Dr Catherine Durkin
Joint Presidential Lead for Women and Mental Health
Dr Catherine Durkin is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and the Clinical Lead for the Women's Service Line within the Health and Justice Directorate within Central and North West London Foundation Trust.
Clinically, Dr Durkin works across three women's prisons leading on safety and quality and inputs directly into HMP Downview. During her time working with women in custody, Dr Durkin has been a strong advocate for raising the profile of the complex mental health needs of women in custody including giving regional and national presentations and giving evidence to the Justice Select Committee, Women in Prison review in 2021.
Dr Durkin has been instrumental in establishing the neurodiversity pathway within Health & Justice and is the lead clinician working with neurodevelopmental disorders within the women's estate. She is currently undertaking research into gender-specific screening and diagnostic tools for women with ADHD in custody alongside facilitating broader research interest to support the health needs of women in prison.
Dr Durkin has a particular focus on the impact of trauma and adversity which underpins the mental health needs of women in custody and she has been developing trauma-informed training to support staff to work in a trauma-informed way.