Dr Kieran Owens

Dr Owens obtained his medical degree from the University of New South Wales. He trained in psychiatry at Prince of Wales Hospital, St George Hospital, and Westmead Hospital, and he undertook subspecialty training in psychiatry of old age. He was the recipient of a HETI Psychiatry Special Training Award that funded a fellowship with Professor Colleen Loo at the Black Dog Institute where he received training in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression and conducted related research on brain stimulation. 

Prior to psychiatry, Dr Owens completed four years of hospital training in general and emergency medicine. This background helps him to care for patients with mental health issues that interact with or stem from general medical conditions. He holds an undergraduate degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in artificial intelligence. He plans to commence a PhD in 2023 in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney that will focus on machine learning methods for the analysis of brain dynamics.

Dr Owens treats adults aged 18 and over and has a special interest in mood disorders, cognitive disorders, and neuropsychiatry, as well as mental health issues in adults over age 65. For mood disorders, Dr Owens has experience with the use of lifestyle and social interventions, psychotherapy, medication and brain stimulation (TMS, ECT). For cognitive disorders, he offers diagnostic assessment for dementia and can manage neuropsychiatric symptoms that arise in conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, such as impaired memory, agitation, hallucinations, psychosis, and depression. He can also develop plans to help reduce the risk of delirium in older patients undergoing elective surgery.