OPSIG Executive Committee

The Committee aims to meet up to four times a year. The maximum term for the elected officers (Chair and Financial Officer) is four years.

All other appointments to the Committee are non-tenured and by invitation, and the Executive welcomes expressions of interest from members who would wish to play an active role in the planning and running of this Special Interest Group.

Executive Committee Members

Dr Darren Minshall (OPSIG)oDarren is a consultant general adult psychiatrist with specialist expertise in occupational and military psychiatry. He has served in the Royal Navy since joining on a medical cadetship in 2001, with early career maritime deployments to the Middle East, Caribbean and Falkland Islands. His clinical work has been based at the Department of Community Mental Health in HM Naval Base Devonport, and he has also undertaken staff appointments in policy and personnel roles, as well as attending the Advanced Command and Staff Course. From 2021 to 2024 he was the Defence Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry, providing professional clinical leadership, and expert clinical and clinical policy advice across the Armed Forces. He is currently attending the Global Strategy Programme at the Royal College of Defence Studies.

In June 2022 Darren assumed the Chair of the Occupational Psychiatry Special Interest Group. Alongside a dedicated Executive Committee, he advocates the importance of good work for mental health, and that returning to, remaining in or securing such employment should be a key treatment outcome for psychiatrists. He holds the Diploma in Occupational Medicine, and Fellowships with the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Dr Peter McAllister is an experienced Consultant Forensic and General Adult Psychiatrist, approved under section 12(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983.  

Having graduated in Medicine from King’s College London, Dr McAllister joined the British Army and served in Northern Ireland, Iraq, and Afghanistan whilst completing his specialist training in both General Adult and Forensic psychiatry on the North Yorkshire training scheme. Having trained as a forensic psychiatrist within high, medium, and low secure settings, Dr McAllister most recently has been the Responsible Clinician for a Dialectic Behaviour Therapy service for Women with complex presentations and a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality disorder, and was a practicing DBT therapist. 

Dr McAllister has published research on PTSD, Complex PTSD, and Personality Disorder, as well as being one of the key researcher/Data gatherer on the OMHNE(Operational Mental Health Needs Evaluation) study carried out with Serving Personnel deployed in Afghanistan.


Previously Dr McAllister has been the Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry to Director General Army Medical Services and held a clinical role as Consultant Psychiatrist at the Department of Community Mental Health in Catterick Garrison. Dr McAllister retired in the rank of Colonel (OF5). Experience of briefing on difficult topics at the highest level, e.g. senior politicians, senior Defence leaders, and members of the Royal Family.

With a strong focus on Occupational Mental Health Dr McAllister has provided clinical advice and recommendations to MoD recruitment, the Nuclear Power industry and well as Govt Departments.

Dr Peter McAllister took up the role of OPSIG Financial Officer in June 2024, and is in post until June 2028.
Mark Tarn qualified in 1990 and has spent half his career as a GP in the Armed Forces and the other half as a psychiatrist in a number of settings.  Mark first became interested in occupational mental health as an Army GP and, after retraining, served as a consultant psychiatrist in a military occupational setting.  Subsequently he worked as a forensic psychiatrist in the independent sector.  Mark continues to work on projects associated with occupational mental health and was part of the Welfare and Wellbeing Team at the recent NHS Nightingale Hospital (London).

opsig-chair-neil-greenbergProfessor Neil Greenberg, Professor of Defence Mental Health, BM, BSc, MMedSc, FHEA, MFMLM, DOccMed, MInstLM, MEWI, MFFLM, MD, FRCPI, FRCPsych (Neil@marchonstress.com).

Professor Neil Greenberg is a clinical and academic psychiatrist based at King’s College London UK. He is a specialist in adult, occupational and forensic psychiatry. Neil served in the United Kingdom Armed Forces for more than 23 years deploying as a psychiatrist and researcher to a number of hostile environments including Afghanistan and Iraq. At King’s, Neil is a senior member of the military mental health research team and a principal investigator within a nationally funded Health Protection Research Unit which investigates the psychological impacts of trauma on organisations. Neil also runs March on Stress (www.marchonstress.com) which is a psychological health consultancy. He is a past chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) Special Interest Group in Occupational Psychiatry (OPSIG) as well as having led on the 2023 World Psychiatric Association’s Position Statement on Mental Health in the Workplace.

Neil studied medicine at Southampton University and graduated in 1993. He served as a general duties doctor in warships, submarines and with two Royal Marines Commando units. Whilst serving with the Royal Marines he completed his arctic warfare qualification and the All Arms Commando Course, earning the coveted Green Beret.
 
Neil provided psychological input for Foreign Office personnel after the events of September 11th 2001 and in Bali after 12th October 2002 bombings and has provided psychological input into the repatriation of UK nationals who have been kidnapped. He has also assisted with the aftermath management of number of other significant incidents including assisting the London Ambulance Service in the wake of the London Bombings in 2005 and oil workers after the 2013 In Amenas terrorist incident in Algeria. During the 2020/21 Covid-19 crisis, Neil was a member of the Public Health England expert reference panel and an advisor for NHS People wellbeing/recovery team. He also established, and ran, mental health support at the 2020 London Nightingale Hospital.

