Department of Psychological Medicine

The Department of Psychological Medicine focuses on the interface between psychiatry and medicine, psychiatry and occupation, psychiatry and the military, and psychiatry in different settings. The disorders of interest are those of the common mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, perinatal psychiatry, psychological oncology, eating disorders and stress related disorders.

The principal research methodologies used within the department are epidemiological, clinical and psychological research, including cross sectional studies, cohort studies and randomised controlled trials.

The Head of the Department is Professor Simon Wessely, Chair of Psychological Medicine, who is also Vice Dean for Academic Psychiatry.

Psychological Medicine as a Department and as part of the Clinical Academic Group (CAG) with the same name has a unique position within King's Health Partners as crossing the divide between psychiatry and medicine. Professors Matthew Hotopf and Simon Wessely provide the academic leadership for the CAG.

The IoP shares the same site as the world famous Maudsley Hospital, which is part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) - one of the largest mental health providers in Europe. King’s is committed to translational research and is proud to be the only university in the country to host three National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs) and six MRC centres. At the IoP we partner with SLaM to host the only specialist BRC for Mental Health in the UK working towards better treatment, earlier diagnosis and individualised healthcare. Students also have access to the largest library in Europe dedicated to psychiatry and related disciplines.