About us: our vision
Every year, over a quarter of people living in the UK experience some form of mental health problem, be it anxiety or depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Moreover, there’s an increasing recognition that, just as with our physical health, mental health and wellbeing affects us all, and can change over the course of our life. Yet we still have much to learn about the many factors that influence mental health, about how best to manage and prevent disorders, and about tackling inequality in the access to care. The Centre for Mental Health is an interdisciplinary hub for high-quality research which seeks to fill these knowledge gaps, promoting good mental health throughout a person’s life – from childhood, through adolescence and early adulthood, to old age.
We aim to:
- Promote good mental health and wellbeing across the lifecourse through high quality research into the causes and impacts of poor mental health
- Evaluate current mental healthcare, both services and treatment, and identify best practices.
- Disseminate our findings to mental healthcare professionals and policymakers.
- Strengthen the links between research, teaching, training and practice.
- Attract research funding and publish the outcomes in high-impact academic and practice-based journals.
Our impact on the world
Everything we do in the Centre for Mental Health needs to have an application in the real world. We want our research to influence how mental health policy is developed and implemented, and how mental healthcare is practised, both here in the UK, and around the world. Much of our work is focused on people with diagnosed mental health problems, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Other projects examine the factors affecting general mental health and wellbeing across entire communities. We also investigate specific interventions, such as a current project looking at the potential to reduce the use of restraints in in-patient psychiatric wards. Our members are particularly interested in why certain groups fail to access appropriate care and why mental health treatments don’t work for everyone.
The Centre for Mental Health contributes to many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Much of our work is aimed at providing better mental health care, such as evaluating the efficacy and outcomes of treatments, supporting Good Health and Wellbeing (SDG3).
- Our research on inequalities in the provision of, and access to, mental health care based on factors such as gender, ethnicity, income or employment status, contributes to Gender Equality (SDG5) and Reduced Inequality (SDG10).
- Our work on how lacking access to clean water impacts mental health promotes Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG6).
- Our studies on the links between mental health and employment support Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG8).
- Our research promoting mental health services across population centres contributes to Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11).
One example of work with a beneficial impact on the community is Professor John Foster’s ongoing research into home drinking and at risk drinking in older populations (50+). An active member of the Greenwich Alcohol Strategy group, and working closely with Greenwich Public Health, Professor Foster produced a workplace guide to promote sensible use of alcohol within the workplace. He also recently joined the Addictions Strategy Delivery Group and is playing a leading role in the “Vital 5”, a pan-South London public health initiative focused on addressing alcohol, smoking, mental health, obesity and blood pressure. More information here: Foster JH and Willows A. (2023) Alcohol and the Workplace. A guide for Businesses. More information here.
Who we are
An interdisciplinary approach
The Centre for Mental Health includes nurses and psychologists, as well as economists, psychotherapists, sociologists, counsellors, social workers, public health experts, statisticians and doctors. Regardless of expertise, however, our members are unified in a desire to strengthen the links between research and practice, and have shared interest in the way mental health changes across the entire lifecourse. This interdisciplinary approach ensures we each strengthen our own discipline, learning from others with different backgrounds and specialisms. It grounds our research, ensuring a more holistic perspective in everything we do.
Partners
To maximise the quality, relevance and impact of our research, members of the Centre for Mental Health collaborate closely with a wide variety of external partners. This involves building links with our local communities by partnering with local mental health care commissioners and providers, and becoming an integral part of the healthcare system locally. These local partners include primary care services, such as Oxleas Mental Health NHS Trust, and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Our partners include charities and private sector stakeholders, including Bipolar UK, Northern Healthcare and Clerkenwell Health. We also work with public sector departments and agencies, such as the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, while our international partners include the World Health Organisation and overseas universities and research institutions (e.g., Singapore’s Institute for Mental Health).
Funding
The work of the Centre for Mental Health is largely supported by the UK government through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). We are also funded by charitable organisations (e.g., Wellcome Trust), private companies (e.g., Clerkenwell Health), and the European Commission.
Our research
A varied approach
We believe that a varied, all-encompassing approach is needed when conducting mental health research, reflecting the depth and breadth of the topic itself. Our researchers frequently deploy mixed methods approaches, blending qualitative and quantitative research, and always trying to work closely with service users, who can report their lived experiences, as well as with those providing or commissioning treatments and care.
Our research falls into three broad and interlinked themes:
- Lifelong effects of mental health problems on individuals and society
- Evaluation of treatments
- Inequalities leading to poor mental health and wellbeing
- These are detailed below:
- Lifelong effects of mental health problems
A distinctive feature of our work is the focus on mental health and wellbeing across the whole lifecourse and, in particular, how adverse experiences earlier in life can have negative consequences. For instance, we examine the current mental health of people who were in care as children or who might have suffered domestic abuse or perhaps served in the military. Other research looks at the experiences of moving an older parent into a care home or nursing home in the UK or the impacts of drinking in old age.
Evaluation of treatments
A key area of interest for the Centre for Mental Health is the evaluation of specific mental health treatments and services: why they work for some people but not for others. Indeed, a fundamental question is how we might better design and target treatments to individual needs and circumstances rather than more blanket approaches. A recent example of this research theme is our work, funded by Clerkenwell Health, on the cost effectiveness of using magic mushrooms (Psilocybin) for as a one-off treatment for depression in those resistant to other medications.
Inequalities leading to poor mental health and wellbeing
Another important strand of research explores why and how people access particular services, as well as looking at inequalities in the outcomes for those that do receive care. For instance, a recent study which found that those held in Australian onshore and offshore immigration detention centres experienced psychological distress in proportion to the time spent in captivity.
Publications
View all publications
Teaching and training
While we do not currently offer formal teaching and training within the Centre for Mental Health , we are planning a short course on the economics of health, including mental health. This is in conjunction with other Research Centres within the Institute for Lifecourse Development: specifically, the Centre for Inequalities and the Centre for Chronic Illness and Ageing.
News and events
Members of the Centre for Mental Health are heavily involved in the University of Greenwich’s annual Mental Health Day, which provides mental health support for University staff and students in general, as well as being an opportunity to promote our work.
