Dr. Samantha Scholtz

I am a consultant psychiatrist and I specialise in the management of long term conditions, including obesity and related disorders, as well as the preparation of patients for bariatric surgery.  I am also a general psychiatrist and see patients with mood and anxiety disorders, bipolar affective disorder, trauma-related conditions, bereavement and chronic physical health conditions.  My NHS practice is  based at the Imperial Weight Centre, St Mary’s Hospital, where I have worked for the past 15 years, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, providing psychiatric care for people on weight management treatment pathways.  I graduated from Stellenbosch University and completed my higher specialist training at St. George’s University of London, where I also worked for 3 years sin a national eating disorders unit.  I have worked at West London NHS trust for the past 10 years, and for the last five years I also held a corporate role of research and development director at West London NHS Trust.  I hold a PhD from Imperial College London, funded by the Welcome Trust Charity and examined appetite and food reward changes in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery using functional magnetic resonance imaging.  I enjoy research and continue to publish, in the area of psychological management of people living with obesity and related conditions, recently with a focus on the lived experience thereof.  I present at national and international conferences on my area of expertise. 

My approach to clinical practice is integrated care, and I work on the premise that we better address problems in our lives if we understand the mechanism contributing to these, both physiological and psychological and the interaction of these.  I value working in a multi-disciplinary team,  which is how I have always worked as a psychiatrist, and I believe that when it comes to supporting a patient managing their own long term conditions, a team approach affords the patient the skills and expertise needed to support recovery better than any individual clinician, however good that clinician may be.  I use pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches in my practice and work with patients to support their preferred treatment options, presenting them with the best evidence available to inform that choice.  I am also trained in various psychotherapeutic approaches and I use a cognitive behavioural or cognitive analytical approach.