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Associate Professor Susanna Every-Palmer, Head of Department of Psychological Medicine

Dr Susanna Every-Palmer 2019 thumbnailMBChB (Akld), MSc in Evidence-based Health Care (with Distinction, Oxon) FRANZCP, Adv Cert Forensic Psychiatry (RANZCP)

Susanna is an academic psychiatrist who is passionate about using multidiscipliniary research collaborations to inform the highest quality evidence-based care for people with mental illness.

Alongside her role in the unversity, Susanna is concurrently employed as the Director of Area Mental Health Services (DAMHS) for the Central Regional and Forensic Services. She has worked in a number of different areas across the mental health sector, including as Acting Chief Advisor and Director of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health. She is the Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Susanna obtained RANZCP Fellowship in 2008 and her Advanced Certificate in Forensic Psychiatry in 2010. She has a Masters in Evidence Based Medicine from Oxford University and her PhD focussed on mitigating harms in the treatment of serious mental illness.

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Contact details

Email susanna.every-palmer@otago.ac.nz

Positions

  • Head of Department, Department of Psychological Medicine
  • Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, MHAIDs, 3DHB
  • Director of Area Mental Health Services, Central Regional Forensic and Rehabilitation Services

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Memberships

  • Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
  • Member of the New Zealand Forensic Psychiatry Advisory Group
  • Member of the New Zealand Medical Association Specialist Council
  • Director of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists

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Research summary

  • Mental health service development and co-design
  • Reducing health inequities in mental health care
  • Multidisciplinary management of serious mental illness

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Research interests

Susanna’s academic and clinical interests include

  • Mental health service development and co-design
  • Reduding health inequities in mental health care
  • Multidisciplinary management of serious mental illness
  • Antipsychotic treatment and its side effects
  • Forensic psychiatry

Susanna is interested in supervising postgraduate students in any of the research areas listed above or related areas. Please contact her directly.

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Publications

Jenkins, M., Hoek, J., Jenkin, G., Gendall, P., Stanley, J., Beaglehole, B., Bell, C., Rapsey, C., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Silver linings of the COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0249678. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249678

Lyra, R. L. d., McKenzie, S. K., Every-Palmer, S., & Jenkin, G. (2021). Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0251038. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251038

Jenkin, G. L. S., McIntosh, J., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Fit for what purpose? Exploring bicultural frameworks for the architectural design of acute mental health facilities. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 18(5), 2343. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052343

Gendall, P., Hoek, J., Stanley, J., Jenkins, M., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Changes in tobacco use during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand [Brief report]. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa257

Every-Palmer, S., Inns, S. J., & Ellis, P. M. (2020). Constipation screening in people taking clozapine: A diagnostic accuracy study. Schizophrenia Research, 220, 179-186. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.03.032

Journal - Research Article

Jenkins, M., Hoek, J., Jenkin, G., Gendall, P., Stanley, J., Beaglehole, B., Bell, C., Rapsey, C., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Silver linings of the COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0249678. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249678

Jenkin, G. L. S., McIntosh, J., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Fit for what purpose? Exploring bicultural frameworks for the architectural design of acute mental health facilities. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 18(5), 2343. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052343

Lyra, R. L. d., McKenzie, S. K., Every-Palmer, S., & Jenkin, G. (2021). Occupational exposure to suicide: A review of research on the experiences of mental health professionals and first responders. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0251038. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251038

Every-Palmer, S., Inns, S. J., & Ellis, P. M. (2020). Constipation screening in people taking clozapine: A diagnostic accuracy study. Schizophrenia Research, 220, 179-186. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.03.032

Every-Palmer, S., Romans, S. E., Stubbs, R., Tomlinson, A., Gandhi, S., & Huthwaite, M. (2020). Experiences of weight-loss surgery in people with serious mental illness: A qualitative study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 419. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00419

Every-Palmer, S., Cunningham, R., Jenkins, M., & Bell, E. (2020). The Christchurch mosque shooting, the media, and subsequent gun control reform in New Zealand: A descriptive analysis. Psychiatry, Psychology & Law. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2020.1770635

Every-Palmer, S., Jenkins, M., Gendall, P., Hoek, J., Beaglehole, B., Bell, C., Williman, J., Rapsey, C., & Stanley, J. (2020). Psychological distress, anxiety, family violence, suicidality, and wellbeing in New Zealand during the COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE, 15(11), e0241658. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241658

Every-Palmer, S., Inns, S. J., Grant, E., & Ellis, P. M. (2019). Effects of clozapine on the gut: Cross-sectional study of delayed gastric emptying and small and large intestinal dysmotility. CNS Drugs, 33, 81-91. doi: 10.1007/s40263-018-0587-4

Cunningham, R., Poppe, K., Peterson, D., Every-Palmer, S., Soosay, I., & Jackson, R. (2019). Prediction of cardiovascular disease risk among people with severe mental illness: A cohort study. PLoS ONE, 14(9), e0221521. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221521

