Dr Samantha Scholtz
Psychiatry
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Qualifications
MBChB MRCPsych PhD
Special Interests
Bariatric Psychiatry, Weight Management, Psychiatry
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Consultation fees
Initial Fee: £350
Follow Up Fee: £250
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My Practice
Dr Scholtz works in an integrated way, considering all aspects of physiology and psychology and the interaction of these personalised approach for her patients.
Professional Biography
Dr Samantha Scholtz is a Consultant Psychiatrist at King Edward VII's Hospital, specialising in the management of long term conditions, including obesity and related disorders, as well as the preparation of patients for bariatric surgery. {{ label }}
Dr Scholtz is also a general psychiatrist and sees patients with mood and anxiety disorders, bipolar affective disorder, trauma-related conditions, bereavement and chronic physical health conditions.
Dr Scholtz has worked at the NHS Trust, Imperial Weight Centre, St Mary’s Hospital for the past 15 years, as part of a multi-disciplinary team, providing psychiatric care for people on weight management treatment pathways.
She graduated from Stellenbosch University and completed her higher specialist training at St. George’s University of London, where she also worked for 3 years in a national eating disorders unit. Additionally, she has worked at West London NHS trust for the past 10 years, and for the last five years also held a corporate role of research and development director at West London NHS Trust.
Dr Scholtz holds a PhD from Imperial College London, funded by the Welcome Trust Charity and examined appetite and food reward changes in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery using functional magnetic resonance imaging. She enjoys research and continues to publish in the area of psychological management of people living with obesity and related conditions, recently with a focus on the lived experience thereof. Dr Scholtz presents at national and international conferences in her area of expertise.
Her approach to clinical practice is integrated care, and she works on the premise that we better address problems in our lives if we understand the mechanism contributing to these, both physiological and psychological and the interaction of these. She values working in a multi-disciplinary team, which is how she has always worked as a psychiatrist, and believes that when it comes to supporting a patient managing their own long term conditions, a team approach affords the patient the skills and expertise needed to support recovery better than any individual clinician, however good that clinician may be. She uses pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches in her practice and work with patients to support their preferred treatment options, presenting them with the best evidence available to inform that choice.
Dr Scholtz is also trained in various psychotherapeutic approaches and uses a cognitive behavioural or cognitive analytical approach.
- Additional Information
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COVID-19 Specific Projects / Groups
Dr Scholtz set up and chaired COVID-19 ethics committee for West London NHS Trust
Career Highlights
- Invited speaker at international conferences
- Published in peer reviewed journals in my area of expertise
- Executive on faculty of eating disorders at Royal College of Psychiatry PhD in neuroscience
Awards
- Dr McKintosh Bursary 1994 – 1999
- Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship 2009-2012
- Shortlisted Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award, Obesity Society 2011
- Nominated for Royal College Psychiatrists Communicator Award
Memberships
- March 2020 – present: Chair of West London Clinical Ethics Group
- September 2021 – present: Co-Chair North West London Data Access Group for DiscoverNOW dataset
- January 2021 – present – Member North West London Sector Clinical Ethics Committee
- April 2020 – present – Faculty member Faculty of Eating Disorders, Royal College of
Psychiatrist - March 2017 – present – Member Adviosry Group on Nutirion, Weight and Health, Royal
College of Physicians
Publications
- Pressanto C, Scholtz S, Ali N. Obesity and bariatric surgery in adults living with severe
mental illness: perceptions and clinical challenges. BJPsych Bull. 2022 Jun 14:1-6. - Salem V, Demetriou L, Behary P, Alexiadou K, Scholtz S, Tharakan G, Miras AD,
Purkayastha S, Ahmed AR, Bloom SR, Wall MB, Dhillo WS, Tan TM. Weight Loss by
Low-Calorie Diet Versus Gastric Bypass Surgery in People With Diabetes Results in
Divergent Brain Activation Patterns: A Functional MRI Study. Diabetes Care. 2021
Aug;44(8):1842-1851. - Arhi CS, Dudley R, Moussa O, Ardissino M, Scholtz S, Purkayastha S. The Complex
Association Between Bariatric Surgery and Depression: a National Nested-Control
Study. Obes Surg. 2021 May;31(5):1994-2001. - Hameed S, Salem V, Alessimii H, Scholtz S, Dar O, Miras AD, Meeran K, Bloom SR,
Ahmed AR, Purkayastha S, Chahal H, Tan T. Imperial Satiety Protocol: A new nonsurgical weight-loss programme, delivered in a health care setting, produces improved
clinical outcomes for people with obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2021
Jan;23(1):270-275. - Purkayastha P, Scholtz S, Ramezani R, Ahmed AR, Chahal H, Darzi A, Blakemore AIF.
Tracking physical activity using smart phone apps: assessing the ability of a current app
and systematically collecting patient recommendations for future development. BMC
Med Inform Decis Mak. 2020 Feb 3;20(1):17 - Miras A, Pérez-Pevida B, Aldhwayan M, Kamocka A, McGlone E, Al-Najim W,
Chahal H, Batterham R, McGowan B, Khan O, Greener V, Ahmed A, Petrie A, Scholtz
S, Bloom S, Tan T Adjunctive Liraglutide treatment in patients with persistent or
recurrent type 2 diabetes after metabolic surgery: the GRAVITAS randomised controlled
trial, accepted for publication in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology 2019 - Scholtz S, Le Roux C Psychological support for bariatric surgery book review, The
Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology ( IF 19.313 ) Pub Date : 2019-03-26 , DOI: 10.1016/
S2213-8587(19)30112-3
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