Our Psychiatrists
Dr Philip Muller
Born in the United Kingdom, Dr Muller’s family moved to New Zealand, where he spent his early life and adolescence. He excelled academically and thoroughly enjoyed playing rugby union competitively and socialising outdoors with friends. After completing his undergraduate studies at Auckland University’s School of Medicine, he relocated to Australia’s Gold Coast. As a junior doctor, Dr Muller was fortunate to have placements in community mental health clinics, positions no longer offered to interns or recent medical school graduates. Initially, he hoped to become a dedicated family care physician who would provide patients with much-needed time and high-quality care in the general practice setting. However, after showing a remarkable aptitude for psychiatry and frequent positive feedback from patients and their carers – his mentors urged him to specialise in the Discipline of Psychiatry. With additional support from the Director of Mental Health, he joined the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) and commenced psychiatry training. Dr Muller’s training was undertaken exclusively within Queensland’s most extensive mental health service, Gold Coast Mental Health and Specialist Services (GCMHSS). After a decade of dedicating his time and training to Gold Coast’s Health and Hospital Service, he became a Specialist Psychiatrist.
Dr Muller founded Ascent Psychiatry, developing the ADHD and ASD-friendly community clinic with fellow Specialist Psychiatrist and friend Dr Lee Williams. Together, they have created the Ascent Psychiatry that patients know and love today – a boutique private practice in Robina. In Robina, the heart of the Gold Coast, Dr Muller and his team provide advanced psychiatric care for individuals with mental health problems.
While Dr Muller is now a Medical Director and Psychiatrist at Ascent Psychiatry, he has previously served as Director of Community Psychiatry and the Wellness Centre at The Southport Private Hospital (TSPH). He was also the Director of Neurostimulation, laying the foundation for the Gold Coast’s first private facility to provide much-needed ECT services. As a Director at TSPH, he offered strong leadership in the growing area of private community mental health on the Gold Coast and provided inpatient care to hundreds of patients in need.
Dr Muller studied at the University of Auckland – School of Medicine and was awarded several accolades, including the prestigious WW Phillipps Award in Medicine and the Dr Newton Wickham CBE Elective Scholarship in Pacific Health. He achieved top marks in the challenging subject of musculoskeletal anatomy.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Human Biology (BHB) and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery/Chirurgery (MBChB). Dr Muller then completed his internship at the Gold Coast Hospital and spent the following two years gaining medical experience in rural Australia, where a significant shortage of doctors remains. His advanced psychiatric training was in Early Intervention of Psychosis, Old Age Psychiatry, and General Practice-Liaison Psychiatry.
Dr Muller has held numerous leadership positions, including Psychiatric Registrar Representative on the Clinical Governance Committee for GCMHSS and the Clinical Lead for local education on the College of Psychiatrists – Observed Structured Clinical Examination. He has developed various local clinical guidelines in early intervention for psychosis within Queensland Health and the NGO headspace in Southport.
Dr Muller steadfastly maintains a philosophy that with the appropriate specialist care, people with mental health problems can achieve positive outcomes, including alleviation of symptoms and the associated distress, leading to improvement in most, if not all, areas of their lives.
Dr Muller has a significant interest in adult psychiatry, including Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. He also has expertise in treating people with Social Phobia, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In addition, he is well-versed in the treatment of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. All the while, he provides extensive support to his patient’s carers and relatives. Dr Muller is acutely aware of the importance of having a collaborative approach. He works with General Practitioners to manage their mutual patients’ care using a biological, psychological, social, and cultural model.
Medication can be highly advantageous, and Dr Muller and his Co-Medical Director, Dr Williams, provide sophisticated medication management tailored to his patients when appropriate. While the role of medication is crucial, other therapeutic approaches are also effective in helping patients regain their well-being. Among these is psychotherapy, commonly referred to as ‘talking therapy’. Dr Muller and Dr Williams are expertly trained in this discipline. Both are adept psychiatrists who deeply understand the necessity of addressing the underlying emotional and psychological issues of their patients. Psychological difficulties often stem from significant past experiences. Therefore, psychotherapy can be instrumental in resolving many current problems faced by patients through the processing of unresolved emotions towards others, challenging or relinquishing unwanted thoughts, and modifying unhelpful behaviours.
Dr Muller eagerly anticipates offering specialist mental health care and guidance to current and prospective Ascent Psychiatry patients. He is committed to delivering expert support and tailored advice that meets the unique needs of each individual seeking help.
