Alastair Santhouse

Consultant psychiatrist Alastair Santhouse explores the connections between physical and mental health and asks what it means to be well.

Santhouse draws on his experience of treating thousands of patients to explain how our emotions are inextricably linked to our physical wellbeing. He says our minds shape the way we understand and react to symptoms, dictate how we react to treatments, and even influence whether we develop symptoms at all. And he argues that conventional medical models overlook the most important component of our health – our state of mind.

Santhouse is a consultant psychiatrist at both Guy’s Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital in London. He is president of the psychiatry section of the Royal Society of Medicine.