Lieu-Chi Nguyen is an early career psychiatrist who provides mental health outreach to remote, predominantly Indigenous communities of Cape York. Her psychiatric training has taken her from the suburbs of Sydney and up the eastern seaboard to the Northern Rivers and Tropical North Queensland. She is a committee member of the RANZCP Section of Philosophy and Humanities. Throughout her medical career, she has been heavily involved in teaching and education and is passionate about rural and remote health service provision.