About me
Who is Dr. Aileen Doyle?
Note: Aileen practices within the Belgian healthcare and medical-ethics system specifically. Some professional and regulatory details below are Belgium-specific.
Biography
I'm psychiatrist Aileen Doyle, a practitioner who knows firsthand what it's like to be neurodivergent. Who has experienced firsthand how today's mental healthcare struggles to recognize and support clients with ADHD and/or autism. And who wants to make a fundamental difference there.
At OLO-Rotonde I mainly work with adolescents and young adults. Every day I dig into complex, multidisciplinary diagnostics, mapping out how problems interconnect, personalized treatment plans, a trauma-sensitive approach, and leading intervision sessions as part of team-based care.
Alongside that I'm active as a psychiatric consultant and involved in various projects within the neurodiversity community, including Auticonnect and Autistic Doctors International. From September 2026 I'll start as one of the lead lecturers of the new postgraduate program "Neurodivergence" at Thomas More Hogeschool Antwerp. In 2026 I'm also contributing to the rollout of an online platform that helps people with executive dysfunction get unstuck. And since December 2025 I've started my PhD research at KU Leuven, supervised by Prof. Saskia van der Oord and Prof. Ilse Noens.
Because I have to watch my own mental health and limits, I wanted to find another way to still offer something to the people I can't support clinically. Brainspark grew out of that drive, as a passion project.
I want to do more than bump up against the limits of knowledge and comfort of fellow practitioners. I want to help them move past those limits by developing practical, accessible tools in my own free time.
How I work
Evidence × story
Science nobody understands changes little, but stories without grounding change just as little. Here I always try to combine the two.
No opponents, only gaps
Criticism is aimed at the gap, never at the person. Even skeptical colleagues are future bridge-builders.
Teach the teacher
One practitioner who can pass it on themselves has an extensive domino effect. This is something I can only be enthusiastic and grateful about!
Auditing the field
Material always gets a critical look, both from others and from myself. I see an audit as caring for the field and as an invitation to keep growing together.
Standards & rigor
Good intentions and strong marketing aren't enough; quality has to hold up against reality and the evidence behind it.
Connection and authenticity
I'm not going to get real change done on my own, and I don't want to get there being anyone other than myself. Let's do this together.
Ethics
Code of medical ethics
As a psychiatrist, it matters to me that the patient's care always comes first and that my approach is evidence-based. These principles aren't just personally important to me. They're also backed by the Commented Code of Medical Ethics of the Order of Physicians. This document offers detailed guidelines on professionalism, respect, integrity and responsibility. Below are the articles specifically relevant to collaborations with pharmaceutical partners, hospitals and other companies.
The physician has the knowledge and expertise required for the quality practice of their profession.
Working evidence-based is, to me, an important condition for developing and offering any engagement. Depending on what's being asked, for new collaborations I'll always dig into the necessary sources and make these available to the client and to patients/clients as well.
The physician attends to health prevention, protection and promotion.
In programs around prevention for people with ADHD and/or autism, it's important that there's a scientifically grounded and systematic offering. This should aim at preventing or early-treating health risks or illness, with a view to health gains.
The physician acts ethically in their medical activity, with respect for the patient, third parties and society.
Tension can sometimes arise between the interests of specific patients (or groups) and the interests of society or third parties. It's important to always seek a balance where both the individual needs of participants and the ethical standards set by society are met.
The physician places the interests of the patient and of society above their own financial interests. The physician does not sell, rent out or promote medical devices or physical health products.
All engagements must serve the care of the patient/client. This also means not offering more than necessary, and not carrying any conflicting commercial interests. Engagements and statements must be free of industry influence and based exclusively on scientific evidence.