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Professor Janet Treasure appears on BBC’s The Life Scientific

Professor Janet Treasure appears on BBC’s The Life Scientific

by | Jul 11, 2024 | News

Professor Janet Treasure appears on BBC’s The Life Scientific

One of our leading clinical academics appeared on BBC Radio 4’s prestigious ‘The Life Scientific’ to talk about her groundbreaking career researching and treating eating disorders.

Professor Janet Treasure, scientist at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) and psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, was interviewed by The Life Scientific host Jim Al-Khalili on Tuesday 9 July. 

Professor Treasure spoke about how she came to be one of the leading researchers looking into the causes and treatments of eating disorders and her work at the IoPPN and the Maudsley. 

Treasure’s career has been dedicated to helping understand the root causes of eating disorders, understanding them as rooted in biology and genetics instead of just treating them as psychological disorders. She is also passionate about removing stigma in treatment, and spoke to Al-Khalili about how working with students has inspired her. 

Treasure went on to discuss her groundbreaking study of twins with eating disorders, how the MEAD (Medical emergencies in eating disorders) guidelines for medical professionals are changing treatment in the UK, and her study into how ketamine may be an effective treatment for those with eating disorders.

Our experts, such as Professor Treasure, lead the world in approaches to mental health. Together, we host the largest group of mental health scientists and clinical academics in Europe – there is no other collaboration in the world with this breadth of skills and ambition. Through this unique partnership, clinicians and researchers will collaborate even more closely to find new ways to predict, prevent and treat mental health disorders. This will benefit children locally, nationally and across the globe.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds 

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A preview of the new Pears Maudsley Centre

A preview of the new Pears Maudsley Centre

by | Jun 20, 2024 | Pears Maudsley Centre

A preview of the new Pears Maudsley Centre

The new Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People opened its doors to a very special audience of supporters, young people, families, donors, academics and clinicians.

Last week, the new Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People opened its doors to a very special audience of supporters, young people, families, donors, academics and clinicians.

Based at the heart of the world leading Maudsley Hospital site in south London, this pioneering new Centre will open fully in 2025, bringing together clinical and scientific expertise to transform the mental health of children and young people for generations to come.

Guests were treated to an exclusive preview of the almost-completed Centre, which was made possible thanks to the generosity of more than 60 donors and supporters raising almost £30m, in addition to £11m from Research England.

The Centre is a unique partnership between the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Maudsley Charity: collectively known as the King’s Maudsley Partnership. Together, these organisations host the largest group of mental health scientists and clinical academics in Europe.

More than a building

The new Pears Maudsley Centre will care for some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people experiencing conditions like anxiety, depression, OCD, self-harm, eating disorders, trauma and autism.

The Centre was co-designed with children, young people and families, ensuring it provides a beautiful and welcoming space tailored to diverse needs.

As well as providing world class inpatient and outpatient facilities, the Centre will allow researchers and clinicians to work side by side to find new ways to predict, prevent and treat mental health disorders in children and young people.

Watch this video to learn more about the Centre.

Tours of terraces, tech and teaching spaces

The exclusive preview of the Centre included a chance to see the new dedicated learning spaces of the Maudsley and Bethlem Hospital School, where young people can continue their education alongside their treatment. Guests were also introduced to a world-leading new Clinical Research Facility that will house state-of-the-art neuro-imaging equipment designed especially for children.

Guests heard from clinicians and scientists who will soon move into the new Centre, as well as from David Bradley, CEO of SLAM; Professor Shitij Kapur; and Rebecca Gray, CEO of Maudsley Charity.

“To me this is the culmination of a dream. It is a testament to ambition and persistence. It’s a celebration of generosity. It’s a marker of success. And it’s the blossoming of a promise. I want to leave you all today with a promise: We, who are the lucky recipients of your support, owe to you, and to our community: To use the opportunities of the research and collaboration here to move the frontiers of care. And to share this knowledge with the world beyond us.”
Professor Shitij Kapur

Vice Chancellor, King’s IoPPN

Some of our special guests shared their experiences on social media:

Sean Fletcher, Journalist and TV Presenter:

“The mental health services for young people at the Maudsley Hospital in South London saved my family when they treated our son who has OCD. It was one of the few lights at a very dark time for us.

And now the hospital, alongside King’s College London @KingsIoPPN @kingsmaudsley @nhs_maudsley @maudsleycharity, is shining that light much brighter. Last night I was at the preview of the new Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People.

Apart from having amazing views over London, the Centre will redefine how we understand, prevent and treat mental ill health for the next generation.

