I am humbled and absolutely delighted at this honour, following in the footsteps of giants of social psychiatry. This is a particularly important award as it reflects how social psychiatry can improve patients’ lives and outcomes.
Emeritus Professor Dinesh Bhugra
27 August 2025
Professor Dinesh Bhugra CBE awarded prestigious Yves Pelicier Prize for outstanding career in social psychiatry
The World Association of Social Psychiatry awarded the 2025 Pelicier Prize to Emeritus Professor Dinesh Bhugra for his lifetime contributions to social psychiatry and commitment to championing human rights for those with mental health disorders.
Dinesh Bhugra is Emeritus Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London. His research spans social and public health psychiatry, with a focus on cross-cultural psychiatry, migrant mental health, depression, psychosexual medicine, and the provision and decision-making of mental health services.
Professor Bhugra is also honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He has been past President of the British Medical Association (2018–2019), the World Psychiatric Association (2014-2017), and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (2008-2011).
He has received honours from the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Psychiatrists, the Academy of Medical Sciences (Singapore), the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists and the International Medical Sciences Academy. He was awarded a CBE in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to psychiatry.
The Yves Pelicier Prize is awarded by the World Association of Social Psychiatry once every three years and comes with a $10,000 honorarium, as well as an invitation to deliver a ceremonial lecture at the World Congress of Social Psychiatry.
The Prize recognises an outstanding career in social psychiatry, and contributions to understanding the interaction of social, psychological and biological factors in the development and treatment of mental health disorders. It also celebrates Professor Bhugra’s lifetime work championing human rights and dignity of those with mental health disorders to create a more diverse, compassionate and fair society.
Professor Bhugra will deliver his lecture at the 25th World Congress of Social Psychiatry on 15-17 January 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco.
For more information, please contact Milly Remmington (School of Mental Health & Psychological Sciences Communications Manager).