In 2008 he was awarded the Gilbert Blane Medal by the Royal Navy for his work in supporting the health of Naval personnel through his research work. He also led the team that won a military-civilian partnership award in 2013 for carrying out research into the psychological health of troops who were deployed and was shortlisted for The RCPsych Psychiatrist of the Year in 2015. He was awarded an RCPsych Presidential Medal for his work with trauma and veterans in 2017 and he led the mental health team that won the RCPsych Team of the Year award for Working Age Adults in 2021. In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

Neil has published more than 400 scientific papers and book chapters and regularly presents to national and international audiences on matters concerning occupational mental health, the psychological health of Armed Forces personnel and the organisational management of traumatic stress. He has been the Secretary of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the President of the UK Psychological Trauma Society and Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee. He was the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Lead for Trauma and the Military for 10 years and is currently a trustee with the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and the President Elect of the Society of Occupational Medicine. Neil is also a principal advisor for Hostage International and was also part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence team which produced the 2018 PTSD guidelines.
Dr John Sterland is a Consultant Occupational Physician for West Hertfordshire Hospitals Trust, and other sectors. He had many years as a GP before specialist training at Kings, and has a special interest in developing a common understanding and approach to stress. He conducted a webinar “Setting Shaping the Stress Consultation” for the Society of Occupational Medicine in February 2020, which can be viewed through the SOM website. In his opinion the issues are pervasive and complex and would benefit from interdisciplinary ventilation.

Derek Tracy is the Chief Medical Officer of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He’s a Senior Lecturer at King’s and University College London, and has published over one hundred and twenty peer-reviewed scientific papers and fifteen book chapters. His research interests include New Psychoactive Substances (‘legal highs’) and Derek is a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that advises the Home Office on drug harms. He is the editor for public engagement at the British Journal of Psychiatry, writing its Kaleidoscope and Highlights columns. He likes enthusiastic people, running, and the Stone Roses; he hates butter, whinging, and cats. 

Dr Hester Mannion is a Specialty Registrar dual training in older and general adult in London. Prior to studying medicine she trained and worked as a secondary school English teacher, and worked for seven years with charities in London supporting street homeless and vulnerably housed people.

As a medical undergraduate Hester published articles on Leadership and Followership theory which marked the beginning of her interest in behaviour and engagement of professionals in clinical environments. She is developing an interest in workplace wellbeing in the public sector and helped to organise a webinar focusing on mental health of teachers as part of the 2021 RSM conference series ‘Transforming mental health in schools’.  In 2024, along with some of her fellow OPSIG board members she published an article on the impact of regulation on work-related stress in the BJPsych Bulletin. 

Dr Langford undertook his psychiatric training in London and Oxford, and has been a Consultant in General Adult Psychiatry since 2018. He worked on female and intensive care psychiatric wards in the NHS before moving to independent practice in 2022. He undertakes occupational psychiatry assessments with patients from a range of backgrounds. He is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians, a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, holds a BSc in psychology and a Diploma in Occupational Medicine. He also enjoys working as an expert witness and is a past winner of the RCPsych Morris Markowe prize for public engagement.  

Dr Muzaffer Kaser is a consultant psychiatrist at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and an affiliated assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge. He has been the lead consultant for the establishment of the Staff Mental Health Service, a bespoke mental health clinic for NHS staff in Cambridgeshire that serves over 25,000 healthcare workers. The Staff Mental Health Service (SMHS) provides rapid access to assessments and treatments from a multidisciplinary mental health team. In collaboration with University of East Anglia, they are currently running a health economics evaluation study of the Staff Mental Health Service, investigating the cost-effectiveness of the model.

Dr Kaser trained in psychiatry in Istanbul and in Cambridge. He specialises in general adult psychiatry and liaison psychiatry. He did an MPhil in Translational Medicine and a PhD at the University of Cambridge where he also has worked as NIHR clinical lecturer. His research has focused on the mechanisms and treatments of neurocognitive problems associated with psychiatric conditions. Dr Kaser is a by-fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He is a member of the Occupational Psychiatry Special Interest Group executive committee and a member of the Wellbeing Committee and the at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Elizabeth is a consultant general adult psychiatrist. She has served in the British Army for sixteen years, including working as a General Duties Medical Officer in Afghanistan.

She is currently the Defence Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry, providing expert clinical and clinical policy advice across the Armed Forces, as well as professional leadership of the specialty, in order to support an occupationally focused mental healthcare service for all service personnel. She has led the Department of Community Mental Health Scotland, where she continues active clinical practice.

She joined the OPSIG executive committee in August 2024 as the Military Lead on the committee.

Olufemi is an Occupational Medicine Registrar at the London deanery. He previously completed Core Psychiatry Training and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He also holds the Royal College of Physicians’ Diploma in Geriatric Medicine.  

He joined the OPSIG executive committee in December 2024 as the Occupational Medicine Trainee representative and is interested in occupational psychiatry, digital health, medical entrepreneurship, and venture capital. 

He enjoys running, playing basketball and scuba diving. 

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