Sarah

Welch

Dr Sarah Welch studied both medicine and social and political sciences at Cambridge University, UK, and then qualified in clinical medicine at Oxford University, where she subsequently stayed for a three-year doctoral research position studying risk factors for eating disorders. Since then, she has predominantly had a clinical career as an addiction psychiatrist. In this role, she has held jobs as a clinical academic, and then as a consultant in clinical services ranging from inner London to small town and rural areas; and ranging across inpatient services, community services and third sector provision.Sarah is a co-author of the British Association for Psychopharmacology evidence-based clinical guidelines in the field of substance use. She has contributed to several UK national clinical guidelines including Better Care for People with Co-occurring Mental Health and Alcohol/Drug Use Conditions (Public Health England); Drug use and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management (UK Department of Health and Social Care); and the ongoing work towards UK guidelines on clinical management of alcohol use disorders (UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities).Sarah is a Trustee for the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA), and currently chairs the SSA conference workstream. This role focuses on the SSA’s own annual conference held in November, and SSA co-production with other conferences, most notably with Lisbon Addictions. The most satisfying part of this role is seeing researchers and practitioners making new connections, strengthening and enriching the addiction field.