The other big thing the new centre will do is train many more clinicians who can offer what the Maudsley offered my family, around the UK, and the world. Sounds a bit corny, but it’s true, and it’s crucial, because if I had a pound for every parent who contacted me saying they can’t get access to good treatment in their area, I’d be a rich man by now.” Full post here.

Crispin Truman, Director of the Rayne Foundation, who funded the Centre’s welcome space:

“So lovely to see the new children & young people’s mental health centre, its world-leading design and facilities and to hear about the amazing collaboration between clinicians and researchers it will host.”

Changing the story on children’s mental health: What’s next?

The Pears Maudsley Centre will officially open in 2025. To celebrate, we’ll bring together those who made it happen and raise a toast to the difference it will make for generations to come. In the meantime, the Centre’s virtual doors are open; our clinicians and researchers welcome interest from potential collaborators across mental health research, engagement and more.

The people who made it possible

More than 60 generous donors contributed to make the Pears Maudsley Centre a reality. Recognising this huge impact, everyone who gave more than £250 towards the Centre’s build will be recognised on a stunning donor wall in its main entrance. We extend a huge thanks to all who supported this project, including:

  • Maudsley Charity
  • Pears Foundation
  • The Rayne Foundation (Welcome Space)
  • Julia & Hans Rausing Trust (Outpatients Unit)
  • Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust (Learning Zone in The Maudsley & Bethlem School)
  • Bernard Lewis Family Charitable Trust (Lorna Lewis Outdoor Learning Zone)
  • The Wolfson Foundation (Neuroimaging Suite)
  • Garfield Weston (Intensive Treatment Programme Suite – eating disorders)
  • Kuok Group (Staff Wellbeing Terrace)
  • Dorset Foundation in memory of Harry M Weinrebe (Observation Suites)
  • Elizabeth and Daniel Peltz OBE (Peltz Community Hall)
  • Dove Self Esteem Project (Group Therapy Room in Maudsley Adolescent Unit/Inpatients)
  • Prudence Trust (Eye Tracking Suite)
  • Stephen Riady Foundation (Riady Sensory Room)
  • UKRI Research England (neuroimaging equipment and Collaboration Zone fit out) – this support was made possible thanks to philanthropic contributions doubling the amount contributed by UKRI.

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£2.5m to roll-out Advance Choice Documents

£2.5m to roll-out Advance Choice Documents

by | Mar 25, 2024 | News

£2.5m to roll-out Advance Choice Documents

A new project led by researchers at the Trust of South London and Maudsley and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, will result in the largest implementation and study of Advance Choice Documents in Europe. For this project, the Maudsley Charity has committed over £2.5m in funding.

a young girl holding a leaf

By the end of the two-year project, the team aims to have Advance Choice Document resources in use across mental health services in the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. An extensive implementation study will also be delivered which will, alongside tested resources, provide the basis for a ‘recipe book’ for Advance Choice Documents to support other trusts in using them across the country.

Advance Choice Documents are written when someone is well and set out how they would like to be treated during a future mental health crisis or relapse. Their introduction was recommended in the 2018 Independent Review of the Mental Health Act and by the parliamentary committee on the draft of the mental health bill in 2023.  Research has shown they can reduce detentions under the Mental Health Act and improve relationships with mental health professionals.

Black people are disproportionately likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act and there is a lack of trust in mental health services in this community. Wider adoption of Advance Choice Documents has the potential to help address these issues.

The new project builds on the success of the recent Advance Statement for Black African and Caribbean project (AdStAC) where researchers and clinicians at the IoPPN and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust have been working to improve Black service users’ experiences in mental health services by co-producing and testing resources for the implementation of Advance Choice Documents.

The new project will roll out and evaluate the use of Advance Choice Documents across the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust for anyone who has been detained under the Mental Health Act. This includes children and adolescents who will be treated at the new Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People, set to open in south London in 2025.

“Reducing detentions of our service users under the Mental Health Act has been a Trust-wide priority, together with the PCREF priorities of reducing racial disparities in detentions under the Mental Health Act, as we know we have a disproportionate number of Black men detained on our inpatient wards. From our work on the AdStAC project, we know that Advance Choice Documents are more than just medical preferences; it’s about capturing the essence of a person—their values, their hopes, their fears. With this new funding from Maudsley Charity, we can get Advance Choice Documents offered to service users Trust-wide.”

