https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/our-people/staff-z/isobel-heyman/

Isobel Heyman

Isobel Heyman - Neurology
Dr Isobel Heyman is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and has worked at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH) part-time since 1998 and full-time since 2012. She is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Child Health, University College London.

She has also worked over the same time as a Consultant at the Maudsley Hospital, where she continues to hold an honorary position.

Dr Heyman was awarded Royal College of Psychiatrists - Psychiatrist of the Year 2015.

"I have a particular commitment to the detection and treatment of emotional and behavioural problems in children who also have long-term physical health problems, such as epilepsy. Psychiatric problems can often be easily treated, leading to greatly improved quality of life."

Isobel Heyman

Specialisms

All aspects of severe and complex child mental health problems are seen by the Psychological Medicine team, in particular:

  • the mental health needs of children with long-term illness

  • neuropsychiatry

  • Tourette syndrome

  • medically unexplained symptoms and conversion disorders

  • obsessive compulsive disorder

  • directing children and families to our Intervention Service

Qualifications

  • BSc, MBBS, PhD, FRCPsych
Dr Heyman’s first degree was in pharmacology. She then trained in medicine at University College London.

After working in general medicine and neurology posts, she trained in psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital. She completed a PhD in developmental neurobiology at the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King’s College London, and then returned to the Institute of Psychiatry as Lecturer and to complete higher specialist training in child and adolescent psychiatry.

In 1998, Dr Heyman founded the first UK specialist clinic for young people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related difficulties, and became liaison psychiatrist to the epilepsy surgery program at GOSH, and clinical lead for the Tourette Syndrome clinic.

She represents neuropsychiatry on the Council of the British Paediatric Neurology Association, and advises nationally and internationally on child psychiatric practice.

Research Interests

Dr Heyman has active research programs in developmental neuropsychiatry, epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome.

She is grant holder and principle investigator on treatment trials and a collaborator in international studies. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications, as well as book chapters and reviews.

For further information about Dr Heyman, please see her profile on the ICH website.

Contact

Departmental reception

Telephone: 020 7829 8679

Psychological Medicine Team Administrators

Telephone: 020 7405 9200 extension 8099/5778

Email: psych.med@gosh.nhs.uk