News
June 2024: Dr Spencer addressed the Medico-Legal Conference, at the Congress Centre, London, on 20 June 2024.
He spoke on the subject of 'PTSD, Chronic Pain and the Medico-Legal Process'.
News Archive
June 2024: Dr Spencer addressed the 11th Annual Scientific Conference of the European Association for Psychosomatic Medicine, which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 12-15 June 2024.
He addressed the conference on the subject of 'Current opinion on psychological trauma in chronic pain'. Dr Spencer also organised and chaired the symposium, 'The Embodied Environment: Chronic Pain and its Surroundings'.
June 2024: Dr Spencer was elected Chair of the Chronic Pain Special Interest Group of the European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine (EAPM).
April 2024: Dr Spencer has been appointed Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the UCLH Pain Management Centre, at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
UCLH Pain Management Centre is a nationally recognized centre of excellence for people with longstanding pain. They have a multi professional service made up of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and psychologists. They provide help to minimise pain where possible and maximise quality of life.
March 2024: Dr Spencer delivered the lecture, 'Psychosocial correlates of outcome of neuromodulation for chronic pain', on 7 March 2024, to MSc students at UCL.
January 2024: Dr Spencer delivered training on the subject of PTSD and Complex PTSD to the First Response Service (FRS) and Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams (CRHTT) of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, on 31 January 2024.
The First Response Service supports people experiencing a mental health crisis. It provides 24-hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year access to mental health care, advice and support, and is accessed by calling 111, and selecting the mental health option.
September 2023: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2023 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, which was held on 22 September 2013 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He organised the session, 'Psychiatry - PTSD and ethical issues', and addressed the conference on the subject of 'Psychiatric diagnosis in PTSD'.
This was the twelth Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference.
September 2023: Dr Spencer delivered training on the subject of Autism Spectrum Disorders to the First Response Service (FRS) and Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams (CRHTT) of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, on 6 September 2023.
September 2022: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2022 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, which was held on 23 September 2022 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
This was the eleventh Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference.
September 2021: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2021 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, which was held on 24 September 2021 at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
This was the tenth Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference (with no conference having been held in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions).
May 2020:During Mental Health Awareness Week, 2020, Dr Spencer gave a live television interview (20 May 2020) on BBC One, Look East, and a live radio interview (18 May 2020) on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire discussing the work of the NHS Mental Health First Response Service (FRS) in responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 2020: Dr Spencer has joined the NHS Mental Health First Response Service (FRS) of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust as Consultant Psychiatrist, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to work on the front-line in mental health during the time of crisis.
The First Response Service supports people experiencing a mental health crisis. It provides 24-hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year access to mental health care, advice and support, and is accessed by calling 111, and selecting the mental health option.
September 2019: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2019 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, which was held on 27 September 2019 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He also organised and was a speaker within the session, 'Somatic Symptom Disorders: definitions, causation and prognosis'.
This was the ninth Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference.
September 2018: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2018 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, to be held on 28 September 2018 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He also chaired the session, 'The Role of Anxiety and Psychological Trauma in Chronic Pain'.
This was the eighth Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference.
November 2017: Dr Spencer has been appointed Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist in the Pain Services at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
The Guys' and St Thomas' Pain Management and Neuromodulation Centre is internationally recognised as a centre of clinical and academic excellence in the management of chronic pain.
September 2017: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2017 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, held on 29 September 2017 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He also chaired the session on 'Functional Neurological Symptoms / Somatic Symptom Disorders: Causation, Diagnosis and Treatment'.
May 2017: Dr Spencer addressed the 50th Anniversary Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Pain Society at the ICC, Birmingham, on 3 May 2017.
He addressed the conference, within the Session 'Chronic post-traumatic pain – the impact of psychiatric disorders', on the subject of 'Post-traumatic stress disorder: why does it matter?'
September 2016: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2016 Cambridge Annual Medico-Legal Conference, which was held on 30 September 2016 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He also addressed the conference on the subject of 'When is it best to treat from a psychiatric perspective?'
October 2015: Dr Spencer co-organised the conference at the Royal Society of Medicine, “Chronic pain and psychiatry: hype, hope and facts”, on 13 October 2015.
