Areas of Expertise
Dr Santhouse works in neuropsychiatry and general hospital psychiatry, sometimes known as liaison psychiatry. This is the area that deals with the interaction between mental and physical health. There are a number of reasons why mental health can affect physical health, to cause unexplained or persistent physical symptoms, and Dr Santhouse has expertise in assessing and treating these. He also treats a broad range of other common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, OCD as well as the mental health consequences of physical disease, with a particular expertise in the psychiatry of cancer and neurological disorders.
Medically unexplained/persistent physical symptoms | Depression, Anxiety Disorders, OCD | Psychiatry of Cancer | Neuropsychiatry | General hospital psychiatry | Transplantation psychiatry | Chronic fatigue syndrome
Areas of Expertise
General Psychiatry
Depression, anxiety disorders and panic, OCD, PTSD, social phobia, adjustment disorders
Although these are common mental health problems, they are often not treated well, and can cause considerable difficulties in people’s ability to engage with their work or home lives. I provide a comprehensive assessment and formulation of the problem, considering the biological, the psychological and the social factors that may have led to the problem developing. Treatment is based around the formulation, and so will consider not only medication but importantly talking therapies and ways in which the individual may be able to help themselves on the path back to recovery.
Persistent physical symptoms
It is common for people to attend their doctor with physical complaints, but after investigation, nothing can be found that adequately explain the symptoms. This can be frustrating to patients, particularly when the symptoms persist without any clear explanation.
It is far commoner than is generally realised. I have considerable experience in assessing individuals with such symptoms, making sense of their presentation and understanding how the mind and body can interact to maintain symptoms of this sort.
Mental health consequences of physical disease
Life is never straightforward, and sometimes difficult and unexpected situations arise, such as the diagnosis of medical problems that can have life changing effects. It is common for there to be a consequence on an individuals’s state of mind or mental health, which can compound the original problem. Over the years of working within the general hospital with my colleagues in cancer services, neurology, gastroenterology, haematology, rheumatology amongst many others, I have seen and treated a great number of patients, helping them come to terms with their illness, treat any associated mental health problems, and lead them back onto the road to a normal life once again.