بروفيسور Isobel Heyman

Professor Isobel Heyman is a Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and an Honorary Professor at the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health. She is clinical lead for the National Tourette Syndrome Clinic and liaison neuropsychiatrist to the Epilepsy Service. Her service focuses on children with combinations of physical and mental health problems – especially functional/medically unexplained symptoms. She usually works with a small team including clinical psychology. Details of her team can be found at Mind and Body London.

Her current aims are to promote and deliver parity of esteem between physical and mental health, detect and treat mental health problems in children with long term conditions and intervene early with evidence-based treatments to prevent progression/deterioration, treat the child or young person in line with NICE guidance, raise public awareness and decrease stigma, undertake translational research and increase access to psychological therapies.

Dr Heyman works closely with a team of experts – other child and adolescent psychiatrists and specialist clinical psychologists.

The specialist services currently offered by Dr Heyman and her colleagues are for children and adolescents with physical symptoms who are distressed or having difficulties with day-to-day life.

This may be because their symptoms are stopping them doing things they would like to be doing. Or they have emotional or behavioural problems in the context of physical ill-health. They may have functional symptoms (symptoms that are not caused by a serious underlying disease).

Dr Heymans multidisciplinary approach ensures that she and her colleagues will arrange consultations with additional Great Ormond Street professionals as needed in your individual case – including paediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists etc.

The emphasis is on individual assessment and meeting the needs of each child and family. We will make telephone contact before arranging the assessment to sure that our range of services best meets your needs. A key aspect of successful outcomes is to involve all the services needed for regaining good quality of life, and we will liaise with your local services, school and other colleagues as needed.

If following assessment treatment is requested and needed, we may be able to offer this. An ongoing package of treatment will always include us working closely with a local team of professionals.