Dr. Maja Elia

Dr Elia is a consultant general adult and old age psychiatrist with over 15 years' experience of working therapeutically in mental health settings with adults, older adults and their families. She has a friendly, compassionate nature, is very patient-focused, and understands the need for an individualised and holistic approach while ensuring that evidence-based practice is followed. Having previously practised in Serbia and Montenegro, Dr Elia is also acquainted with cross-cultural adjustments and challenges from clients of various nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

Currently, Dr Elia is a consultant psychiatrist for the Early Intervention Psychosis Service at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Trust. During this role, she has also become a Principal Investigator for Prevalence of Pathogenic Antibodies in Psychosis, a research initiated by the Oxford-based team - one of the biggest studies in psychosis in the UK in recent times.

Dr Elia completed her core training in psychiatry at St Mary’s & Charing Cross Hospital training program with the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust which is affiliated to Imperial College School of Medicine, London. She went on to complete her postgraduate training at University College London and Partners training scheme at Barnet, Enfield and Haringey NHS Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. During her training, she obtained qualifications in general adult psychiatry, old age psychiatry and liaison psychiatry with a special interest in addiction.

Dr Elia’s robust training, while working alongside the most renowned professors and clinicians in this field, has enabled her to develop excellent clinical skills and evidence-based knowledge in treating a wide range of psychiatric conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar affective disorder, ADHD, and psychosis. She is skilled in performing comprehensive assessments of complex and severe mental health conditions. Dr Elia has a special interest in neurostimulation and has spent time training in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive form of brain stimulation with therapeutic potential for a wide variety of disease states in neurology and mental health. She is currently a local collaborator for the BRIGhTMIND TMS Randomised Control Trial.

Dr Elia's dual training in old age psychiatry and liaison psychiatry has given her expertise in the assessment and treatment of various mental health conditions in the elderly, which are often complicated by physical health problems. She has vast experience with conducting comprehensive cognitive assessments in various types of dementia diagnosis and treating these conditions with a holistic approach and evidence-based medicine. Dr Elia is recognised for her clinical work and has previously been nominated for The Royal College Award by the senior old age consultants and the trust management board for improving NHS services and providing a high quality of care.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr Elia has a strong interest in mental health research and has published her work in a number of medical journals, including the Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care and other internationally-renowned journals. Alongside her academic and clinical skills, she also has a passion for teaching and currently teaches medical students at the University College of London (UCL).

• MD 2004 Univerziteta u Beogradu