Psychiatrist · Founder · Lead clinician
Dr Tom Paterson
An Auckland psychiatrist and the founder and lead clinician of Braided Clinic. His work includes specialist psychiatric assessment and clinical-governance work concerning psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Tom leads the clinical work at Braided Clinic. His background includes specialist and addiction psychiatry, clinical governance, and professional education concerning psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
Current authority
MDMA-assisted treatment for PTSD
Dr Tom Paterson is one of two New Zealand psychiatrists with Medsafe approval to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade MDMA as part of a treatment programme for eligible adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The dedicated MDMA page explains the practitioner-specific approval, evidence, suitability, and regulatory limits.
Clinical work
Psychiatry for the whole person
Tom’s wider work is specialist psychiatry. Braided Clinic’s approach begins with a careful formulation of a person’s experience, relationships, body, culture, history, and current circumstances, alongside diagnosis and evidence-based treatment where they are useful.
Public contribution
Research and professional education
Tom has contributed to public discussion of psychedelic medicines in Aotearoa, including an expert perspective for the Royal Society Te Apārangi on psilocybin and the clinical, ethical, and cultural questions surrounding psychedelic therapy.
Read the Royal Society Te Apārangi perspectivePractice
Braided Clinic
The Auckland practice is being established now. Service scope and referral timing live on the clinic pages so this profile remains a record of Tom’s work and public authority.