Beam Consultancy

Keir Harding- Clinical Lead

Keir has worked in mental health in the NHS for 20 years.  This includes 8 years in specialist Personality Disorder Services where he led teams to win an NHS Wales award (2010) and be the only mental health team shortlisted in 2016.

Keir's MSc involved studying how organisations work effectively with the difficulties often labelled as personality disorder. His research project examined how a team he was part of was able to save several million pounds from their Continuing Health Care budget by ceasing the use of private mental health placements.

Keir has developed a number of Day Therapeutic Communities, is a Dialectical Behaviour Therapist and Occupational Therapist.   He is experienced in consulting to organisations and individuals around complex mental health problems and has trained hundreds of NHS, Criminal Justice and 3rd Sector staff in this area. 

Keir has published literature in this area, contributed to Guardian publications, led symposiums at national conferences and writes a successful blog on the issues associated with Mental Health and Personality Disorder. 

Keir founded Beam as he recognised that organisations often struggle with those who feel chronically suicidal and use potentially lethal self harm.  He wanted to improve the experience of service users by helping organisations work more effectively and providing a realistic community option when it seems that enforced residential care is the only way forward.

Keir serves on the executive committee for the British and Irish Group for the Study of Personality Disorder, is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Expert Reference Group on Stigma, Labelling and Personality Disorder and delivered his professions prestigious Elizabeth Casson Lecture in its bi-centennial year.