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
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.
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
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.
Events
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.
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
Research
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.
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
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.
Events
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.
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
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...
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...
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...
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...