Mental Health & Society research group

We seek to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South. We do this by investigating the social conditions that contribute to mental distress in urban, community and conflict settings, and exploring the most appropriate responses.

Members

Christine Aicardi

Senior Research Fellow

Zeina Amro

PhD student

Dominique Béhague

Reader in Global Health & Anthropology

Rasmus Birk

Affiliate Research Associate

Sofia Bowen

PhD student

Gabriel Abarca Brown

PhD student

Heilien (Lienkie) Diedericks

PhD student

Guntars Ermansons

Teaching Fellow

James Fletcher

Teaching Fellow

Sebastian Fonseca

PhD student

Hanna Kienzler

Senior Lecturer in Global Health

Sally King

PhD student

Victoria Lozano Esparza

PhD student

Nick Manning

Professor of Sociology

Sam McLean

Lecturer in Global Health

Leonie Mol

PhD student

Michelle Pentecost

Lecturer in Global Health and Social Medicine

Penelope Quinton

PhD student

Ursula Read

Research Associate

Diana Rose

Professor of User-Led Research

Nikolas Rose

Professor of Sociology

Kelly Rose-Clarke

Lecturer in Global Mental Health

Gabrielle Samuel

Research Associate

Nancy Tamimi

Research Associate

Anthea Tinker

Professor of Social Gerontology

Jiawei Wu

PhD student

Emma Wynne Bannister

PhD student

Wei Yang

Lecturer in Global Health

Mental health, migration and the megacity in São Paulo

Looking at the relationship between mental health and urban transformation since the late nineteenth-century in São Paulo.

The Human Brain Project: The Foresight Lab

Building a completely new ICT infrastructure for neuroscience and understanding the human brain and its diseases to emulate its computational capabilities.

Urban Brain Lab

Understanding the connections between the social and the neurological lives of urban citizens, with particular attention to mental health.

Global Social Medicine Network

Bringing together scholars from all regions who are committed to a vision of social medicine as a vital intersection of social sciences, medical practice and policy. Led by Professor Nikolas Rose, the network is funded by a Wellcome Trust Small Grant in Humanities and Social Science (£42,043) and launched in 2018.

Find out more about the Global Social Medicine Network

Neurovision

Exploring the ways in which film introduced a new way of creating, staging and producing of a neurological ‘imaginary’ for neurologist-filmmakers. This 2016 project was led by Professor Nikolas Rose and was funded by the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy Faculty Research Fund (£25,000).

Find out more about Neurovision

Mental health and justice

Addressing the complex interface where mental health and mental healthcare interact with principles of human rights. Funded by the Wellcome Trust, Dr Hannah Kienzler leads Work Stream 2 'Support and independence in the community' and Dr Ursula Read is a postdoctoral researcher supporting the project.

Find out more about Mental Health and Justice

Research for health in conflict: Developing capability, partnerships and research in the Middle and Near East (R4HC-MENA)

Striving to build research and policy capacity in conflict-affected areas, focusing on health, political economy of health and complex non-communicable diseases, such as mental health and cancer. It also aims to facilitate more effective translation of research into policy. Dr Hanna Kienzler co-leads the 'Mental Health and Conflict' workstream of this Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) funded project.

Find out more about R4HC-MENA

Together for mental health: Using visual research methods to understand how health workers, families and healers work together to improve mental health and reduce coercion and restraint in Ghana and Indonesia

Exploring how mental health nurses work together with faith-based and traditional healers in Ghana and Indonesia to prevent the use of coercion and restraint and improve care for persons affected by mental illness. Although there have been long-standing calls for such collaboration there has been little investigation of how such relationships work in practice in specific locations with differing healing traditions and mental health systems. The use of participatory visual methods aims to engage stakeholders, including persons with lived experience of mental illness, across differing socio-economic backgrounds, educational status and languages. The project will build a south-to-south network to share experiences and examples of best practice to reduce the use of coercion and improve care for people with mental illness.