Dr Lee Williams
Having completed his general adult training in psychiatry in early 2017, he recently completed a Certificate of Advanced Training in Adult Psychiatry, his preferred area of expertise. Dr Williams is an accredited member of the Faculty of Adult Psychiatry and the National ADHD Network. He is also a Bi-National Faculty of Psychotherapy and the Australian Medical Association member.
Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, Dr Williams enjoyed bike riding through the forests surrounding his hometown, Dayboro, in his youth. Illustrating books from a young age was also a favourite pastime. He later moved to Townsville, North Queensland, where his family were fortunate enough to spend time snorkelling and scuba diving over the Great Barrier Reef on weekends – and visiting his grandparents’ cane and poultry farm outside Ingham. In high school, he was especially drawn to English, Art & Design, and Human Biology (Dr Williams now wonders, if you combine his preferred subjects together, you might end up with something akin to Psychiatry). After some time off from study and working in hospitality and education, he went on to study at James Cook University.
Dr Williams completed one year of the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences Degree – achieving the top mark in the challenging subject of Epidemiology and, again, the highest mark in the equally difficult Evolution and the Inheritance of Life subject. Enriched with the scientific knowledge he had obtained and inspired by the great teachers and supportive students around him, he took the opportunity to transfer to James Cook University’s School of Medicine. While essentially all of medicine is fascinating, Dr Williams found his passion in Psychiatry. He achieved the top mark out of his cohort of one hundred medical students during his Mental Health Clinical Rotation – and received the ‘Mental Health Year 5 Prize’. He was also awarded the ‘Prize in Psychiatry’ Medallion from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP). He remains the only medical student ever to achieve a High Distinction in ‘The History and Philosophy of Medicine’ at JCU. Dr Williams was awarded the Australian Medical Association Queensland – Foundation Scholarship and the Commonwealth Learning Scholarship.
Dr Williams graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 2010. After completing his internship at the Gold Coast Hospital in 2011, Dr Williams immediately began specialist training in Psychiatry with the Gold Coast Mental Health and Specialist Services. During his five years of post-graduate Psychiatry training, he gained considerable experience helping people with severe mental illness, substance use disorders, and personality disturbance.
During his Advanced Training in Psychiatry, he also worked in the private sector treating high-prevalence disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD. His leadership positions within the Gold Coast Mental Health Service included being the Principal Registrar, providing support and guidance for psychiatry trainees, and enhancing existing systems and processes within the mental health service. He also worked as the Education and Research Registrar for six months – hosting the weekly formal education sessions. Dr Williams has served on many steering committees and working groups dedicated to education, service development, prevention of suicide, and quality and safety concerning patient care.
He has lectured on various mental health topics at Bond University and Griffith University Medical Schools. He has research interests in new and emerging treatments for depression and PTSD – specifically, psychotherapy involving psilocybin or ‘magic mushrooms’ for treatment-resistant depression and MDMA or ‘ecstasy’ for the treatment of PTSD. He was one of the lead researchers in the study ‘Short Stay Unit for Patients in Acute Mental Health Crisis: A Case-Control Study of Readmission Rates’ published in the international psychiatric journal Asia-Pacific Psychiatry in December 2019. Furthermore, Dr Williams contributed to the 11th Revision of the World Health Organisation’s International Classifications of Diseases (ICD-11).
Dr Williams is delighted to be a Medical Director at Ascent Psychiatry, one of the Gold Coast’s newest private mental health clinics. In 2020, he left his role as Director of Inpatient Psychiatric Services. His departure from the inpatient setting has allowed him to concentrate solely on community mental health and research.
Medication can be highly beneficial, and Dr Williams and his trusted Co-Director, Dr Muller, offer advanced medication management to their patients if appropriate. While medication is sometimes essential, other treatments can help patients ‘get back on their feet’ or move forward. One such treatment is psychotherapy, also known as ‘talking therapy’. Dr Williams and Dr Muller are trained psychotherapists. Both psychiatrists have a deep understanding of the importance of treating their patient’s underlying emotional and psychological issues. A patient’s psychological problems are often linked to significant experiences in their past. Thus, psychotherapy can help resolve many of the patient’s present-day problems by processing unresolved feelings towards others, not judging or ‘letting go’ of unwanted thoughts, and changing unhelpful behaviours.
At Ascent Psychiatry, Dr Williams works alongside his colleague Dr Philip Muller. Dr Williams is pleased to be working with a like-minded person who shares his values of providing empathic, personalised and evidence-based mental health care for people of the Gold Coast.
