Psychiatrist
Roehampton, SW15 5JJ
Dr Paul Bester is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, with a well establised practice at the Priory Hospital Roehampton. He offers assesment and treatment for a range of conditions including anxiety, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, emerging personality difficulties, and developmental disorders such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and assesment of neurodiversity, including the diagnosis of autism spectrum condition and the management of related psychological impact.
Dr Bester is known for his compassion and care and prioritises connection with you and your child/teenager to encourage trust and open communication and will tailor his care to suit the individual needs of each child or young person. This may involve medication and /or co-working with an appropriate therapist(s).
Dr Bester has excellent working relationships with an extensive network of colleagues and therapists, and receives outstanding testimonials from his colleagues, patients and their parents.
He offers mainly outpatient treatment, but can also offer adolescent inpatient treatment.
If medication is indicated, Dr Bester will formulate a safe protocol, discuss the mechanisms and risks and provide support throughout. He works with Pharmacierge, who deliver privately prescribed medication to your door, and with NHS GPs -using shared care protocols to prescribe medication, when appropriate to do so safely, although many GPs are unable to prescribe specialist-only medications.
For complex treatment issues, and when indicated and/or specifically requested, he will undertake pharmaco-genetic testing to assist clinicians to optimise treatment decisions and identify patient-specific genetic markers. This information provides guidance about which medication is likely to work as intended, as well as the risk of adverse effects. It involves an easy home- administered cheek (buccal) swab test.
Dr Bester completed specialist training based at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London in child and adolescent psychiatry, followed by a further full training in forensic psychiatry and spent the early part of his professional consultant career in the NHS. He also worked as an expert witness in child and family matters in the criminal and family courts for many years, and is also a fully trained forensic psychiatrist. For the last 11 years has devoted all his time to clinical practise. He has had opinion published in The Times and The Telegraph and various newspapers, and has presented at UK and international conferences. He has also published research in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry.
Dr Bester currently consults only remotely via video (Zoom) for outpatients, and this has proved to be an ideal and patient-preferred mode of consultation. The clinic can be booked up and please note that urgent or emergency appointments are not available.
Medical Assessments and Treatments
Based on patient reviews & endorsements by other professionals
General Medical Council
No. 3369089
All locations
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*Star rating based on patient reviews
26 reviews
5
Explained things thoroughly and made sure we fully understood the issues and expected outcomes etc. A calm and reassuring manner in a very stressful situation for us.
5
Dr Paul Bester has worked with my wife and I, and our son X. He diagnosed X with ADHD in 2018 and has reviewed and carried out regular quarterly reviews and ad hoc appointments with X since then. In 2022 he and another professional jointly diagnosed with autism. Dr Paul Bester has always provided a completely reliable service, with absolutely excellent advice and attention to detail. He is always thoroughly well prepared before appointments, and is very adept at time management. He is a truly compassionate man who believes in helping young children and is quite simply the most outstanding medical professional my wife and I have ever come across in our lives. He has helped transform our son's life to a place where he is confident with his neurodiversity, and successful at school, and in friend and partner relationships. we have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending him as a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
5
Dr Bester helped my family when we were in crisis and did not know where to turn. Thanks to him life has returned to a much more even keel!
5
Dr Bester really helped support my child during difficult times and I always felt he had my child's best interests at heart. He always took my child and my concerns seriously and involved us in decision making, all while being very kind and making sure to explain options and likely outcomes.
4.5
Our experience has been very positive. Dr Bester is non-judgmental and has a kindly and empathetic manner. His advice has been pragmatic and very helpful. He arranged for us to have input from a psychologist when we were getting to grips with understanding the diagnosis to have a further opinion.
5
Dr Bester was calm, clear and reassuring about the situation surrounding our daughter's illness. We had so little knowledge about what was happening he provided a lifeline and some hope that she would recover. In amongst our panic, he clearly explained what was happening to her and how we would approach her discovery. He gave us (and her choices) and explained the options to us. Above all, he treated us with respect and kindness (as he did my daughter) and we are very grateful for that.
5
Dr Paul Bester has been the most professional, supportive Doctor for our son and our family . I'm not sure how I would have navigated my son's mental health journey without him. I am so thankful for his advice and support .
5
Dr Bester was absolutely amazing throughout the entirety of my treatment. His unwavering support, expertise and professional manner over the three years really aided my recovery. Dr Bester is an incredible psychiatrist, always validating my feelings and was so lovely throughout. I always speak so highly of him and would absolutely recommend Dr Bester to anyone.
5
My daughter was referred to Dr Bester after she failed to engage with a previous consultant. We found him to be understanding and supportive and gained my daughter's and my trust. We tried several prescribed interventions over the course of 18 months or so, during that difficult period of GCSE/A-levels, which significantly assisted her. Needless to say, since the end of pressurised academic assessments she has thrived which is great to see. if you are reading this, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Dr Bester, however, assisted us to get there.
5
My 10 year old boy saw Paul. We all felt really comfort and well cared for and understood. Very professional but also relaxed We felt he was in good hands Highly recommend
What are Dr Paul Bester's reviews like?
Dr Paul Bester's overall patient rating is 4.93 out of 5 stars on Doctify. This is based on 26 reviews
What languages does Dr Paul Bester speak?
Dr Paul Bester speaks English
Where is Dr Paul Bester located?
Dr Paul Bester primarily practices at Priory Hospital Roehampton, located at Priory Lane Roehampton Priory Lane, Roehampton, United Kingdom, SW15 5JJ
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Does Dr Paul Bester accept new patients?
Dr Paul Bester generally accepts new patients.
Get in touch with this specialist to enquire as a new patient