Dr Georgina Gnan

Georgina is a Research Associate at the ESRC Centre for Society & Mental Health. She completed a BSc in Psychology at UCL, followed by an MSc in Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). Her PhD, based in the Department of Psychology at the IoPPN, was a mixed methods approach to understanding the cognitive and behavioural pathways underlying common mental health problems (depression, anxiety & suicidality) among LGBTQ+ university students in the UK.

Subsequently, she worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Project Coordinator of the HEADS-UP study (HIV Empowering Adults Decision to Share – UK/Uganda Project) which was a collaboration between Royal Holloway University of London, 6 NHS trusts, the Children’s HIV Association (CHIVA) and the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in Kampala, Uganda. This post involved working closely with the PI to develop and test the feasibility of a behavioural intervention which aimed to increase onward HIV disclosure levels and support onward HIV disclosure decision-making in young people living with perinatally acquired HIV in the UK and Uganda.

Georgina joined the Marginalised Communities Programme at the ESRC Centre as a Research Associate in May 2022. She primarily works on the CONNECT study (CONtributions of social NEtworks to Community Thriving) which uses Participatory Action Research (PAR) to investigate social capital and networks as resources that benefit (or hinder) marginalised communities and their mental health. It focuses primarily on Black and other minoritised groups, with an intersectional focus accounting for gender, migration, socio-economic status, and more.

Research interests

Marginalised communities and mental health inequities (LGBTQ+ mental health, psychological wellbeing of people living with HIV, Black and other racially minoritised communities)

Effects of stigma and shame on mental health

Social determinants of mental health

Intersectionality

Young people’s mental health

Mixed methods research

Longitudinal research

Community intervention, and complex behavioural intervention development and evaluation

Clinical psychology (depression, anxiety and suicidality) and health psychology research

Expertise and public engagement

• Guest writing/blogging: StudentMinds, The Psychologist (BPS)
• PPI: “Not My Stigma” project. This project is a collaboration between researchers, survivors and artists and will focus on empowering survivors of violence and abuse using creative writing and poetry. It includes facilitating creative writing and poetry workshops for women from minoritised backgrounds, creating a zine to provide a platform to share the words of those with lived experience of violence, abuse and mental health problems; and engaging with public and relevant organisations through a zine launch event.