Dr. Hazel Fernandes

Dr Hazel Fernandes is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Schoen Clinic in Chelsea, London. She specialises in treating eating disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and a range of mental health conditions.

Dr Fernandes obtained her medical degree from Goa Medical College in Asia. She initially pursued postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and practised in this speciality in Ireland. Her growing interest in maternal mental health, particularly its impact during prenatal, antenatal, and postnatal stages, led her to transition into psychiatry. She successfully gained entry to the Trinity College Dublin Psychiatry Training Scheme, where she completed her psychiatric training.

Her interest in child psychiatry deepened during her two years with the Paediatric Liaison Mental Health Service at Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin. This experience supported her decision to undertake specialist training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her comprehensive general psychiatry training included experience in Eating Disorders, General Adult Psychiatry, Learning Disability, Drugs and Addiction, Community CAMHS, Paediatric Liaison Mental Health, and Emergency Medicine.

Dr Fernandes’ training in Child and Adolescent Services involved extensive work in acute Paediatric Mental Health Services. She collaborated closely with paediatricians and allied medical health professionals across Community, Day Hospital, and Inpatient services for children. She also holds a Master’s degree in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and has completed Infant Mental Health training through a Special Interest Project and the Tavistock, UK. Additionally, she has received training in Family-Based Treatment and Adolescent-Focused Therapy for Eating Disorders through the Training Institute for Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders in Chicago.

Following her training, Dr Fernandes worked as a Consultant in Paediatric Liaison Mental Health Service at one of Ireland’s busiest acute paediatric hospitals. She managed eating disorders alongside paediatric medical staff and supported the neurodevelopmental mental health needs of children in hospital care. She also provided outpatient and emergency care for children experiencing acute and chronic mental health conditions.

Dr Fernandes later held a Consultant post at the Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation NHS Trust, where she worked in a 16-bed inpatient CAMHS Unit managing eating disorders and other acute mental health admissions. She then worked as a Consultant for looked-after children and within generic CAMHS at the North London Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust.

At Schoen Clinic Chelsea, Dr Fernandes provides care for children and adolescents with eating disorders, conducts neurodevelopmental and general CAMHS assessments, and is trained in the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G).

She is committed to working within a multidisciplinary setting, believing that collaboration between healthcare professionals, educators, and families is essential in managing and preventing the mental health burden for children and their families. Dr Fernandes focuses on addressing individual, family, medical, and environmental factors to support patients during relapse and recovery.