A psychiatrist with more than 30 years working in mental health services

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 Psychiatrists Fellowship in 2000. She started an 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 to 2004, where she worked with pre-schoolers, teenagers and adults.

In 2004 Dr Jo moved back to New Zealand and took up a position at the Mothers 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 Dr 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, ADHD and the effects of workplace stress. 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 HarperCollins. Dr Jo continues to provide guidance on the effects of severe childhood trauma as an ACC assessor.

The clinical reality behind workplace exhaustion, and why the people who look like they are coping best are often most at risk.

What it actually takes for people to speak up, and how honest conversations get built at work.

Practical, evidence-based approaches to supporting people under pressure without lowering the bar.

Understanding and unlocking different minds, and why they may be a competitive advantage in the age of AI.

How early adversity shapes adult behaviour and mental health.

Recognition, assessment and the strengths as well as the challenges, in adults and teenagers.