Meet our new Chief Education and Training Officer

Professor Mark Freestone joins The Tavistock and Portman as our new Chief Education and Training Officer and Dean of Postgraduate Studies.

We are delighted to welcome Professor Mark Freestone to the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust as our new Chief Education and Training Officer and Dean of Postgraduate Studies. Professor Freestone brings a wealth of clinical and research expertise to the role, as well as extensive experience in the development of education and training programmes.

Professor Freestone joins us from Queen Mary University of London, where he was Professor of Mental Health at the Centre of Psychiatry and Mental Health, and Director of Education at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health.

With a background in Sociology, Professor Freestone’s work focuses on public and forensic mental health – including research into the efficacy of treatments for those with mental health problems, specifically those at risk of violence or becoming victims of violence. He has consulted on forensic mental health issues for NHS England and the London Violence Reduction Programme, as well as for films and television shows, including the hit BBC drama series, Killing Eve. In 2020, he published a book based on his research and experiences in psychopathy, Making a Psychopath: My Journey into 7 Dangerous minds.

Professor Freestone is an Honorary Senior Researcher at East London NHS Foundation Trust, a Fellow of the Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI), and mental health co-director for the North Thames Applied Research Collaboration (NT-ARC).

On his appointment to the role, Professor Freestone said:

“It is rare to find an organisation where the thinking, practice, research, education and training are so closely aligned – this brings a sort of magic, which makes the Tavistock and Portman so potent. It is an exciting time to take up this post, with opportunities to further strengthen our offer to commissioners, expand our education and professional development offerings and seek out new and exciting research projects. I greatly look forward to meeting my new colleagues, our current students and alumni, and indeed potential future students very soon.”

Professor Freestone will be joining us for our in-person open day on Saturday 15 June, and will open the event with a welcome to all our visitors.