About Me

Hi, I am Dr Jane Brown MD (MA, Sofia), Specialist Psychiatrist (BG, SA) with extensive experience as a psychiatrist practicing in both Europe and South Africa. My training and practice are in the tradition and spirit of European school of psychiatry, psychology and philosophy. My basic medical degree is from Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria followed by two obtained specialties of psychiatry from Bulgaria and South Africa. My clinical experience includes completing courses and visits at Liverpool University, United Kingdom; Medical School, Budapest, Hungary; Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany; William James Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Lundbeck Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark, as well as the attendance of numerous symposia and congresses on different psychiatric topics. I hold registrations with the Health Professional Council of South Africa; Royal College of Psychiatry, United Kingdom and Ministry of Health, Bulgaria. I have occupied academic positions at Medical Academy, Sofia and Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. I have also participated in work and research for the World Health Organisation (WHO). I have been in private practice for more than two decades.

My Special Interests

My clinical interest lie in the area of affective disorders: anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and bipolar affective disorders. Beside the challenge of correct and early diagnosis my therapeutic approach is multifaceted – biological, psychotherapeutic, social and educational. Taking an existential approach, I place the ability of the individuals to establish their own meaning of existence as a major factor in preventing, coping and recovering from the affective disorder. I am particularly interested in two aspects of human functioning: firstly, in the context of contemporary lifestyles, the emotional and behavioural response to difficult/different life circumstances (including adjustment disorders, burnout, identity crisis) and, secondly, the effect of repressed feelings on emotional health. I have a special interest in creativity and mental disorders.

Why You Should Work With me

My professional understanding is based on a holistic approach to the person and their mental health and incorporates psychotherapy and medication. The three areas of social, psychological and biological existence and functioning are in complex and constant interaction with mutual influence on each other. The outside world with its events and challenges affects the individual according to their personality, coping strategies, and learned responses. This defines human emotions, thoughts and behaviour which, reflected through the genetic make-up, translate into biochemical and brain functional disturbances. The biological abnormalities themselves impact on all previously mentioned emotional, cognitive and behavioural aspects of being. This structuralistic approach addresses social, psychological and biological problems with different emphasis in different stages of the treatment. The model is as much universal as personalized and this individual approach is central to my work. An essential characteristic of the philosophy outlined above sees a focus on existential matters with the majority of patients. Exploring the meaning of human existence, loneliness, freedom and death, is the foundation of this existential approach in order to create harmony in human life. I see this as important in the prevention of, or recovery from, affective disorders.