Andrew McWilliams

Andrew McWilliams is a Clinical Research Fellow and PhD student at King's College London, affiliated with the School of Academic Psychiatry and Department of Psychological Medicine. He is also a specialist registrar in child and adolescent psychiatry, working on the Mental Health and Justice Project, an interdisciplinary initiative exploring decision-making capacity and metacognition assessment.

Education:

• Bachelor's in Natural Sciences (University of Cambridge)
• Medicine (Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, recipient of the Strauss Prize in Psychological Medicine)
• Academic clinical fellowship in psychiatry (Maudsley Programme)
• Higher trainee at Great Ormond Street/Royal London Hospitals

Research focuses on metacognition (thinking about thinking), its role in decision authenticity, and clinical applications in populations like Parkinson's and dementia patients. Collaborations include UCL with Prof. Anthony David and Dr. Stephen Fleming. He also investigates functional neurological disorders in pediatrics and Court of Protection practices.

Publications highlight work on pediatric tic disorders during the pandemic, capacity assessment challenges, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Awards include the 2019 AACAP Senior Researcher Award and Rising Star in Public Engagement.

Key contributions: Development of gamified metacognition measurement tools and advocacy for arts in mental health. Active in clinical teaching as an examiner for MRCPsych (2017).