Tribute to Dr Steve Pearce

The College paid tribute to Dr Steve Pearce, with our President Dr Adrian James describing him as “a truly inspiring leader”.

Dr Pearce, a member of the College’s Council and chair of the Medical Psychotherapy Faculty, died last week after a long illness.

Dr Pearce was a Consultant Psychiatrist with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. A long-standing member of the College and South Eastern Division, Steve had been Chair of the Medical Psychotherapy Faculty since 2018.

Our President, Dr Adrian James, paid tribute to Dr Pearce, saying:

“I was deeply saddened to hear about the death of the Chair of the Medical Psychotherapy Faculty, Dr Steve Pearce, after a long illness.

“Steve was a truly inspiring leader and has done so much for the Faculty and the College.

“I was honoured to speak at the joint conference between the Medical Psychotherapy and General Adult Psychiatry facilities last week.

“This was a testament to Steve’s belief about the value of integrating psychological thinking within psychiatry.

“He will be greatly missed, and my thoughts are with his family, friends and the many colleagues who worked with Steve.”

Dr Jessica Yakeley, Consultant Psychiatrist and Director of the Portman Clinic at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, has kindly been acting up as Chair of the Faculty during Steve’s illness, for which we are very grateful.

Jessica said about Dr Pearce’s time as Faculty Chair:

“Steve’s leadership was incisive, inclusive and inspiring, and under his leadership the influence of the faculty has grown in many key areas.

“He was delighted that we were organising a joint conference between the Medical Psychotherapy and General Adult Psychiatry faculties as he felt strongly about the integration of psychological thinking within psychiatry. Steve believed that psychotherapy and psychiatry were entwined rather than separate and this was evident in his work.”

Our thoughts are with Steve’s family and all of the colleagues he has worked with throughout his career.

Back to our March 2022 eNewsletter.