Rate My Professor Matthew Tennant

Dr. Matthew Tennant serves as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, part of the Faculty of Medicine within the Health Sciences Division. He earned his MBChB from the University of Otago in 2020. In his role, Tennant contributes to medical education, including as convener of the Psychological Medicine 5 module in the Otago Medical School curriculum. His academic work centers on clinical psychiatry, with a focus on improving mental health services, patient safety, and treatment practices in psychiatric settings.

Tennant's peer-reviewed publications reflect his research interests in key areas of mental health care. Notable works include the 2023 BJPsych Open article 'Polypharmacy in the treatment of people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder: repeated cross-sectional study using New Zealand’s national databases,' co-authored with Chris Frampton, Roger Mulder, and Ben Beaglehole. That same year, he published 'Experiences of violence among people with stimulant use disorder in psychiatric inpatient settings: a qualitative study' and 'Compulsory community treatment orders (CTOs): recent research' with Ben Beaglehole. In 2024, Tennant co-authored 'Mapping review of register-based cohort studies of bipolar disorder' in Bipolar Disorders with Richard Porter and Ben Beaglehole. His 2025 contributions encompass 'Preparing House Officers for Emergencies in a Psychiatric Setting with Simulation-Based Learning' in Academic Psychiatry with Maggie Meeks, Ben Beaglehole, Jane Foley, and Emily Ide; 'Why psychiatrists choose to leave public mental health services' in Australasian Psychiatry with Benjamin McBreen and Jenni Manuel; and the New Zealand Medical Journal editorial 'Band-Aids for broken bones: why people with severe mental disorders are still missing out' with Ben Beaglehole. These publications address polypharmacy, inpatient violence, compulsory treatment, bipolar disorder epidemiology, psychiatric training simulations, workforce retention, and equitable access to care for severe mental illnesses.