Mental Health Policy Research Unit

What do we know about peer support for mental health? 1/6. The Mental Health Policy Research Unit @MentalHealthPRU including lived experience researchers, have conducted one of the largest evidence reviews of peer support to date bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

🚨 Our study on mapping current alternatives to traditional inpatient care has been summarised in a blog by #MentalElf With concerns about restrictive practices & staff relationships, these findings can inform practice. nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/… #MentalHealth #Alternatives

Great to see this out. Great collaborations & paper @mentalhealthPRU Quantitative Evidence for Relational Care Approaches to Assessing and Managing Self-Harm and Suicide Risk in Inpatient Mental Health and Emergency Department Settings: A Scoping Review tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Thanks to @EANS_Nursing for invitation to talk about research by @MentalHealthPRU on evidence for surveillance technologies and relational care in inpatient mental healthcare

A reminder that we have updated our logo, but we are still the same Policy Research Unit in Mental Health, so make sure not to miss any of our news ℹ️ And we are now over on BlueSky if you would like to follow us there as well

🚨 Exciting news! My new book Voices of Neurodiversity: An Inclusive Encyclopaedia is now available for pre-order 📘🎉 It’s out 10 July 2025 via @routledgebooks and you can now order it via: 📚 Routledge: shorturl.at/CuMf8 📦 Amazon: shorturl.at/nXRP7 More below 👇🧵

🔊*New Research* @BMJMentalHealth This article presents a study analyzing trends in self-harm incidence among children & young people in Greater Manchester from 2019 to 2023, highlighting significant changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic periods. @CizCG…

Was absolutely thrilled to give a keynote this afternoon @LSBU @BritishAcademy_ event for Early Career Researchers on 'Disrupting power & privilege: strategies for change' using examples from @MentalHealthPRU & from my own lived experience!

NEW paper out from @MentalHealthPRU led by @unafoye and a team of many talents. Understanding the barriers and facilitators to delivering peer support effectively in England: a qualitative interview study bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

🚨 New Published Paper - Understanding barriers and facilitators to delivering peer support effectively: a qualitative interview study Proud to share our latest research, led by academic and lived experience researchers. 🔗 Read in full: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11… #MentalHealth

💡 Interesting paper out from the OPAL study To explore carers’, patients’, and professionals’ views on accessible, feasible and helpful one-to-one peer support interventions for those treated under the Mental Health Act doi.org/10.1186/s12888… #MentalHealth #PeerSupport

Great work in our newly published paper on approaches for self-harm and suicide risk. 📊 We identified a range of promising relational care approaches and highlighted key gaps in the evidence base. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10… #InpatientCare #MentalHealth

🚨Newly published paper in the International Journal of Mental Health Systems 🚨 Alternative approaches to standard inpatient mental health care: development of a typology of service models #inpatientcare ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.11…

Check out a Mental Elf blog covering our review on adapted and bespoke treatments for autistic adults. Enhancing mental health care for autistic people: practical adaptations, ready to go Written by a group of UCL MSc students #MentalHealth nationalelfservice.net/learning-disab…

An interesting paper critiquing ‘complex emotional needs’ as a label to individuals given a diagnosis of a personality disorder ⬇️ #MentalHealth #research cambridge.org/core/journals/…

We were honoured to share our recent work on Peer Support at two MHPRU events this year! 🫲🏽🫱🏿 Over 250 people joined us across a webinar and Mental Health Question Time live panel — and now the video series is live! 🎥 #PeerSupport #MentalHealth youtube.com/watch?v=Y6CxoC…

New NHS guidance on suicide risk assessment published today. More personal & collaborative, no checklists. Driven by evidence & the experience of families, esp ⁦@philippirie⁩ & ⁦@NCISH_UK⁩ thetimes.com/article/fb942d…

MHPRU's Bryn Lloyd-Evans was 1 of 3 experts presenting evidence on racial disparities in use of the Mental Health Act at the House of Lords to inform potential amendments. Read more on the bill's progression⬇️ communitycare.co.uk/2025/03/17/an-… #MentalHealthAct #MHA

Fascinating article by The Guardian referencing our systematic review findings on Digital Surveillance. It gives a great overview of Oxevison and the concerns over its effect on patients theguardian.com/society/2025/m… #inpatient #mentalhealth

The Minister for Patient Safety, Women’s Health & Mental Health, Baroness Merron, referenced the MHPRU's Evaluation of Early Support Hubs in a new statement. Findings on hubs outcomes and successes will be shared soon! #CYPResearch #mentalhealth hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-0…

Big congratulations to @cityalan and the entire Safewards team at King’s College and City St George’s, University for their work and impact!