Dr Timothy Leow

Tell us about your career so far in the mental health sector.

I was a medical student at the University of Western Sydney and was primarily attached to the Blacktown & Mt Druitt Acute Community Care Team and Inpatient Units. Following this, I spent some time with Buckingham House, which was RichmondPRA-Flourish Australia. Since then, I had a stint with Perth Children’s Hospital with the child psychiatry service and otherwise have spent most of my time in North Queensland as a junior doctor and psychiatry registrar, gaining experience across the adult, rural, rehabilitation, specialist, child sectors under the Townsville Hospital and Mental Health Service Group. I have a special interest in child, adolescent and young adult mental health, addiction psychiatry, and the cross-cultural impacts of health.

Why did you pursue a career in the mental health sector? 

This was a multi-layered decision. The short version is that the practice of medicine is a privilege. We have the chance to help people when they are most vulnerable, and those who suffer from mental illness are vulnerable (physically and mentally, whether they look it or not), yet they have stories of their own to share, struggles, dreams and goals. Working in mental health has given me the privilege to help this group of people, learn their stories, and hopefully give them a voice back that they may share their own stories or find a way in life.

What do you find challenging about your role? 

In my current role, I have the privilege of working with people of all ages who struggle with a variety of mental health concerns. It is challenging and confronting at times, but I am so encouraged by patients and their families and working alongside an incredible team of various disciplines and backgrounds. Walking alongside people’s growth and recovery journey is definitely the most rewarding part of the work.

What do you find most challenging about your current role?

Mental health stigma.

What does a typical day for you look like, Dr Timothy? 

One of the things I find enjoyable about the job is that there isn’t quite a typical day. Everyday is different with different challenges and questions. I have clinics most days of the week alternating between the child and adolescent service and the addictions service. I mostly work in clinics doing medical reviews and therapy. We have a day for multidisciplinary team meetings, supervision and education sessions. It is very important to have good supervision in mental health to ensure reflective practice and evidence-based medicine.

What are three misconceptions you believe people have about working in the mental health sector?

1. People assume we work with ‘crazies’ – when in reality we work with just people under extraordinary circumstances. 
2. We mistreat patients – all power imbalances in human relationships are at risk of being abused, and indeed, this has happened historically in psychiatry, but there are safeguards in place now, and we subscribe to a patient-centred care model.
3. There is no scientific evidence for mental health – certainly, there are a lot of unknowns in mental health, but the same can be said of all of medicine. As scientific evidence becomes more robust, psychiatry is increasingly moving towards stronger evidence-based treatments and certainly as it improves. From a time when manifestations of epilepsy and thyrotoxicosis were previously considered psychiatric conditions, with limited treatment options other than alienation, we now have reasonable evidence to recommend biological medical interventions.

What advice would you give to people who are interested in working in mental health?

It is a privilege. Keep an open mind and heart. Remain grounded and connected with those who love and care about you.

Do you have any other thoughts you’d like to share?

To serve the art of medicine as it should be served, one must love his fellow man.

Sir William Osler