Profile
Dr David Teo is a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist with the Department of Psychological Medicine and Department of Sleep Medicine Surgery and Science at Changi General Hospital (CGH). He heads CGH’s Health Wellness Programme (ASCAT CGH) and Medical Humanities programme. His subspecialty interests are in treating mental health and sleep conditions in youth and the medically ill, psychosomatic medicine, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. As a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, he is experienced in combining medications and psychotherapy in the holistic treatment of a broad range of mental disorders across the life span.
Dr Teo graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 2008. He was conferred Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (United Kingdom) in 2013 and attained specialist accreditation in Psychiatry in 2016. He is a Fellow of the College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine Singapore, and Secretary of the Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. He completed advanced training in Psychosomatic Medicine (Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry) at the New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Centre under the Health Manpower Development Plan Fellowship Award. To enhance his expertise in delivering integrated person-centred care, he is also trained in Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Group Analysis.
Apart from clinical work, Dr Teo is a passionate educator. He is Clinical Assistant Professor with Duke-NUS Medical School; Senior Clinical Lecturer with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, NUS; Clinical Teacher with the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, NTU; and Clinical Faculty with the National Psychiatry Residency Programme. He regularly trains healthcare providers and speaks on various mental health topics at conferences and public forums.
Dr Teo is active in research and advisory work. He has published widely and served as reviewer and editor for international peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. He serves on the international advisory board of the journal Psychodynamic Psychiatry and is Secretary of the World Psychiatric Association Psychotherapy Section. He serves as an expert advisor on several national mental health workgroups and committees to improve accessibility and quality of mental healthcare in Singapore.
Education
- FAMS (Psychiatry) (Academy of Medicine, Singapore), 2017
- MRC Psych (RCPsych, United Kingdom), 2013
- MBBS (NUS, Singapore), 2008
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Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships
Programme Director, Health Wellness Programme (ASCAT CGH)
Secretary, Section of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine, Singapore
- Fellow, College of Psychiatrists, Academy of Medicine, Singapore
- Clinical Assistant Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School
- Clinical Senior Lecturer, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore
Secretary, World Psychiatric Association Psychotherapy Section
Co-Chair, World Psychiatric Association Psychotherapy Section, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry SIG
- Clinical Teacher, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University-Imperial College London
- Clinical Faculty, NHG Psychiatry Residency Programme
- Physician Faculty, SingHealth Family Medicine Residency Programme
- Visiting Lecturer, School of Health Sciences, Nanyang Polytechnic
- Faculty, SingHealth Duke-NUS, Institute of Patient Safety and Quality
- CGH Lead and EXCO Member, Office of Medical Humanities, SingHealth Duke-NUS Medicine Academic Clinical Programme
- Member, International Advisory Board, Psychodynamic Psychiatry
- Member, Singapore Medical Association
Member, National Community Mental Health Resource Network Workgroup, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Member, Implementation Committee for the Tiered Care Model for Mental Health, Ministry of Health, Singapore
Member, Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being, Ministry of Health, Singapore
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Awards
- Gold Award, Singapore Health Quality Service Awards, 2024
- SingHealth Excellence (Distinguished Team) Award - Team Leader, 2023
- SingHealth Duke-NUS Medicine Academic Clinical Programme Senior Educator Award, 2020
- SingHealth 10-year Long Service Award, 2019
- Health Manpower Development Plan (HMDP) Fellowship Award 2018 - Psychosomatic Medicine Across Hospital and Community Settings - A New Paradigm of Seamless, Integrated Care
- Changi General Hospital Quality Improvement Festival 2018 - Silver Award
- Changi General Hospital Research Grant 2017 - A Qualitative Study on the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Depressive Symptoms and Deliberate Self-Harm in Depressed Adolescents
- 3rd SingHealth Duke-NUS Education Conference, 2017 – Merit / Commendation Award
- Changi General Hospital Quality Improvement Festival 2015 – Silver Award
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Publications
Teo DCL, Silvio JR, Condemarín R, Nair SS, Alfonso CA, Tasman A. Combined Psychotherapy and Somatic Treatments. In: Tasman A, Riba MB, Schulze TG, Ng C, Alfonso CA, Lecic-Tosevski D, et al., editors. Tasman's Psychiatry 5ed: Springer; 2023.
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-42825-9_95-1
Siste K, Teo DCL, Sotsky J, Ruzyanei N, Mwita M, Alfonso CA (2023). Suicide and HIV. In The Pocket Guide to HIV Psychiatry, Edited by MA Cohen MA and LS Pereira. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press Publishing, Inc.
- Peh ALH, CS Lim, Teo DCL (eds). Guide to Psychiatry in Primary Care. 2022 (ISBN 978-981-14-5738-8)
- Alfonso CA, Teo DCL, Sotsky J, Siste K, Jaafar NRN, Mwita M. Suicide in HIV. Springer International Publishing; 2022. p. 309-25.
