Dr Alessandra Cappai
Consultant Psychiatrist
Dr Alex Cappai is a Consultant Psychiatrist with over 18 years of experience in psychiatry. She trained in Italy, where she obtained a Master’s degree in Medicine and Surgery, equivalent to an MBBS. She specialises in both General Adult Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry.
Dr Cappai has a special interest in neurodevelopmental conditions, particularly ADHD, and is currently employed as an expert Consultant ADHD Psychiatrist in the NHS (Adult ADHD Clinic, North London NHS Foundation Trust). She has extensive experience in diagnosing and treating ADHD, as well as managing its comorbidity with other mental health conditions.
She has worked as a General Adult Psychiatrist, initially in Italy for over four years before joining the NHS in 2012. Dr Cappai has experience in a variety of settings, including prisons, general psychiatric hospitals, secure forensic hospitals, and community mental health services. She has also been actively involved in research, teaching, and quality improvement in psychiatry, presenting at national and international conferences and publishing research in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr Cappai’s approach is patient-centred, trauma-informed, and psychologically driven. She works collaboratively with patients to develop a formulation and, if appropriate, a diagnosis. Her holistic treatment approach includes medication, psychotherapy, and lifestyle recommendations.
Dr Cappai has extensive experience in women’s mental health and is particularly skilled in diagnosing and treating complex psychiatric presentations, including neurodevelopmental disorders, severe personality disorders, and complex trauma. She also provides Adult ADHD assessments for individuals experiencing ADHD symptoms, offering tailored treatment plans that take into account emotional difficulties and comorbid conditions such as mood and anxiety disorders. Additionally, she offers general psychiatric consultations.
Professional Qualifications and Responsibilities
- General Medical Council (GMC) – Fully registered with a licence to practise, listed on the GMC specialist register in General Adult Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry.
- Fully registered with a licence to practise as a specialist consultant psychiatrist in Italy.
- Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
- Member of the British Medical Association.
- Member of the British Association for Psychopharmacology.
- Member of the European Network for Collaborative Practice (ENCP).
- Qualified Expert Witness Psychiatrist for Criminal and Civil Courts.
Alessandra C . Women in Prison in the UK. Recent Developments. J Integrated Health 2024; 3 (4): 323-326. DOI: doi.org/10.51219/ JIH / alessandra- cappai/56.
Cappai et al., ECT Dilemma: Should We Start This Treatment Earlier? Psych Clin Ther J 2018, 1:1.
J Tully A Cappai M Fotiadou Follow up study of 6.5 years of admissions to a UK female medium secure forensic psychiatry unit BJPsych Bulletin article BJPsychBull-18-0022.
LM Losappio, A Cappai, A Arcolaci, et al, Anxiety and Depression Effects During Drug Provocation Test, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Volume 6, Issue 5, 2018, Pages 1637-1641.
A Cappai, J Wells, J Tapp, et al., Substance Misuse in Personality Disorder and Schizophrenia: Findings and clinical implications from a high secure hospital, Journal of Forensic Practice, 2018S Del Giacco, A Cappai, L Gambula, et al., The Asthma-Anxiety connection J Allergy Clin Immun Respiratory Medicine Elsevier, 2015.
S Selvaraj, D Arnone, A Cappai, O Howes, Alterations in the serotonin system in schizophrenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of post-mortem and molecular imaging studies, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews- Elsevier.
Cappai A et al.“Prevalence of Major Depressive disorder in Asthmatic patients” Allergy Volume 67, Issue Supplement S96 page 171.
Cappai A et al. “Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders in Asthmatic patients”. Allergy Volume 67, Issue Supplement S96 page 77.
Cappai A et al. “Asthma and psychiatric disorders: a case control study” Allergy Volume 66, Supplement Issue S94, page 205.
Cappai A et al., “Asthma, Psychopathology and Quality of Life: results of a case -control study". XVI national congress of Forensic Psychiatry. Abstract book of the conference.
Cappai A et al., “Asthma, psychopathology and quality of life: results of a case-control study”. Italian Journal of Psychopathology, volume 17, number S1, pages 185-186 2010.
Cappai A et al., “Asthma and psychiatric disorders: is there a link? A perspective study” Allergy Volume 65, Supplement Issue S92, page 189.
Cappai A et al., “Obesity and Alexithymia” Italian Journal of Psychopathology, Volume 15, number S1, pages 282- 283.
Cappai A et al., “Asthma and psychiatric disorders: which is the link? A perspective study” XXI World Allergy Congress–WAC 2009. Abstract book of the conference.
MG Carta, MC Hardoy, A Pilu, M Sorba, A L Floris, F A Mannu, A Baum, A Cappai, C Velluti, and M Salvi Improving physical quality of life with group physical activity in the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health. 2008 Jan 26; 4:1.
