The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Mental Health (MHPRU) was established at UCL and King's College London in 2017. The PRU conducts rapid research to inform mental health policy at DHSC, NHS England, OHID and other government and arms-length bodies. We help policymakers make timely nationwide plans for mental health services based on expert views and evidence.

The MHPRU is Directed by Professor Sonia Johnson (UCL) and Co-Directed by Professor Alan Simpson (Kings's) with Deputies Dr Kylee Trevillion (King's) and Professor Bryn Lloyd-Evans (UCL). The MHPRU team consists of academics with expertise in child and adult mental health across King's and UCL, including methodological specialists in statistics, health economics, sociology, implementation science and service user and carer involvement in research. We work with a group of very active Lived Experience Researchers, who are service users and carers involved in our research.

Clinicians and service users at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust have contributed to the work of the MHPRU. Together, we are developing clear pathways to optimise future opportunities for collaborative working and to ensure that the range of high quality research outputs produced by the MHPRU are made available to The Trust's staff to inform service developments and delivery.

The core PRU team is also supported by a network of consultants and advisors who bring additional specialist expertise across most areas of mental health care, including the Centre for Mental Health, The Mental Elf, and NHS England.

The MHPRU is funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme (2017-2024).

Find out more about our current MHPRU projects.