Rate My Professor Susanna Every-Palmer

Professor Susanna Every-Palmer serves as Head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington, within the Faculty of Medicine, Health Sciences Division. She is also a consultant forensic psychiatrist at MHAIDs, Te Whatu Ora. An academic psychiatrist, she is committed to leveraging multidisciplinary research collaborations to deliver high-quality evidence-based care for individuals with mental illness. Her academic qualifications include an MBChB from the University of Auckland, a Master of Science in Evidence-based Health Care with distinction from the University of Oxford, Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP) in 2008, an Advanced Certificate in Forensic Psychiatry from RANZCP in 2010, and a PhD from the University of Otago focused on mitigating harms in the treatment of serious mental illness, particularly clozapine-related gastrointestinal tract issues.

Every-Palmer has extensive career experience in mental health leadership, having worked as Clinical Director and Director of Area Mental Health Services for Forensic and Rehabilitation Services across New Zealand's lower North Island, encompassing courts, prisons, inpatient, and community forensics. She acted as New Zealand's Director of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health, chaired the New Zealand Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists from 2021 to 2023, and served as a Board Member of the Council of Medical Colleges. She currently holds positions as Vice-President of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists, Co-secretary of the World Psychiatry Association Section on Multi-morbidity, and Deputy Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Her research specializations include reducing health inequities in mental health care, multidisciplinary management of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications and side effects with emphasis on clozapine, forensic psychiatry involving legal frameworks, prisons, and rehabilitation, trauma-informed care, and mental health service development and co-design. Notable publications comprise co-authorship on the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry GRADE guidelines for schizophrenia management (2026), Clozapine and N-desmethylclozapine proficiency testing data 2012-2024 (2026), Effects of face coverings in mental health settings scoping review (2026), Adverse reactions to clozapine related to smoking status (2026), and a chapter on stalking and harassment in Psychiatry and the Law (2025). She supervises postgraduate students in these research domains.