Research
As a teaching hospital of the University of NSW, Wesley Hospital proudly supports the training of medical students and allied health students at our facilities.
The following specialist units at Wesley Hospital are engaged in current research and training:
- Alcohol and other drugs – Wesley Hospital Ashfield and Wesley Hospital Kogarah
- Wesley Eating Disorders Centre – Wesley Hospital Ashfield
- Electroconvulsive therapy – Wesley Hospital Kogarah
Alcohol and other drugs programs
Wesley Hospital Ashfield
Wesley Hospital Ashfield’s alcohol and other drugs program includes psycho-education, family therapy, life skills therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and psychodynamic therapy. The service also draws on the multidisciplinary skills of Wesley Hospital’s psychologists, dieticians, exercise therapist, art therapist and financial and gambling counsellors. Ongoing support is given to patients on completion of the program by offering easy access to day patient programs such as vocational rehabilitation and long-term residential rehabilitation, and fostering links with Alcoholics Anonymous.
The service is led by Dr Oliver O’Connell as Director and Mark Stevens as Therapy Co-ordinator, both of whom have extensive experience in the field of addiction treatment.
Wesley Hospital Kogarah
Wesley Hospital Kogarah’s alcohol and other drugs program is led by Professor John Saunders, who has recently joined other international experts in mental health and substance disorders to advise on the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Global Action Program. Directed particularly at low- and middle-income countries, the program aims to ensure access and basic standards of treatment for people with mental health and substance use disorders.
Wesley Eating Disorders Centre – Wesley Hospital Ashfield
The Wesley Eating Disorders Centre offers the most comprehensive program in Sydney, providing intensive in-patient service with the support of psychiatrists, physicians, dieticians, nurse therapists and psychologists. The recovery program is comprehensive but well staged, moving gradually from intensive in-patient treatment to day programs and care as an day patient.
The centre is led by Dr Naresh Mondraty, who trained extensively with Professor Peter Beumont. Dr Mondraty’s research into the physiological state of eating disorder patients has indicated that there are potentially new treatments that could complement other programs currently offered to patients. He has also carried out research into neuro-imaging treatments for eating disorder patients, in collaboration with the Neuropsychiatric Institute at Prince of Wales Hospital.
Electroconvulsive Therapy Unit – Wesley Hospital Kogarah
The Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) unit at Wesley Hospital Kogarah is led by Professor Colleen Loo, a psychiatrist and Associate Professor with the School of Psychiatry, University of NSW, Sydney. Wesley Hospital’s ECT research is funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and approved by the research ethics committee of the University of NSW.
Wesley Hospital’s ECT program offers clinicians an opportunity to participate in the latest research into the effective treatment of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Research studies at Wesley Hospital Kogarah include the use of ultra-brief pulse-width stimulation, a new approach which has been shown to dramatically reduce the memory side effects of ECT. Other approaches include the optimisation of anaesthetic agents used.
For more information on research opportunities, contact Wesley Hospital.
