Gira Patel

Gira Patel is a British psychiatrist by profession but has been working as a counsellor and mental health therapist in private practice since moving to Hong Kong eight years ago. The COViD pandemic brought with it significant disruptions to all our daily lives and resulted in a significantly increased workload for mental health professionals like Gira. In April 2021, whilst going about her daily work as a mental health professional, she unexpectedly faced the biggest personal challenge to her own mental health when she was suspected of being a close contact of a COViD case and swiftly sent to prolonged Government quarantine in Penny’s Bay. During her 3-week confinement, Gira wrote a very personal account of her experiences on her clinic’s blog which was read and widely shared. She emerged from quarantine with new perspectives to share on life and health.