Every-Palmer, S., Huthwaite, M. A., Elmslie, J. L., Grant, E., & Romans, S. E. (2018). Long-term psychiatric inpatients' perspectives on weight gain, body satisfaction, diet and physical activity: A mixed methods study. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 300. doi: 10.1186/s12888-018-1878-5

Every-Palmer, S., Newton-Howes, G., & Clarke, M. J. (2017). Pharmacological treatment for antipsychotic-related constipation (Review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1, CD011128. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011128.pub2

Every-Palmer, S., Lentle, R. G., Reynolds, G., Hulls, C., Chambers, P., Dunn, H., & Ellis, P. M. (2017). Spatiotemporal mapping techniques show clozapine impairs neurogenic and myogenic patterns of activity in the colon of the rabbit in a dose-dependent manner. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8, 209. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00209

Every-Palmer, S., Ellis, P. M., Nowitz, M., Stanley, J., Grant, E., Huthwaite, M., & Dunn, H. (2017). The Porirua Protocol in the treatment of clozapine-induced gastrointestinal hypomotility and constipation: A pre- and post-treatment study. CNS Drugs, 31(1), 75-85. doi: 10.1007/s40263-016-0391-y

Huthwaite, M., Elmslie, J., Every-Palmer, S., Grant, E., & Romans, S. E. (2017). Obesity in a forensic and rehabilitation psychiatric service: A missed opportunity? Journal of Forensic Practice, 19(4), 269-277. doi: 10.1108/JFP-03-2017-0007

Every-Palmer, S., & Ellis, P. M. (2017). Clozapine-induced gastrointestinal hypomotility: A 22-year bi-national pharmacovigilance study of serious or fatal 'slow gut' reactions, and comparison with international drug safety advice. CNS Drugs, 31(8), 699-709. doi: 10.1007/s40263-017-0448-6

Every-Palmer, S., Nowitz, M., Stanley, J., Grant, E., Huthwaite, M., Dunn, H., & Ellis, P. M. (2016). Clozapine-treated patients have marked gastrointestinal hypomotility, the probable basis of life-threatening gastrointestinal complications: A cross sectional study. EBioMedicine, 5, 125-134. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.02.020

Mellsop, G., Choi, W. K., Every-Palmer, S., Green, B., Heffernan, E., Kachaeva, M., … Wang, X. (2016). Drug driven psychoses and legal responsibility or insanity in six Western Pacific nations. International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, 47, 68-73. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2016.02.037

Every-Palmer, S., Barry-Walsh, J., & Pathé, M. (2015). Harassment, stalking, threats and attacks targeting New Zealand politicians: A mental health issue. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(7), 634-641. doi: 10.1177/0004867415583700

Every-Palmer, S., & Howick, J. (2014). How evidence-based medicine is failing due to biased trials and selective publication. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 20(6), 908-914. doi: 10.1111/jep.12147

Every-Palmer, S., Brink, J., Chern, T. P., Choi, W.-K., Hern-Yee, J. G., Green, B., … Mellsop, G. (2014). Review of psychiatric services to mentally disordered offenders around the Pacific Rim. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 6(1), 1-17. doi: 10.1111/appy.12109

Every-Palmer, S. (2011). Synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 and psychosis: An explorative study. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 117(2-3), 152-157. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.01.012

Palmer, S. E., McLean, R. M., Ellis, P. M., & Harrison-Woolrych, M. (2008). Life-threatening clozapine-induced gastrointestinal hypomotility: An analysis of 102 cases. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 69(5), 759-768.

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Journal - Research Other

Gendall, P., Hoek, J., Stanley, J., Jenkins, M., & Every-Palmer, S. (2021). Changes in tobacco use during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand [Brief report]. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa257

Every-Palmer, S. (2020). Understanding negative predictive values: Clozapine-treated people who do not complain of constipation probably still have slow gut. Schizophrenia Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.06.031

Every-Palmer, S., Romans, S., Law, A., Henry, J., Jenkins, M., & Lawrence, M. (2020). Choosing a career in psychiatry: Expect the unexpected. New Zealand Medical Student Journal, 30, 15-18. [Editorial].

Flanagan, R. J., Lally, J., Gee, S., Lyons, R., & Every-Palmer, S. (2020). Clozapine in the treatment of refractory schizophrenia: A practical guide for healthcare professionals [Invited review]. British Medical Bulletin. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/bmb/ldaa024

Monasterio, E., Every-Palmer, S., Norris, J., Short, J., Pillai, K., Dean, P., & Foulds, J. (2020). Mentally ill people in our prisons are suffering human rights violations. New Zealand Medical Journal, 133(1511), 9-13. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Every-Palmer, S., Flewett, T., Dean, S., Hansby, O., Colman, A., Weatherall, M., & Bell, E. (2019). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with serious mental illness within forensic and rehabilitation services: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 20, 642. doi: 10.1186/s13063-019-3760-2

Every-Palmer, S., Ellis, P. M., Flanagan, R. J., & Baptista, T. (2017). Mild to moderate clozapine-induced gastrointestinal hypomotility should not require cessation of clozapine. General Hospital Psychiatry, 48, 72-73. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2017.06.007

