Mental Health and Wellbeing

Mental Health and Wellbeing

About Us

Mental Health and Wellbeing is part of the Institute for Health and Wellbeing, which is part of the College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences, and delivers its programmes of research together with colleagues in the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, the College of Social Sciences, and College of Science and Engineering.

Within a rich interdisciplinary environment crossing three of the University's Colleges, our research programmes are dedicated to:

  • explanation and understanding of the impact of social, environmental, lifestyle, and health service factors on life-course and population health,
  • the development of underpinning technologies, including health science methodologies, biostatistics, sociology applied to health, health research informatics, and trials of therapeutic and complex interventions.

Our History

Mental Health and Wellbeing was originally established as "The Department of Psychological Medicine" in 1948/1949.  Mental Health and Wellbeing emerged during the University of Glasgow restructuring in 2010/2011 and we are an integral part of the Institute for Health and Wellbeing.

Our original name "Psychological Medicine" was adopted to reflect the department's commitment to the psychological sciences relevant to medicine - at that time, Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry.  Restructuring within the University of Glasgow in 2010/2011 provided us with the opportunity to focus on our strengths in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry whilst strengthening our commitment to understanding and maximizing population mental health and wellbeing across the life course, amongst vulnerable groups within our society whilst developing and evaluating new therapeutic interventions through complex clincial trials.

Location and staff

The main base is the Academic Centre set within the historic Gartnavel Royal Hospital.  We are based in the west end of the city of Glasgow.  We also have staff based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill and at the Sackler Institute for Psychobiological Research at the Southern General Hospital.

Mental Health and Wellbeing is committed to maximizing population mental health and wellbeing in Scotland and globally.  Our research and education are dedicated to:

  • The explanation and understanding of the impact of psychological, social, interpersonal, biological, environmental, lifestyle and health service factors on life-course and population mental health.
  • Clinical trials of therapeutic and complex interventions for individuals with complex mental health problems including research dedicated to understanding the psychological, social, interpersonal and biological mechanisms of therapeutic change.