PSYCHIATRIST

Dr Jo graduated from Otago University Medical School in 1992 and then moved to Sydney Australia where she gained her Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatry Fellowship in 2000. She started a NSW Institute of Psychiatry Child and Adolescent Fellowship in 2000 and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Infant Mental Health in 2001. Dr Jo worked in private practice at Sydney Clinic from 2001-2004 where she worked with pre-schoolers, teenagers and adults.

In 2004 Jo moved back to New Zealand with her husband and two pre-school children and took up a position at the Mother’s and Babies Service in the public mental health service in Christchurch. She later worked in the area of rehabilitation for people suffering from severe mental illness. 

 In 2013 Jo moved back into private practice where she worked with teenagers and adults with a wide range of mental health challenges. In particular, she developed expertise in the mental health of people who are gender diverse and in ADHD. She also started working in the area of childhood trauma and its effects on teenagers and adults. She was involved in the NZ Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) guidelines on assessment of Dissociative Disorders.

In 2021 Dr Jo closed her private follow-up practice due to a cancer diagnosis and a book commission with Harper Collins. Dr Jo continues to provide guidance on the effects of severe childhood trauma as an ACC assessor.