Professor David Veale

Written by a patient at The Priory Hospital North London

I've been a patient of Prof Veale for a number of years. I don't see him much now apart from occasional medication reviews or if my OCD was to relapse in a severe way. I respect the views of other people that have commented on his manner. However, I must share an honest and different opinion overall. The first time I met Prof Veale, I didn't feel like he 'got it'. Now I look back though and think, he probably wasn't that surprised by the symptoms, thoughts and feelings I was having because he spends every professional hour of his day with people like me and some worse. I went through a stage of seeing Prof Veale every week. I also had his personal email if I needed to contact him. Over time, I grew very fond of his dry sense of humour and his eccentric manner which many highly academic people possess. Most Psychs are pretty mad and probably have their own issues! When I was at my lowest point, he would always help me and he used the 'tough love' approach that is required when helping someone with OCD. I.e. Not giving reassurance or preventing the use of safety behaviours. This style of treatment is fundamental when treating OCD. When I was at my lowest he took my concerns seriously. I completely disagree that he likes to push pills down people. You can also see this from his professional view on CBT and criticism he has given of drugs in the past. It was only when I became so depressed and agitated that he would even consider allowing me take a small dose anti-psychotic with my anti-d dose to help the process. In fairness, I really had to plead for this so I could dull my mind a little from 24 hour rumination problems. He didn't want to admit me as an inpatient but instead keep me as a daily outpatient so I could practice my exposure therapy in the real world. In the long run, this was absolutely the right decision. Obviously this is just my opinion but for OCD and depression and in terms of a psychiatrist knowing his area, I feel he is probably the best in this country. Hence, why he heads up a number of refractory units and has helped many patients.

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Written by a carer at The Priory Hospital North London

This person has been praised by his peers at the Priory to protect his rapidly diminishing reputation. The truth is that he is a sham, an 'expert' of nothing, and to his shame lacks even the most basic attributes of compassion and dedication. Believe the naysayers. They are the truth tellers,not those who have suddenly come out of the swamp to praise Caesar. I have direct experience of his lack of accountability, care or even interest. He's a pill pusher extraordinaire enmeshed in the 70's. But far worse, he couldn't give a monkey's fart about long term recovery in severe mental health cases. He's a Professor now. That should tell you all you need to know about this obsolete profession. Find another way of helping yourself or your loved ones or you will regret it for a very long time, perhaps forever

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Written by a patient at The Priory Hospital North London

Dr. Veale has been my psychiatrist for over three years now and my experience with him has been a wonderful one!!! Not only is Dr. Veale a remarkable psychiatrist with great insight and understanding, but he's also a warm, genuine and humble man. He is creative in his thought process, always thinking 'outside the box', and has a great sense of humor. He's been a constant cheerleader in my corner throughout the years and has always stood by me and advocated on my behalf. He treats me with respect and has always had my best interest at heart. I definitely wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for Dr. Veale's continuous support, guidance and encouragement. Dr. Veale has always believed in me and has never given up on me. I feel he truly gets me. He never talks at me, but to me, unlike most psychiatrists and is definitely not driven by medication management. I truly feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with such an upstanding man, one whom I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone.

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Written by a carer at The Priory Hospital North London

I took a young family member to see Dr Veale as he was suffering from extreme OCD (among other things) and David Veale seemed to be the local expert. Bad move! Even after an hour-long private conversation when my relative explained his history, Veale did not pick up on the fact that he was suffering from acute withdrawal symptoms from stopping Venflaxine cold turkey three months earlier! Instead of making a proper diagnosis, he sent him off to expensive and traumatic, in his mental state, sessions of group therapy (at not inconsiderable expense) at the Priory. When this failed, as it was guaranteed to do, he put my relative on Sertraline which increased the symptoms and Veale's solution to that, when we notified him of this a couple of years later in a hurried conversation, was to up the dose further! After trying this, he completely freaked out and had to hurriedly return to his original dose and Veale was just not available for telephone advice even though we had paid his fees. My relative was on this medication for three years until we realized exactly why he was feeling so dreadful and stopped taking anything some five months ago. He is still suffering from very unpleasant withdrawal but at least takes some comfort from the fact that he now knows what has caused his fragile mental state and every little improvement gives us added hope that soon he will be free of these horrible chemicals scrambling his brain, but he can never replace those missing years of his youth and is understandably very angry. He is now in recovery from the prescription medication which CAUSED rather than solved the problem. We found this site very useful: http://survivingantidepressants.org/ Dr Veale is a supercilious, cold person - another prime example of the quackery of psychiatry.

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Written by a patient at The Priory Hospital North London

Dr David Veale has been my psychiatrist for almost four years. He has treated me as an inpatient and as an outpatient, for borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphia disorder. I have always felt in safe, compassionate hands with Dr Veale, and I know that he cares about my welfare. He has adapted his therapy style to tailor to my needs, and proved himself flexible and open-minded. He doesn't judge. As a doctor he is cautious yet humane with prescribing drugs - he is not one of those gung-ho psychiatrists who throw more and more medication at the problem; quite the opposite. Since being with him my medication has been stabilised at a level where I can function as a single mother and enjoy life, and while under his care I have started to retrain as a psychotherapist - something that would have been impossible a few years ago. He has a good sense of humour, which I count as an asset. But he takes my problems and my symptoms very seriously. He has always treated me with respect and as an intelligent human being, rather than a patient. He has done re-scripting trauma work with me, CBT and empty-chair work, and for the last few years we have focussed on compassionate-mind therapy. He does his best with his counsel to keep me safe and functioning outside of the therapy hour. He sees his role as in a sense one of 're-parenting', and is therefore boundaried and supportive. He is the country's leading expert on OCD and BDD (and one of the world's leading experts as well), and in addition to writing books about these for both patients and professionals, he cares deeply about the plight of those struggling to get appropriate treatment. He is a trustee for the charities OCD Action and the BDDF (Body Dysmorphia Disorder Foundation), both of which charities I have also been involved with, and has organised conferences and spoken widely about these issues. Having him as my psychiatrist and therapist has empowered me to recover my life and turn it around. Thanks to his care and treatment my daughter has a mum who is engaged and highly functioning, and I have new goals in my life and feel reconnected to my values. I can't recommend him highly enough to somebody who is suffering and looking for a psychiatrist.

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