"Dr Melfi had deep wisdom and strength in her character, I thought, I’d like a bit of that."

This blog post interview with Dr Sean Treadwell is part of the 2024 Choose Psychiatry campaign.

Dr Sean Treadwell knew he wanted to become a psychiatrist after watching the Sopranos. He studied psychology originally, then retrained as doctor, and then a psychiatrist. Read the fascinating story of his career so far, why he is planning to have a break, and about his hopes for the future.

Please tell us why you chose psychiatry?

The crucible of my interest in psychiatry and the direction of my life in general can be traced back to watching The Sopranos boxset with my mum when I was 12 years old.

The classic HBO drama follows the story of mob boss Tony Soprano and the relationships with his biological family, his crime family and (notably for me): his psychiatrist Dr Melfi.

There was a deep wisdom and strength in her character, and I thought to myself, I’d like a bit of that.

I thought in order to become Dr Melfi I simply needed a Psychology BSc. I was quite an immature teenager and I hadn’t really done my research.

When I had my humble degree from Exeter, I returned to college to collect a chemistry A level and then moved to Sheffield to train in medicine with a view to continue the path to psychiatry after graduation.

After my foundation years in the Leeds area, I lost my way a little and spent nearly 3 years working as a locum in A&E during lockdown.

I stepped foot onto core psychiatry training in February of 2022 and felt like I had landed in an ideology and philosophy that was more familiar to me than the wider field of medicine.

Having passed all of my exams, I am now a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and I look forward to the remaining journey ahead.

You’re now towards the end of core training – what have you enjoyed about being a psychiatrist so far, and has it been what you expected?

In a practical sense, I have enjoyed the breadth of the experience that is on offer in core training. I have had rotations in community elderly, inpatient general adult, CAMHS psychiatric ICU, community general adult, liaison psychiatry and medical psychotherapy.

Each of these 6-month rotations have given me something different to think about, another perspective to enjoy and another set of skills to use to understand the mind and help heal the patients that come under my care.

As to whether it has been what I expected… I think my perception of psychiatry looking towards core training was very narrow.

I thought of the whole of psychiatry as essentially general adult psychiatry and core training has sort of done what it said on the tin: it has given me the core understanding of psychiatric concepts and laid a foundation of experience to base the rest of my career on.

My personal dilemma (and it is one that I am thankful for) is that I struggle to imagine narrowing my focus to a particular sub-specialty when I find all of it interesting.

You’re planning to take a break between core and higher training. Please tell us about your plans.

I am still not completely sure where my journey will take me. I know I am interested in psychotherapy and, since there are limited spaces to CCT in medical psychotherapy, I have some time to wait until I can apply to the 5-year dual training in Leeds.

In the interim, my plan is to get a SAS job in the local area and continue accruing experience in psychotherapy in whatever form that takes.

Outside of my career, I am a keen forager and have a crossover interest in the emerging field of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy. I am involved in a local psychedelic medicine special interest group in Leeds and I hope to spend some more time nurturing this with my co-founders.

What are your aspirations further on in your career?

It is my hope that I am successful in pursuing a dual-CCT in either general adult or CAMHS and medical psychotherapy and that I will eventually lead a service as a consultant. My perspective is heavily influenced by psychoanalysis and I will continue to train in this outside of work as it is a passion that brings a great richness to life and work alike.

In addition to clinical work, I would love to find a position that allows me to share my enthusiasm for psychology and psychiatry with students. Whether that be teaching at a university or post-graduate level that is yet to be known.