- Teo DCL, Wuan EK, Lee DS, Tay AT, Cheng SE. Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Singapore. Psychodynamic Psychiatry. 2022 Sep;50(3):453-60.
- Teo DCL, Ng J, Soo SC, Kwan CSY, Tan WM, Ho SCW, Peh ALH. The Ecosystem of Community Mental Health in Singapore. The Singapore Family Physician, 2022;48(4):58-59.
- Nair SS, Chua JM,
Teo DCL. Lurasidone-Induced Manic Switch in an Adolescent with Bipolar I Disorder: a Case Report. East Asian Arch Psychiatry 2021;31:80-2. doi: 10.12809/eaap2040
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Teo DCL, Yan S, Tan MSQ, Lim HK, Tirtajana I, Saffari ES, Peh LH. Impact of an Integrated Care Programme on Patient-reported Outcomes for Mild to Moderate Mental Health Conditions in Singapore – A Pilot Study. Singapore Medical Journal. 2021; 62 (5), 230-234.
- Nair S, Kwan SY, Ng CWM,
Teo DCL. Approach to the Patient with Multiple Somatic Symptoms. Singapore Medical Journal. 2021; 62 (5), 252-258.
- Tan YK, Kwan YH,
Teo DCL, Velema M, Deinum J, Tan PT, et al. Improvement in quality of life and psychological symptoms after treatment for primary aldosteronism: Asian Cohort Study. Endocr Connect. 2021;10(8):834-44.
- Ng JWL, Peh ALH,
Teo DCL, Goh LG. Preventing Mental Illness: The Role of Primary Care Physicians. The Singapore Family Physician. 2021;47(7):27-31.
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Teo DCL, Kamaneh S, Duchonova K, Ng JWL. Religion, Spirituality, Belief systems and suicide. In: Suicide by Self-Immolation – Biopsychosocial and Transcultural Aspects. Springer. 2021
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Teo DCL, Della DC, Michael MC, Tay TS. Affective States in Suicide. In: Suicide by Self-Immolation – Biopsychosocial and Transcultural Aspects. Springer. 2021
- Della CD,
Teo DCL, Agiananda F, Nimnuan C. Culturally informed psychotherapy in Asian consultation‐liaison psychiatry. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry. 2021;13(1). doi: 10.1111/appy.12431.
- Olarte SW,
Teo DCL, Alfonso CA. Intermittent Treatment with the Psychodynamic Psychiatrist: A Patient-Centered Approach. Psychodyn Psychiatry. 2020 Fall;48(3):314-336. doi: 10.1521/pdps.2020.48.3.314. PMID: 32996848.
- Yan S, Wuan KM, Peh LH, Tay TS, Ho CW, Saffari SE,
Teo DCL. Impact of Experience-Based, Longitudinal Psychiatry Training on Family Medicine Residents’ Attitudes Toward Depression and Psychiatry in Singapore: a Prospective Study. Academic Psychiatry (2018). doi: 10.1007/s40596-018-1006-3.
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Teo DCL, Wong HK, Tan SN. Atypical Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Precipitated by Clozapine and Quetiapine Overdose: A Diagnostic Challenge. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. 2018 Jul;15(7-8):20.
- Wuan E, Tay TS, Peh LH,
Teo DCL. Dynamic interactions in the Primary Care Consultation and An Introduction to Balint Groups. Singapore Family Physician. 2018 44(4): 32-34.
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Teo DCL, Abraham AM, Peh AL. Folie à deux and Fregoli syndrome with greater severity in the ‘secondary’– A case report. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2017 Feb 28;25:254-5.
- Ng ES, Tan CH,
Teo DCL, Seah CY, Phua KH. Knowledge and perceptions regarding colorectal cancer screening among Chinese — a community-based survey in Singapore. Preventive medicine. 2007 Nov 30;45(5):332-5.
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Research Trials
- Principle Investigator: A Qualitative Study on the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Depressive Symptoms and Deliberate Self-Harm in Depressed Adolescents, 2017
- Principle Investigator: A Survey on the Attitudes and Perceptions of Psychiatrists and Psychiatry Residents Working in Public Hospitals in Singapore on Spirituality and Psychiatry, 2017
- Co-Investigator: A phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial to examine the efficacy and safety Iclepertin once daily over 26 week treatment period in patients with schizophrenia (CONNEX-2)
- Co-Investigator: Risk Perception and Psychosocial Impact of COVID-19 on Health Care Workers, 2020
- Co-Investigator: Time to Discontinuation for Psychotropic Medication in Outpatient Psychiatric Patients, 2016
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