Skip to main content
Graham Thornicroft

Sir Graham Thornicroft

Emeritus Professor

Biography

Graham Thornicroft is Emeritus Professor of Community Psychiatry at the Centre for Implementation Science and the Centre for Global Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He is also an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, working in a community mental health team. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, is a National Institute of Health Research Senior Investigator Emeritus, and an Honorary Fellow of King’s College London and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Graham took his undergraduate degree at Cambridge in Social and Political Sciences, studied Medicine at Guy’s Hospital, London and then trained in Psychiatry at the Maudsley and Johns Hopkins Hospitals. He gained an MSc in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a PhD at the University of London.

Graham has made significant contributions to the development of mental health policy in England, including chairing the External Reference Group for the National Service Framework for Mental Health, the national mental health plan for England for 1999-2009.

He is also active in global mental health, for example, he chaired the World Health Organisation Guideline Development Group for the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide (1st, 2nd and 3rdeditions), a practical support for primary care staff to treat people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders in low and lower middle income countries, which is now used in over 100 countries worldwide. He chaired the External Reference Group for the WHO guidelines on the Management of Physical Health Conditions in adults with severe mental disorders. He has recently chaired the Guideline Development Group for the WHO guidelines on Mental Health at Work. He co-chaired the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination published in 2022.

His areas of research expertise include: reduction of stigma and discrimination, evaluation of mental health services, and global mental health. Graham has written over 700 peer-reviewed papers in PubMed, and has authored or edited 32 books of which 7 are award winning. In recent years he has been named as among the most Highly Cited Researchers in the world by Clarivate. Graham received a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours Awards in 2017..

Research Interests 

  • Global mental health  
  • Implementation science 
  • Stigma and discrimination 
  • Community mental health services

Teaching

  • Global mental health 
  • Health systems research 
  • Stigma and discrimination

Expertise and Public Engagement

  • United for Global Mental Health: Board Chair
  • Graham has appeared in the media including BBC 1, BBC World Service, BBC Today radio programme, and The Economist

    Research

    iStock-506102084
    Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH)

    The Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH) aims to address inequities by closing the care gap, and to reduce human rights abuses experienced by people living with mental, neurological and substance use conditions, particularly in low resource settings with a view to contributing to a world where all people living with mental, neurological and substance use disorders can live a life of meaning and dignity.

    iStock-CIS_1800by900
    Centre for Implementation Science

    The Centre for Implementation Science is home to a team of expert implementation and improvement science researchers, including health economists and statisticians. This team are investigating how best to help ‘implement’ evidence-based practice and clinical research within health services nationally and internationally.

    who-collaborating-centre-for-research-and-training-in-mental-health-cropped-780x440
    WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health

    The IoPPN became a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health (WHOCC) in 1992.

    Project status: Ongoing

    News

    Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft appointed as mental health advisor to Director General of WHO

    Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft has been appointed as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Mental...

    thornicroft

    The Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health

    Experts call for radical global action to end stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions, as this is often ‘worse than the...

    Mental Health

    New NIHR Global Health Research Group on homelessness and severe mental illness in Africa receives £3 million funding

    A major new project which aims to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness (SMI) in Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya has been...

    Homelessnesss

    Non-specialist healthcare workers provide effective and safe care for people with severe mental health conditions in rural Ethiopia

    New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London and Addis Ababa University, indicates that...

    Ethiopia

    IoPPN staff share their thoughts on inequality on World Mental Health Day 2021

    Staff and students share their thoughts on how to tackle inequality within the mental health sector.

    equal

    Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft to chair two new World Health Organization Guideline Development Groups

    The two groups, Mental Health and Work and the mhGAP Intervention Guide, aim to help reduce global inequalities and barriers around mental health, especially...

    About King's Centre for Global Health

    Researchers call for a reimagining of global mental health in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic

    A new review, co-authored by King’s College London researchers, has explored the potential mental health impacts of Covid-19 in low-income and middle-income...

    Globe-banner-web 1094

    King's College London academic to lead Lancet global stigma in mental health commission

    Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft will co-Chair a report assessing global stigma and discrimination in mental health, commissioned by The Lancet.

    Young man looking face to face with another person who has their hand on his shoulder

    Events

    23MarClaire Henderson

    Professor Claire Henderson - Inaugural Lecture

    Join us in celebrating Professor Claire Henderson's - inaugural lecture on 'Listen, share, negotiate – Approaches to empower and destigmatise.'

    Please note: this event has passed.

    29Jan

    King's Global Health Institute Journal Club

    Inaugural meeting of the KGHI Journal Club

    Please note: this event has passed.

