about us

The Institute of Mental Health was launched in 2006 in Nottingham to help transform our understanding and treatment of mental illness.  We have grown rapidly and can now be considered as one of the leading mental health institutes in the UK, leadership and innovation backed by world class expertise.

Our mission is to improve people’s lives through the use of ground-breaking research and pioneering educational activities.  We are dedicated to improving the care and treatment provided by frontline services through innovating, developing, exploiting and distributing knowledge about mental health.

Our four key activities are to:

• Promote research
• Support clinical innovation
• Provide educational courses
• Act as an expert resource in promoting best practice

The Institute is a partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham. We currently attract £6 million each year in external research grants to fund our work, have 20 full professors among our staff and publish about 175 peer-reviewed journal papers a year.

Our portfolio of training and development opportunities attracts approximately 200 students each year.  Courses offered include one-off modules, diplomas, degrees and masters qualifications in mental health.  Our growing reputation was recognised in 2008 with an external award of £17 million to set up a new service-facing research centre.  This centre is called the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire (otherwise known as the CLAHRC NDL).  The CLAHRC will accelerate the use of research in improving patient care across the region.

There are eight sections of the Institute:

• Children and Young People
• Forensic
• Health, Behaviour and Society
• Innovation and Business Development
• Learning and Teaching Committee
• Mind, Brain and Development
• Personality Disorder Institute
• Service Evaluation and Clinical Trials

There are also a number of sub-units of the Institute:

• Academic Board
• Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth
• Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC)
• Cochrane Schizophrenia Group
• Literature and Evidence Research Unit
• Managed Innovation Networks
• NIHR Mental Health Research Network, East Midlands Hub
• Peaks Academic Research Unit