Born and brought up in North Wales, Dr Az Hakeem now shares his time between London and South Wales. He studied Medicine at University College London, then trained in Psychiatry at the Royal Free Hospital and the Portman Clinic, and trained as a group analyst at The Institute of Group Analysis.
Az held consultant psychiatrist positions in general adult psychiatry, psychotherapy and forensic psychotherapy at both C&I Foundation trust and the Portman Clinic, where he worked for 12 years setting up and running the UK’s first and only specialist adult gender dysphoria psychotherapy service, which he ran singlehandedly until leaving the clinic in 2012.
He is the only consultant psychiatrist in the UK who has specialised in psychotherapy for gender dysphoria and has published and researched extensively in this area.
After over 15 years working in the NHS, Az has worked exclusively in private practice, based at Harley Street for over 10years. He is the professional patron for the LGB Alliance and honorary associate clinical professor at University College London (UCL) Medical School.
He is the author of Trans and, more recently DeTrans: where transition is not the solution.