Gwen Adshead | |
---|---|
![]() Gwen Adshead delivering a Gresham College lecture in February 2015 | |
Born | 14 September 1960 Christchurch, New Zealand |
Occupation(s) | Psychiatrist, psychotherapist |
Gwen Adshead (born 1960) is a forensic psychotherapist, [1] Visiting Professor of Psychiatry at Gresham College, Jochelson visiting professor at the Yale School of Law and Psychiatry, and consultant forensic psychiatrist at Ravenswood House. [2]
At the age of 11 Adshead flew alone to England from her native New Zealand to attend Cheltenham Ladies' College as a boarder. [3] She qualified in medicine in 1983 and holds two master's degrees; in medical law and ethics, and in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. [2] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2005. [2] She was previously a consultant at Broadmoor Hospital, where she treated people referred to by the media as "the violent insane", but whom she described as "not mad or bad, but sad". [1] She has written more than a hundred academic papers. [1]
In 2012 Adshead received a Jerwood Award to support the writing of A Short Book About Evil, published 28 Apr 2015.
The Devil You Know, which she co-wrote with Eileen Horne, was shortlisted for Best Nonfiction at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards. [4]
She is the mother of two boys. [5] She is a Christian and enjoys singing as part of a choir. [3]
She was the castaway on the BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs on 1 July 2010. [3]
In August 2022 she was on BBC HARDtalk where she discussed her career, compassion and the concept of evil. [6]
In November 2024 she delivered the BBC's annual Reith Lecture series opening a 4-part discourse on BBC Radio 4 commencing 26 November 2024. [7]