Section of Women's Mental Health

The Section of Women’s Mental Health (SWMH) undertakes mental health services research with a primary focus on women’s mental health. The Section aims to carry out research into the needs of women with mental health problems using epidemiological and qualitative methods, and to develop and evaluate interventions to meet those needs.

We have a particular interest in understanding the impact of mental health problems on women and their families and have developed an instrument to measure the health and social care needs of pregnant women and mothers with severe mental illness (the CAN-M). We are evaluating complex interventions for women with mental health problems including women’s crisis houses (CHOICES ), mother and baby units (ALTERNATIVES study; ESMI study) and health visitor delivered non-directive counselling RESPOND. We lead on gender aspects of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust /Institute of Psychiatry Biomedical Research Centre Stakeholder Participation Theme and are investigating the impact of stigma on women’s mental health (SAPPHIRE). We also regularly undertake systematic reviews of treatments for perinatal psychiatric disorders. In addition we are carrying out a number of research projects on domestic violence, including examining the response of mental health services to domestic violence (LARA), carrying out systematic reviews on the prevalence of domestic violence experienced by mental health users, and epidemiological research investigating the impact of antenatal domestic violence on women’s mental health antenatally and postnatally and the impact this has on child development using the ALSPAC cohort.
Our epidemiological research has included studies on the outcome of pregnancy in women with psychotic disorders, use of the General Practice Research Database to investigate associations between psychiatric disorders and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and gender differences in the effect of anti-psychotic medication on osteoporosis. We are currently working on projects researching physical health in mental health service users, using the General Practice Research Database.

Recent publications

The Section’s Head is Professor Louise Howard, Reader in Women’s Mental Health and Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). She is an executive committee member of the UK and Ireland Marcé Society (UKIMS) and academic lead for the Royal College of Psychiatrists Women in Psychiatry Special Interest Group (WIPSIG) and is a member of the International Editorial Board of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

The Section collaborates with other research teams at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London and also at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, University of Bristol, University of Manchester and other universities across the UK and abroad.

Section of Women’s Mental Health (SWMH)
PO 31
Health Service and Population Research Department
Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
De Crespigny Park
London SE5 8AF
Administration: seynam.1.kluvitse@kcl.ac.uk
Phone: 020 7848 5061
Fax: 020 7277 1462


Training:
Domestic Violence Training
CAN-M Training

Please contact Prof Louise Howard for further details of training available.