Medical Director of the charity Youth Support and have been involved in family assessment for over 30 years and run their residential and day assessment centres and other services. I have experience of both civil and criminal proceedings and am frequently called upon as single joint expert in family and care proceedings. Previously worked for Wandsworth and Lambeth & Southwark (Kings) health authorities at Consultant Community Paediatrician level and as such was in charge of the child protection services and was also the designated Medical Officer on the Lambeth Adoption Panel.
Please note my Charity Address is: 2 St Mary's Road, Tonbridge, Kent
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, MBBS, (1970) Diploma in Child Health, DCH, (1972) Member of the Royal College of Physicians, MRCP, (1977) Doctor of Medicine, MD, (1986) Member Faculty of Community Health MFCH, (1989) Fellow of Royal Institute of Health & Hygiene; MSc Psychotherapy, (1989) Fellowships of the Royal College of Physicians FRCP, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health FRCPPH and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine FSAHM (USA).
Dr Diana Birch is an experienced expert witness in Child and family cases including child protection, custody and contact disputes. She also conducts assessments for refugee minors (including age assessment) and victims of torture.
She is a member of the Academy of Experts.
Holds full Licence to Practise with successful revalidation & continuing annual appraisal as required by the GMC.
A Paediatrician and Psychotherapist experienced in working with young people & families, particularly with respect to child neglect & protection, family disturbance, substance abuse & domestic violence. A leading authority on adolescence and teen pregnancy & have worked with psychopathic personalities, disorders such as borderline personalities, learning disabilities & with children in situations of physical, emotional & sexual abuse, as well as factitious illness (Munchausen)-type syndromes. Also worked with refugees and asylum seeking youth.
I am regularly used by the courts for expert opinion on families and my qualifications and experience are regarded as parallel to those of a child and adolescent psychiatrist in this respect. In assessing families I am also experienced in assessing the adult family members both in their own right and in relation to their children and working in custody disputes and care issues including family alienation cases
