Dr Boon is the Clinical Director and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry in the Department of Mental Health and Senior Pain Medicine Physician in the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Dr Boon is the Co-Chair of the Queensland Persistent Pain Clinical Network, and member of the Clinical Ethics Committee, RBWH.
Dr Boon has over 20 years’ experience in specialist practice including Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, Pain Medicine, as well as private consultancy in pain medicine, psychiatry, injury rehabilitation. Dr Boon’s field of expert practice includes chronic pain and psychological disorders; psychosomatics and the interface between cognitive, psychological and biological factors in clinical practice such as anxiety, depression, adjustment problems, functional neurological and somatic conditions, syndromes with unexplained or disproportionate physical symptoms, disordered eating; and complex trauma syndromes. Dr Boon has expertise in clinical ethics and the assessment of healthcare capacity, informed consent, and other decision-making issues. Dr Boon has contributed to publications and professional presentations in the areas of professional behaviour, complex trauma, chronic pain, pain and addiction, psychological and cognitive factors complicating pain and injury recovery, functional neurological and somatic disorders, clinical and healthcare systems’ ethics.
Dr Boon has provided medical reports for Workers Compensation (Qld, NSW), The Australian Defence Force, legal firms (Qld, NSW, ACT), and other insurer groups for complex pain and psychiatric injury assessments and medical negligence cases. Dr Boon is GEPI (QLD) certified.
Qualifications & Fellowships
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery 1987.
- Fellow, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2001.
- Fellow, Faculty of Pain Medicine Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists 2011.
- Masters of Bioethics, University of Sydney, 2021
Current Positions
- Clinical Director and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist, Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, Department of Mental Health, RBWH.
- Senior Specialist Pain Medicine Physician, Professor Tess Cramond Multidisciplinary Pain Centre RBWH.
- Co-Chair, Queensland Persistent Pain Clinical Network
- Senior Lecturer, University of Queensland.
- Member, Clinical Ethics Committee, RBWH.
Areas of Expertise
- Consultation Liaison Psychiatry and the interface between psychiatry and medical and surgical conditions in the general hospital setting.
- Adult Psychiatry including depression, anxiety, psychosis, trauma spectrum conditions.
- Psychosomatic medicine & integrations between the psychological and biological factors in chronic illness.
- Chronic pain syndromes where pain is disproportionate to any physical condition.
- Functional somatic and neurological conditions.
- Complex clinical ethics dilemmas including healthcare capacity, consent.