Lynn Tang is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. Prior to relocation to the UK in 2022, she was an Assistant Professor in Lingnan University's Department of Sociology and Social Policy and the University of Hong Kong's Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention. In the UK, she had worked at the University of Birmingham's Centre of Excellence for Interdisciplinary Mental Health for the multidisciplinary ‘Mental Health in Higher Education’ project.

Lynn is a sociologist with her core research area in mental health, inequalities and related policies. She has a special interest in service users' lived experience and perspectives. Her book, Recovery, Mental Health and Inequality (Routledge, 2017), was shortlisted for BSA Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize. Her publications also appear in journals such as British Journal of Social Work, International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Community Development Journal, Mental Health Review, and a few edited books such as the Routledge International Handbook of Mad Studies. She has been appointed as a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Service User Research Enterprise (SURE) at KCL since 2022. Her current project is on suicide, collective trauma and political crisis in Hong Kong.

Research Interests

• Mental health
• Inequalities and diversities
• Lived experiences and survivor research
• The Recovery Approach
• Suicide
• Collective trauma 

Expertise and Public Engagement

Lynn regularly wrote newspaper commentary and has contributed to blogs such as:

Tang, L (2018) ‘Mental health recovery is a social justice issue.’ Mad in Asia. A journal by Transforming Communities for Inclusion of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities, Asia (TCI Asia). Launch issue. https://madinasia.org/2018/07/mental-health-recovery-is-a-social-justice-issue/

Key publications

Books

Tang, L. (2017) Recovery, Mental Health and Inequality: Chinese Ethnic Minorities as Mental Health Service Users. London, New York: Routledge.

Journal Articles

Tam, L., Han, D.H., Zhang, W., and Tang, L. (2021) ‘Editorial: Violence and the Young: A Public Health Problem- Etiology, Epidemiology, Intervention and Prevention’. Frontiers in Public Health. https:// doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.724182

Addae, E.A., and Tang, L. (2021) ‘How can I feel safe at home? Adolescents’ experiences of family violence in Ghana’. Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.672061

Tang, L. (2019) ‘The double hazard in recovery journey: The experiences of UK Chinese users of mental health services’. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0020764019840059

Tang, L. (2018) ‘Recovery, hope and agency: The meaning of hope amongst Chinese users of mental health services in the United Kingdom’. British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcy033

Chan, C.K.C., Chan S. Y., and Tang, L. (2018) ‘Reflecting on Social Movement Unionism in Hong Kong: A Case Study of the Dockworkers” Strike in 2013’. Journal of Contemporary Asia. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2018.1448429

Tang, L. (2018) ‘Barriers to recovery for Chinese mental health service users in the UK: A case for community development’. Community Development Journal. Vol.53 (2): 358–374.

Tang, L. and Pilgrim, D. (2017) ‘Intersectionality, mental health and Chinese people in the UK: a qualitative exploration’. Mental Health Review Journal. Vol. 22 (4): 289-299.

Book Chapters

Tang, L. (2021) ‘Upcycling recovery: potential alliances of recovery, inequality and mad studies’ in Peter Beresford, Jasna Russo and Kathy Boxall (eds.) Doing Mad Studies: Critical International Perspectives. London, New York: Routledge.

Yip, P.S.F , Guo, Y., Tang, L., and Chen, Y.Y. (2021) ‘Prevention of suicide by jumping: experiences from Taipei City (Taiwan), Hong Kong and Singapore’ in Danuta Wasserman (ed.) Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Yip, P.S.F. and Tang, L. (2021) ‘Public health approach to suicide research’ in Kairi Kõlves, Merike Sisask, Peeter Värnik, Airi Värnik, Diego De Leo (eds.). Advancing Suicide Research. Boston: Hogrefe Publishing.

Tang, L. (2017) ‘Mental health, intersecting inequalities and Chinese communities in the UK: lessons from the service user experience’ in Craig, G. (eds.) Community Organising Against Racism: ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Community Development. Bristol: The Policy Press.