Nathalie Zacharias

Director of Therapies, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Rebecca Gray, Chief Executive of Maudsley Charity, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to support this new, large-scale project which builds on the earlier work of this impressive team and has relevant lived experience at the centre of its design. Many people with a severe mental illness report that they have too little control and voice in the care they receive. These concerns are particularly high for Black patients, who are disproportionately impacted by severe mental illness and for whom we know trust in mental health services is not high.

“This project has the potential to address these issues and push the needle forward on the use of Advance Choice Documents across the country.”

Professor Claire Henderson, Clinical Professor of Public Mental Health at King’s IoPPN and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said: 

“Having worked on multiple research projects on these types of documents since the late 1990s, I am very happy to have the support of the Trust and Maudsley Charity to make Advance Choice Documents available to people who have previously been detained under the Mental Health Act, and in particular Black people, who experience disproportionately high rates of detention.”

Lorna, who is a carer and advocate for her son Ryan, who lives with psychosis said:

“I don’t want my son to be sectioned. I want to keep him well, so an Advance Choice Document is what we need. What will make him unwell would probably be him not taking his medication.

“I’m just hoping for a system where you put my son’s name in and the ideal thing is they’ll know where Ryan lives, that they’ll know to contact me or to contact somebody that will know what the next steps are.

“I think I know my son better than the health care professionals. I’ve felt through the journey I was never listened to. The big thing would be that reassurance that he would be taken care of in the way he wants to be taken care of even if I’m not there.”

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‘Onwards and Upwards Parenting workshops’

‘Onwards and Upwards Parenting workshops’

by | Oct 10, 2023 | Blog Post

‘Onwards and Upwards Parenting workshops’

Our Helping Families Team provides a comprehensive and supportive service for parents facing complex mental health issues as well as other stresses that my include poor housing, financial instability and chronic ill health. Multiple challenges can impact on their ability to look after themselves and their children and prevents them from parenting in the way they would like to. The team supports parents to reconnect with their children, feel more confident as a parent and to navigate the relationships they have with professional networks supporting their family.

Funded by Maudsley Charity’s Change Maker scheme, their latest programme promotes peer-led parenting workshops facilitated after parents have completed the Helping Families Programme and they have been discharged from the service. The events support parents to feel equipped with the necessary tools and support they need to overcome the challenges they face, without the need of another referral to specialist services.

How do the Helping Families Team support parents?

 We work with parents to identify their strengths and empower them so that they can communicate, manage their emotions, and hold the needs of their children in mind in ways which may feel more helpful, containing, and safe.  We have the privilege of witnessing their progress whilst they work with us. In these very difficult times it can be hard for parents to hold hope and continue to attend to their own needs in addition to the needs of their families.  The team explain how this peer- led programme is bringing together parents to create opportunities for social support and connection, and empower parents to create lasting, positive changes in their lives.

 What is the Change Maker Scheme?

 Change Makers exists to enable staff to complete small projects that could have a big impact on the quality of life for patients.  The scheme is a joint initiative between Maudsley Charity and the South London and Maudsley Trust’s Listening into Action (LiA) team. Maudsley Charity invests £100k into the scheme each year and the Listening into Action team will support staff to make applications, deliver the grants, and work with grant recipients to share the impact funding has had.

 The scheme is open exclusively to staff from the South London and Maudsley. Departments can apply of grants between £200 and £2,000 to get small projects off the ground in wards and services to improve access, outcomes or experience of people with mental illness. 

 How did the ‘Onwards and Upwards’ programme start?

 We consulted with parents that have used our service and responded to parents’ requests that they would really value the opportunity to connect with other parents with similar lived experiences and to also revisit specific parts of  the parenting programme that they had found helpful. With our Change Maker award we were able to hire space and provide food and refreshments for the parents in a beautiful historic local community venue which is easily accessible and offers a quiet, calm space. 

 We have facilitated three Onwards and Upwards events and we are planning to hold another in the Autumn. So far, 14 parents have attended, and the group is growing in strength and numbers.

 Has there been any feedback from the parents?

 The parents who attended expressed how important it was that they felt heard and seen during these events.  They valued the opportunity to share their experience of parenting before, during and after their time working with the Helping Families Team and felt able to speak freely and share their stories and experiences in ways which felt helpful and important for them.  Parents often lack confidence to connect with others but all who attended have created connections with each other outside the events.

 We kept events light and balanced. We had laughter along with tears. These events were designed to be empowering and validating for parents, delivered via a safe, nurturing environment where they could speak freely and share experiences and advice with other parents. Many of the parents that we work with are economically disadvantaged, so they really valued being cared for and feeling valued.

