Dr Hamilton McBrien
Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist
Conditions treated
- Anxiety
- Bereavement
- Bipolar disorder
- Depression
- Mood disorders
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Panic attacks
- Phobias
- Self-harm
- Sleep disorders
- Stress
- Suicidal thoughts
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Child attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Tourette syndrome/Tics
- Emotional behavioural disorders of childhood
Professional qualifications, accreditations and memberships
- MB
- BCh
- BAO
- FRCPsych
- Full GMC specialist registration with a licence to practice
- Certificate of Completion of Training in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Approved Clinician Section 12(2) & 12(2A) Mental Health Act 1983
Professional experience
Dr Hamilton McBrien is a leading child and adolescent consultant psychiatrist, with over 20 years of experience.
Dr McBrien’s first consultant position was within the NHS at Barnet, Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust. Here he was the lead clinician for the Haringey Adolescent Outreach team. This service provided crisis care to adolescents with severe mental health difficulties, providing support and intervention to prevent hospital admission.
He then became a consultant at a medium secure unit in Greater London later assuming the post of medical director. This unit met the needs of young people detained under the Mental Health Act, all presenting with complex and high-risk mental health presentations.
Subsequently, Dr McBrien became the medical director and lead child & adolescent consultant psychiatrist at Priory Hospital North London. Within this role, Dr McBrien led the adolescent inpatient unit. During his tenure, he also held the position of clinical director for CAMHS for the whole Priory Group. As part of this role, he worked alongside operational managers to oversee the clinical care provided by Priory CAMHS sites operated by the group. In addition, he was interim medical director for the Priory Group for six months.
He later moved to Priory Roehampton in Barnes, once again as a medical director and lead child and adolescent consultant psychiatrist. During this post, he worked with senior management colleagues to obtain a ‘Good’ rating in the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of the services. Throughout Dr McBrien’s leadership, the CAMHS unit maintained a ‘good’ rating each year.
During his time at Priory, he also led on opening a private CAMHS inpatient service, which at the time was the only such service in the UK.
Personal statement
Dr McBrien has worked with adolescents for the entirety of his consultant career. From the assessment stage, he engages his patient and then works with them collaboratively to develop a treatment plan. He prefers to involve the child’s family (with permission and where age-appropriate), whilst maintaining the young person’s privacy where he can.
He has expertise in the use of psychopharmacology in young people and advises on evidence-based treatment approaches. This includes both medication and therapeutic approaches, as most young people benefit from therapy, irrespective of medication. He practices an evidence-based approach to treatment, using guidelines from NICE, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other medical and therapy institutions.
Dr McBrien has experience in the full range of developmental, behavioural and mental health disorders experienced by children and young people up to the age of 18 years. As the patient approaches their 18th birthday, he specifically engages with them and their family (again, where appropriate), in the process of transition to identify their preferences as they move to the care of an adult psychiatrist.
Additional information about your research, publications and interests
- The Management of ADHD and Associated Problems in a Young Person with Cleidocranial Dysostosis (CCD) and Mild Intellectual Disability; Hamilton McBrien, Jeremy Turk, Nicole Letch; Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 11, 3: pp. 445-456. , First Published Jul 1, 2006. (SAGE Publications)