Choice, control and person-centredness in day centres for older people
Orellana, K., Manthorpe, J. & Tinker, A., 3 Aug 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : Journal of Social Work. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article
Rethinking research on the social determinants of global mental health
Rose-Clarke, K., Gurung, D., Brooke-Sumner, C., Burgess, R., Burns, J., Kakuma, R., Kusi-Mensah, K., Ladrido-Ignacio, L., Maulik, P. K., Roberts, T., Walker, I. F., Williams, S., Yaro, P., Thornicroft, G. & Lund, C., Aug 2020, In : The lancet. Psychiatry. 7, 8, p. 659-662 4 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30134-6
Rethinking research on the social determinants of global mental health
Rose-Clarke, K., Gurung, D., Brooke-Sumner, C., Burgess, R., Burns, J., Kakuma, R., Kusi-Mensah, K., Ladrido-Ignacio, L., Maulik, P. K., Roberts, T., Walker, I. F., Williams, S., Yaro, P., Thornicroft, G. & Lund, C., 1 Aug 2020, In : The Lancet Psychiatry. 7, 8, p. 659-662 4 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Comment/debate. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30134-6
Haitian migration and dreams in Chile: Questions for global mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Abarca Brown, G., 27 Jul 2020, 6 p. Somatosphere. Research output: Other contribution
Understanding Health and Social Challenges for Aging and Long-Term Care in China
Wu, B., Tan, S. Y., Li, B., Lou, V. W. Q., Chen, Z., Chen, X., Fletcher, J. R., Carrino, L., Hu, B., Zhang, A., Hu, M. & Wang, Y., 1 Jan 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : RESEARCH ON AGING. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027520938764
Understanding Health and Social Challenges for Aging and Long-Term Care in China
Yang, W., Wu, B., Tan, S. Y., Li, B., Lou, V. W. Q., Chen, Z., Chen, X., Fletcher, J. R., Carrino, L., Hu, B., Zhang, A., Hu, M. & Wang, Y., 1 Jan 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : RESEARCH ON AGING. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027520938764
Transitioning societies: non-communicable disease and 'the first 1000 days' in South Africa
Pentecost, M., 21 Jul 2020, (Accepted/In press) Epidemiological Change and Chronic Disease in Africa: Social and Historical Perspectives. UCL Press Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding - Chapter
Ethical and Social Aspects of Neurorobotics
Aicardi, C., Akintoye, S., Fothergill, B. T., Guerrero, M., Klinker, G., Knight, W., KlÃ¼ver, L., Morel, Y., Morin, F. O., Stahl, B. C. & Ulnicane, I., 22 Jul 2020, In : SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00248-8
Survey of Turbo, LDPC, and Polar Decoder ASIC Implementations
Shao, S., Hailes, P., Wang, T-Y., Wu, J-Y., Maunder, R. G., Al-Hashimi, B. M. & Hanzo, L., Sep 2019, In : Ieee Communications Surveys And Tutorials. 21, 3, p. 2309-2333 Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2019.2893851
War and medicine in Iraq: physicians and the aftermath of empire: Book forum: Omar Dewachi's Ungovernable Life
Pentecost, M., 2 Jun 2020, In : Medical Anthropology Quarterly. Research output: Contribution to journal - Book/Film/Article review

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Mental health & society reading group

Convened by Rasmus Birk (GHSM), Ursula Read (GHSM) and Gargie Ahmad (IoPPN). This reading group is held on the last Thursday of the month (9:30-11.00am). Location alternates between IoPPN (Denmark Hill) and GHSM (Bush House). We brings together scholars across disciplines with an interest in critical social theory on mental health. We engage in a variety of readings to stimulate conversation across different fields and widen our theoretical perspectives. Readings are circulated two weeks prior to the group meeting. We are open to suggestions of topics/themes/readings. If you are interested in attending please email Ursula Read (ursula.read@kcl.ac.uk).