Dr. Annette Antwi-Anyimadu

“My desire to be a physician had a lot to do with that sense of medicine as a ministry of healing, not just a science…” Abraham Verghese

My love for psychiatry began serendipitously! After completing my medical degree at the University of Cape Town, and two subsequent years as an intern at Dr George Mukhari Hospital, (Ga Rankuwa), during my community service year at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg, I was assigned to psychiatry for the latter half of the year. My hands-on experience in managing cases both individually and with a multidisciplinary team birthed in me an insatiable passion and fascination for the field. I was awestruck by the uniqueness and complexities of our individual minds, and my decision to jump in head first from then onwards has been one I have not looked back on.

I spent a further six months as a medical officer at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, and thereafter commenced my specialist training with the University of Witwatersrand, where I gained invaluable experience in Acute Psychiatry on an inpatient and outpatient basis, community psychiatry, consult liaison psychiatry, child psychiatry, forensic psychiatry within numerous facilities such as Tara Hospital, Sterkfontein Hospital, Helen Joseph Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, and numerous community clinics in the Johannesburg metro, East Rand, West Rand and Sedibeng areas. I am now practicing as a specialist psychiatrist at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, in an attempt to give back to where my journey began.

It has been a true privilege and a fascinating experience exploring the biological bases behind numerous mental health conditions. Over the years I have grown immensely to confidently and unapologetically hold my own as a mental health advocate. I believe that being a psychiatrist has been a calling from God over my life, and I pride myself in being dedicated to the journey I embark on with every patient that enters my consultation room. I truly believe that there is no health without mental health!

I am thrilled to have joined The Couch on a part-time basis to build on this journey.