Nieuwenhuizen joins MU psychiatry faculty
Bob Gray Marelise Nieuwenhuizen, M.D., recenttly joined the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Marshall Health. She is one of two new additions to the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine.
The Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and Marshall Health recently welcomed two new specialists to the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine, one of which is M.D. Marelise Nieuwenhuizen.
Nieuwenhuizen hails from South Africa and has been in America for 15 years, arriving in the country two weeks before 9/11.
“I had to do a residency in America and I looked for a place that was closer to Africa nature-wise and people-wise,” Nieuwenhuizen said. “I like the fact that West Virginians are just who they are.”
Nieuwenhuizen said she interviewed at a few places but liked the team at Marshall’s clinic because they make sure that the residents get the training and the exposure of lots of different areas of study. Some of these include how to help patients with PTSD in Veteran’s Assistance, who need walls broken down, those with ADHD and those with addiction problems.
Nieuwenhuizen trained and got her degree in South Africa and worked in England in psychiatry. Upon getting her visa to America, she worked in a pseudo pharmaceutical company that tested drugs to make sure they did exactly what they said they did and studied their effects. After deciding that she missed the patient contact, she then decided to undergo a residency in America.
“I’ve done lots of travel and had lots of exposure,” Nieuwenhuizen said. “There are cultural differences but people are the same in a lot of things. It’s all about love and family.”
Nieuwenhuizen said she enjoys skiing, white sandy beaches and traveling with her husband of 16 years who also works at the Marshall Clinic. Her husband, Louis, is also from Africa and Nieuwenhuizen said the people from there have a certain serenity and down to earth nature about them.
Nieuwenhuizen’s responsibilities at Marshall Health include helping outpatients and teaching classes. Nieuwenhuizen said she enjoys teaching because she can help students know what to do in the grey areas of medicine and psychiatry. She said that having many responsibilities helps to prevent burnout as there is some variety.
Noah Gillispie can be contacted at [email protected].
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