He also chaired the session on 'Psychiatry and pain syndromes'
The aim of this conference was to help delegates: i) identify the psychological factors contributing to chronic pain; ii) use broader treatment approaches to chronic pain; and iii) feel more confident in addressing psychological and pharmacological aspects of pain management.
Dr Spencer is a Council Member of the Pain Medicine Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
September 2015: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2015 Medico-Legal Pain Conference, held on 25 September 2015 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He also chaired the session on 'Prognosis post litigation: Do claimants really get better?'
June 2015: Dr Spencer addressed the Faculty of Pain Medicine Study Day: Medico-legal Issues in Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists, London, on 5 June 2015.
He addressed the conference on the subject of 'The medico-legal assessment of a patient in pain: the Psychiatric perspective in chronic pain cases'.
April 2015: Dr Spencer addressed the 9 Gough Square Fundamental Dishonesty Seminar at the Lincoln Centre, Lincoln's Inn Fields, on 30 April 2015.
Dr Spencer addressed the Seminar on the subject of 'Does discrepancy equal dishonesty? The Psychiatric perspective in chronic pain cases'.
March 2015: Dr Spencer addressed the Pain Seminar at ACE Europe, Glasgow, on 19 March 2015.
He addressed the seminar on the subject of 'Chronic Pain – The Psychiatrist's Perspective'.
November 2014: Dr Spencer co-organised the conference at the Royal Society of Medicine, “Insights into the genesis and maintenance factors for chronic pain and how we should treat it”, on 19 November 2014.
Dr Spencer also addressed this conference on the subject of 'Does childhood abuse condemn one to a lifetime of chronic pain experience?'
The aim of the conference was to bring together a panel of leading experts to speak on all aspects of chronic pain, bridging the gaps between neural, physiological and psychological factors, clinical practice and its treatment within the legal system. The meeting aimed to educate and inform clinicians and lawyers, to debate controversies and to build greater understanding.
November 2014: Dr Spencer addressed the Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA) London Winter Conference 2014 at Gray’s Inn, London, on 15 November 2014.
He addressed the conference on the subject of 'Chronic Pain – The Psychiatrist's Perspective'.
September 2014: Dr Spencer co-organised the 2014 Medico-Legal Pain Conference, held on 26 September 2014 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge. He also chaired the session on 'Consent: an introduction to a no win situation for clinicians?'
September 2014: Dr Spencer addressed the 9 Gough Square Personal Injury Seminar at the London Law Society, on 11 September 2014.
He addressed the Seminar on the subject of 'Psychological Injury and the Interaction with Pain'.
December 2013: Dr Spencer addressed the Pain Syndrome Conference, Liverpool Law Society, which was held on 11 December 2013.
He addressed the conference, accredited by APIL Training, on the subject of 'The relevance of psychiatric factors in chronic pain cases'.
September 2013: Dr Spencer addressed the 2013 Medico-Legal Pain Conference, held on 27 September 2013 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
He addressed the conference on the subject of 'Childhood factors and their influence on condition and prognosis'.
This was the third annual Medico-Legal Pain Conference - following on from the inaugural conference in 2011 and the second conference in 2012 which were both huge successes, well attended by members of the medical and legal professions.
September 2013: Dr Spencer addressed the University of Birmingham Pain Forum Day - speaking on the subject of 'Personality disorders and childhood traumas: their relevance to your chronic pain practice'.
April 2013: Dr Spencer addressed the University of Birmingham Pain Forum Day - speaking on the subject of 'Emotions - from normal to pathological'.
November 2012: Dr Spencer has been appointed Assistant Editor of the Journal of Observational Pain Medicine.
This is an open-access peer-reviewed Journal, the scope of which is to publish high quality papers covering all aspects of pain medicine. The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Observational Pain Medicine is Dr Rajesh Munglani, Consultant in Pain Medicine.
April 2012: Dr Spencer has been appointed Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, to deliver psychiatric input to a highly regarded NHS multi-disciplinary pain service, with particular experience in managing chronic pain conditions including Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).
He will provide psychiatric input to the multi-disciplinary pain clinic based at the West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds; his NHS pain clinic caseload comprises patients from across the lifespan (adults as well as adolescents) with pain conditions and/or significant psychological and psychiatric presentations.