Q & A with Dr Matthew Lewis

Meet the newest member of the Integrated Mental Health Team

The Integrated Mental Health Team is excited to welcome a new Research Fellow: Dr Matthew Lewis. Find out a little more about Matt below.

What is your professional/educational background?

My background is in psychology with a focus on cognition and mental health and the way they are affected by drugs and alcohol, anaesthesia, surgery and ageing.  My work has been largely hospital based, but I have also worked in industry and academia.

You are the newest member of the Integrated Mental Health Team, working on the Assertive Care trial. Can you tell us a little about Assertive Care?

Assertive Care is a highly pro-active, patient centred and collaborative process to approach the physical and mental health needs of patients. It has demonstrated efficacy in improving care and social functioning while reducing hospitalisation.

What drew you to your role at the Dept of General Practice?

Much of the work I have conducted has been to better understand neuropsychology and cognition in different disorders and has largely been theoretical and about hypothesis building.  This new role in the Dept of General Practice provides an opportunity to extend my experience into a more applied field which will hopefully have a greater impact for people.

If you could host a talk show, who would be your first guest and why?

Prof Robert Sapolsky from Stanford as his approach to understanding and explaining neuroscience and behaviour comes from a wide variety of sources and is very engaging.