Mental Health Sciences
     
 

ClinicVrsion française

 

Dr. Martin Desseilles completed his medical studies at the Université de Liège. He then began his training in psychiatry at this university, where he was able to work in a variety of professional practice settings, such as general hospital psychiatry, liaison psychiatry, psychopharmacological consultation and psychotherapy.

 

During his psychiatric training, Dr. Desseilles completed a master’s degree in psychotherapy (with a psychodynamic orientation) at the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). Part of his master’s program was located at the Chapelle-aux-Champs centre in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, and took the form of seminars, general supervision, peer supervision and lectures, while another part, located at UCL, took the form of courses and clinical practice comparison workshops. He also took an International Master’s Program in Affective Neuroscience organized jointly by Maastricht University and the University of Florence, in collaboration with Bristol University and Tel Aviv University. While in this program, he formed a research network of clinical-and-research psychiatrists working primarily with individuals suffering from mood disorders (depressive disorder, bipolar disorder) and individuals with anxiety disorders (obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder).

 

Dr. Desseilles completed his psychiatric training at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Switzerland, where in the course of his medical studies he had already had the opportunity to work in an emergency and crisis unit. In the late stages of his training, he worked in the specialized program in mood disorders; he took advantage of the instruction available there, especially that of personalized and group supervision in a cognitive-behavioural psychotherapeutic framework. During his stay, he also received training in tobacco addiction and cessation. He then worked as Clinical Director at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève and availed himself of the training given in healthcare-team management in a hospital setting.

 

Combining a clinical approach with a research approach, Dr. Desseilles developed an interest in the links between cognition, that is, the major areas of thought (such as memory and attention) and emotions. He has written many clinical papers on mental health, and with Professor M. Mikolajczak co-led a "Treaty on the Regulation of Emotions", intended for professionals and published by De Boeck. With this same colleague, he also wrote a book intended for the general public and popularizing various aspects of the Treaty. It was entitled Vivre mieux avec ses émotions ("Managing Your Emotions More Effectively"), published by Odile Jacob. He recently published the Manuel du Borderline ("Borderline Disorder Manual") with two other colleagues, Dr. B. Grosjean of Los Angeles and Dr. N. Perroud of Geneva.

 

Dr. Desseilles then spent a year in Boston at the Department of Psychiatry of Massachusetts General Hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. During this period, he spent much of his time working with the Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP) and the Clinical Trials Network and Institute (CTNI). He helped write several articles on the most effective clinical management of patients with refractory depression. Following his stay in Boston, Dr. Desseilles spent a year in the Department of Psychiatry at the Université de Montréal, where his main interest was sleep medicine; particularly psychopathological issues relating to normal sleep and pathological sleep.

 

He currently works as a clinician at the Clinique Psychiatrique des Frères Alexiens, in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.

 

During his international trips, he worked with clinicians and clinical-and-research scientists, which allowed him to develop a network for both the organization of clinical training and improving clinical practice.

 

Recently, Dr. Desseilles established a non-profit organization for continuing education in mental health, which provides, among other services, clinical peer supervision and study days on important mental health issues (www.synopsys.be).

 

Dr Desseilles also offers online continuing education on www.medtunes.org website. Moreover he has set up a continuing education program in mental health and psychiatry on www.santementaleetpsychiatrie.be.

 

 
     

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