What do you hope for future events?

 In the future, we plan to invite their families along to a family-friendly event to celebrate their progress. We hope that the Onwards and Upwards events remind parents of the importance of continuing to prioritise their own needs alongside those of their families.  We know that parents who feel able to do this create very positive outcomes for their families.

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King’s College London receives £11m Research England grant to transform research into children and young people’s mental health

King’s College London receives £11m Research England grant to transform research into children and young people’s mental health

by | Jul 6, 2023 | News

King’s College London receives £11m Research England grant to transform research into children and young people’s mental health
Over £11m of funding from UK Research Partnership Investment Fund (UKRPIF) for King’s College London from Research England will fund cutting-edge brain imaging equipment and a pioneering mental health research collaboration hub at the Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People, which will open in South London in 2024.

The new clinical research Centre will be the only facility in Europe whose primary focus is on mental disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions affecting children and young people.

This equipment will provide a significant upgrade to the Centre’s research capabilities, transforming understanding of the interplay between young brains, behaviour and cognition, by providing cutting-edge clinical research equipment alongside a dedicated research collaboration hub, and facilitating collaboration with all sectors across the UK. Researchers will be able to work alongside the young patients and families who are being supported by clinical services in the Pears Maudsley Centre to improve their understanding of why children develop these conditions and how treatments work and deliver more effective prevention strategies.

The Pears Maudsley Centre is home to the King’s Maudsley Partnership – comprising King’s College London, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Maudsley Charity.

Children’s brains, thinking styles and experience of the world are not the same as adults. This exciting news means that we can get the necessary equipment to undertake the cutting-edge research required to improve children and young people’s mental health. This new funding means we can better understand the specific disorder mechanisms underpinning mental health problems and identify and test opportunities for effective intervention.
Professor Emily Simonoff

Interim Director of the King's Maudsley Partnership

Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Executive Chair at Research England, said: “I am delighted that we are able to support The Pears Maudsley Centre with £11m from the UKRPIF fund. The investment will enable King’s College London to develop an invaluable collaborative research environment in which to drive the creation of personalised mental health prevention and treatment strategies for children and young people.

“We hope this funding will help enable new insights into the causes and progression of these disorders which affect one in six young people and provide a transformative leap forward in research in this area by leveraging King’s College London’s unrivalled expertise in the field.”

The state-of-the-art equipment will give new insights and transform understanding of why some children develop mental health problems, allowing researchers to develop effective ways to prevent and treat mental illness both in the UK and around the world. To date, many studies have been carried out with equipment designed for adults or those without neurodevelopmental conditions.

The new equipment is specifically designed for use with babies, children and young people to enable the study of their brain structure and function, cognition and emotions.

It includes:

  • OPM-Magnetoencephalography (MEG) which is worn like a helmet and adapts to any head size, including babies, allowing participants to move freely, play or interact with family during a scan. The MEG cap tracks brain networks in real time and can be an early indicator of conditions such as autism or ADHD.
  • 3T MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) a high-quality portable MRI which is well-suited to children.
  • Child friendly suites for near infra-red (NIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking which are more robust for younger children and those who find it difficult to sit still.
  • Immersive assessment facility (to understand social and cognitive function in real world settings) and VR for both experiences and therapy.

Despite the urgency and scale of the challenge, mental health research lags far behind the focus and discoveries resulting from successful investment in physical health care research. As of 2018, only 6.1% of the UK’s health research budget was spent on mental health and funding has remained largely unchanged for a decade1. As a result, improvements in prevention and care are progressing too slowly to meet the increasing need.
This investment from Research England will support a step-change in mental health research for young people.

The ambitions of the Pears Maudsley Centre are to ensure that all young people enter adult life with their best mental health by generating new scientific insights, reducing the time taken to translate new discoveries into effective prevention and treatment effective programmes.

The Pears Maudsley Centre is set to be a game-changer in children and young people’s mental health. This UKRPIF and philanthropic funding will enable us to deliver a major upgrade in research capabilities, by providing cutting-edge clinical research equipment alongside a dedicated research collaboration hub, facilitating collaboration between our world leading academics and clinicians. It will give us a crucial understanding of brain mechanisms and more accurate, personalised measures of treatment in a specialist clinical research facility designed specifically for children and young people.

Professor Shitij Kapur

President & Principal of King’s College London

The funding from Research England is double match-funded (£22m) by private and philanthropic sources, including Maudsley Charity, Pears Foundation, The Rayne Foundation, The Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust, The Wolfson Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, and The Prudence Trust.

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