Dr. Joseph Rodrigues

Clinical Background & Leadership

I completed my medical and surgical degrees at Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Medical School and specialist psychiatric training on the world-renowned prestigious Bethlem & Maudsley Hospital scheme working with world experts in national specialist centres of excellence.

I previously served as Medical Director and National Clinical Director at Priory Healthcare, overseeing clinical governance and service development, providing clinical and managerial leadership across Priory sites nationwide. I was also instrumental in developing the first pilot service to provide bespoke therapeutic placements to support children and adults with severe presentations of autism accepting referrals from NHS trusts across the UK.

I currently work as a Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, supporting patients at the complex interface of physical and mental health.

Alongside clinical work, I am actively involved in teaching medical students and training resident doctors. I have also presented my academic research internationally.

Areas of Specialist Expertise

• Adult Autism Diagnosis (including masking/ social camouflaging)
  Identifying autism in high-functioning adults using structured clinical interviews and tools such as ADOS‑2, with a focus on lived experience—not surface behaviours alone.
• Neuro-Affirmative Psychiatry
  Moving away from deficit-based models toward understanding strengths, sensory needs, cognitive style, and identity.
• Autistic Burnout & Unmasking Support
  Helping adults understand the psychological cost of long-term masking and rebuild sustainable ways of living.
• Complex & Treatment-Resistant Presentations
  Precision psychopharmacology informed by neurobiological insight and decades of psychiatry experience.

Clinical Philosophy — Hearing Your Story

“I am interested in hearing your story and aim to use my broad and diverse experience to assist you in achieving optimal mental health.”

I believe psychiatric assessment should feel like a supportive conversation, not an interrogation. My work is collaborative, compassionate, and deeply personalised—focused on helping you understand your unique brain rather than trying to “fix” who you are.

During your assessment you will share your views and life experience to have a better understanding of your characteristics which can be interpreted as clinical indicators of Autism where I will develop a formulation which will empower you to understand yourself better, maximise your strengths and validate your experiences. Following your assessment I will devise a personalised care plan and provide you with a curated workplace and / or educational accommodation plan to support you to achieve your future goals. This plan can also include working with our team of expert psychologists, coaches or further psychiatric assessment or treatment if it is indicated and agreed.

I am acknowledged by my peers and received feedback from patients on my ability to re-frame autism from previous stigmatising diagnoses into a meaningful framework for self-understanding and providing a springboard to achieve their goals through a personalised workplace/educational adjustment plan —especially for adults who have spent years exhausting themselves trying to adapt to the neurotypical world and experiencing burnout often misdiagnosed as anxiety and depression.

Appointments & Services

• In-Person Consultations – 10 Harley Street, London
• UK-Wide Virtual Autism Assessments
• Second Opinions & Complex Diagnostic Reviews

All assessments follow structured, NICE-compliant pathways and include detailed written reports suitable for workplace adjustments, education, or ongoing clinical care.