Every-Palmer, S., McBride, S., Berry, H., & Menkes, D. B. (2016). Climate change and psychiatry. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 50(1), 16-18. doi: 10.1177/0004867415615946

Every-Palmer, S., & Souter, V. (2015). Low vitamin D levels found in 95 % of psychiatric inpatients within a forensic service. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(4), 391-392. doi: 10.1177/0004867414562047

Every-Palmer, S., Newton-Howes, G., & Clarke, M. J. (2014). Pharmacological treatment for antipsychotic-related constipation (Protocol). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (5), CD011128. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011128

Every-Palmer, S., Duggal, R., & Menkes, D. B. (2014). Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medication in New Zealand. New Zealand Medical Journal, 127(1401), 102-110. Retrieved from https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal

Every-Palmer, S., & Norris, J. (2013). Not guilty by reason of epilepsy: Post-ictal delirium and psychosis resulting in violent offending. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 47(10), 961-962. doi: 10.1177/0004867413479409

Every-Palmer, S. (2010). Warning: Legal synthetic cannabinoid-receptor agonists such as JWH-018 may precipitate psychosis in vulnerable individuals. Addiction, 105(10), 1859-1860. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03119.x

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Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Every-Palmer, S., Newton-Howes, G., & Clarke, M. J. (2017). Pharmacological treatment for antipsychotic-related constipation. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 43(3), 490-492. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbx011

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Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Cunningham, R., Peterson, D., Poppe, K., Every-Palmer, S., & Jackson, R. (2019). Do we need a different tool for predicting cardiovascular risk among people with severe mental illness? Proceedings of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) 2019 New Zealand Conference. Retrieved from https://www.ranzcp2019.co.nz

Bell, E., Hansby, O., Weatherall, M., Grant, E., Fairley, N. A., & Every-Palmer, S. (2019). Characteristics of "special patients": Preliminary findings from a 20-year retrospective cohort study into clinical, functioning and offending outcomes following rehabilitation. Proceedings of the Otago Spotlight Series: Mental Health Research. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/healthsciences/research/forum/index.html

Every-Palmer, S. (2019). Clozapine and the colon: A clinical perspective [Symposium: Quality and safe use of clozapine: A practitioner's guide]. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 53(Suppl. 1), (pp. 92-93). doi: 10.1177/0004867419836919

Every-Palmer, S. (2019). Mental health research: A chequred history. Proceedings of the Otago Spotlight Series: Mental Health Research. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/healthsciences/research/forum/index.html

Tester, R., Every-Palmer, S., Gardiner, T., & Gordon, S. (2019). World of Difference service user-led, recovery and human rights focused education programme to counter healthcare provider discrimination association with mental distress. Proceedings of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) 2019 New Zealand Conference. Retrieved from https://www.ranzcp2019.co.nz

Every-Palmer, S., Flanagan, R., Glue, P., Menkes, D. B., & Kenedi, C. (2018). Best evidence to best practice: Preventing and managing the life-threatening adverse effects of antipsychotic medication. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(Suppl. 1), (pp. 45). doi: 10.1177/0004867418764980

Menkes, D., Grundy, Q., Every-Palmer, S., Bates, A., Parry, P., Battersby, M., Monasterio, E., Rae, A., … Glue, P., & Newton-Howes, G. (2018). Benefits, harms and ethical implications of sponsored education in psychiatry. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(Suppl. 1), (pp. 52-53). doi: 10.1177/0004867418764980

Every-Palmer, S., Ellis, P., Lentle, R., & Inns, S. (2018). Preventing and managing the life-threatening gastrointestinal effects of clozapine. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(Suppl. 1), (pp. 45). doi: 10.1177/0004867418764980

Jenkin, G., & Every-Palmer, S. (2017). Designer mental health facilities: What do service users want from the design of the adult inpatient facility? Proceedings of the 7th Service User Academia Symposium. (pp. 9). Retrieved from http://www.otago.ac.nz/wellington/departments/psychologicalmedicine/suas/

Every-Palmer, S., & Barry-Walsh, J. (2015). The role of mental illness in the harassment of New Zealand politicians. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(1, Suppl. ), (pp. 67-68). doi: 10.1177/0004867415578344

Every-Palmer, S., & McBride, S. (2015). Climate change and mental health. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 49(1, Suppl. ), (pp. 75). doi: 10.1177/0004867415578344

Every-Palmer, S. (2012). Small sample size: Challenges and reflections on psychosis research in New Zealand. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 4(Suppl. 1), (pp. 68). doi: 10.1111/appy.12003

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Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Every-Palmer, S. (2020, November). The effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the wellbeing on New Zealanders. Invited presentation at the The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) New Zealand Conference: A Climate for Change: Nga Tohu Huarere e panoni haere nei, he ao hurihuri, Napier, New Zealand.

Shearer, R., Tualamali’I, J., Young, W., Cunningham, R., Every-Palmer, S., Keelan, W., … Bonning, J. (2019, June). System reform: What are the government’s next steps. Panel discussion at the Mental Health in the Emergency Department Summit: New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand.

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