    Features

    A global approach to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination

    In this blog, Kelly Davies outlines the global impact of a new Lancet Commission on stigma and discrimination in mental health

    1908x558_globe-network

    Stigma & Discrimination related to Covid-19: Hurt twice over

    Stigma and discrimination in relation to Covid-19 are crucial issues. In this blog, Dr Petra Gronholm and Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft suggest...

    new-study-to-identify-highest-risk-factors-for-covid-19-cropped-1903x558

    The Silent Pandemic: Covid-19 and mental health

    Alongside the sometimes severe or fatal physical consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there is a threat far less often discussed: the mental health...

    Mental health

    My tips for briefing an APPG

    In September 2020, Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft briefed the APPG on Coronavirus about the mental health aspects of the pandemic In this blog, he...

    Westminster

    Spotlight

    Bridging the global mental health gap

    The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 450 million people are affected by mental illness worldwide, contributing to 14% of the global burden of...

    Worldwide perspective

      Research

      iStock-506102084
      Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH)

      The Centre for Global Mental Health (CGMH) aims to address inequities by closing the care gap, and to reduce human rights abuses experienced by people living with mental, neurological and substance use conditions, particularly in low resource settings with a view to contributing to a world where all people living with mental, neurological and substance use disorders can live a life of meaning and dignity.

      iStock-CIS_1800by900
      Centre for Implementation Science

      The Centre for Implementation Science is home to a team of expert implementation and improvement science researchers, including health economists and statisticians. This team are investigating how best to help ‘implement’ evidence-based practice and clinical research within health services nationally and internationally.

      who-collaborating-centre-for-research-and-training-in-mental-health-cropped-780x440
      WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health

      The IoPPN became a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health (WHOCC) in 1992.

      Project status: Ongoing

      News

      Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft appointed as mental health advisor to Director General of WHO

      Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft has been appointed as a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Mental...

      thornicroft

      The Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health

      Experts call for radical global action to end stigma and discrimination against people with mental health conditions, as this is often ‘worse than the...

      Mental Health

      New NIHR Global Health Research Group on homelessness and severe mental illness in Africa receives £3 million funding

      A major new project which aims to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and severe mental illness (SMI) in Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya has been...

      Homelessnesss

      Non-specialist healthcare workers provide effective and safe care for people with severe mental health conditions in rural Ethiopia

      New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London and Addis Ababa University, indicates that...

      Ethiopia

      IoPPN staff share their thoughts on inequality on World Mental Health Day 2021

      Staff and students share their thoughts on how to tackle inequality within the mental health sector.

      equal

      Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft to chair two new World Health Organization Guideline Development Groups

      The two groups, Mental Health and Work and the mhGAP Intervention Guide, aim to help reduce global inequalities and barriers around mental health, especially...

      About King's Centre for Global Health

      Researchers call for a reimagining of global mental health in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic

      A new review, co-authored by King’s College London researchers, has explored the potential mental health impacts of Covid-19 in low-income and middle-income...

      Globe-banner-web 1094

      King's College London academic to lead Lancet global stigma in mental health commission

      Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft will co-Chair a report assessing global stigma and discrimination in mental health, commissioned by The Lancet.

      Young man looking face to face with another person who has their hand on his shoulder

      Events

      23MarClaire Henderson

      Professor Claire Henderson - Inaugural Lecture

      Join us in celebrating Professor Claire Henderson's - inaugural lecture on 'Listen, share, negotiate – Approaches to empower and destigmatise.'

      Please note: this event has passed.

      29Jan

      King's Global Health Institute Journal Club

      Inaugural meeting of the KGHI Journal Club

      Please note: this event has passed.

      Features

      A global approach to reduce mental health stigma and discrimination

      In this blog, Kelly Davies outlines the global impact of a new Lancet Commission on stigma and discrimination in mental health

      1908x558_globe-network

      Stigma & Discrimination related to Covid-19: Hurt twice over

      Stigma and discrimination in relation to Covid-19 are crucial issues. In this blog, Dr Petra Gronholm and Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft suggest...

      new-study-to-identify-highest-risk-factors-for-covid-19-cropped-1903x558

      The Silent Pandemic: Covid-19 and mental health

      Alongside the sometimes severe or fatal physical consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, there is a threat far less often discussed: the mental health...

      Mental health

      My tips for briefing an APPG

      In September 2020, Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft briefed the APPG on Coronavirus about the mental health aspects of the pandemic In this blog, he...

      Westminster

      Spotlight

      Bridging the global mental health gap

      The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 450 million people are affected by mental illness worldwide, contributing to 14% of the global burden of...

      Worldwide perspective