Research in East London has influenced public and professional debates on policy and clinical issues in mental health care on local, national and international levels.

There are different types of studies – research, audit, service evaluation, Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives, case notes studies, student thesis, etcetera.  All of them require formal authorisation from the Trust before participants can be approached or data collected.

Today's Research Is Tomorrow's Practice

Find out more about the studies that we are currently conducting and how to get involved in research.

Helpful resources such as our library services and how to access journal articles, research-related training available to ELFT staff, ELFT’s performance in initiating and delivering research studies, and frequently asked questions.

The Centre for Mental Health Research has an international reputation for co-produced research with young people, adults and older adults experiencing mental health problems in national and global settings. Their work focuses on reducing health inequalities by improving patient access, experience and outcomes, through novel methods, psychosocial interventions and models of care. Collaboration and co-production with people with lived experience of using mental health services, and the staff that provide these services, is at the heart of our research.

Sitting within the university’s Centre for Health Sciences Research, Health Psychology is the study of psychological processes in health, illness, and healthcare. Health Psychology focuses on relationships between cognitions, emotions and behaviours for healthy individuals, patients and healthcare professionals. By elucidating the drivers and barriers of individual behaviour and professional practice within these groups, Health Psychologists are able to develop specific interventions to maintain health, mitigate the impact of disease, and maximise the effectiveness of the healthcare system.

The Unit for Psychological Medicine focuses on understanding the shared aetiology and coexistence of mental illness with other disorders to inform development of preventive interventions; public mental health and health inequalities; the impact of life stress/genetic factors on mental illness and prevention of violence and radicalisation.

The Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry (USCP) conducts research on how social interactions can reduce and overcome mental distress. Social interactions are understood as everything that ‘happens between people' which includes interactions in societies, communities, groups, families and health care settings. The research is multi-disciplinary, aims to innovate and involves the development and testing of novel interventions in mental health care. The Unit plays a leading role in various national and international collaborations.

The Youth Resilience Research Unit (YRRU) is funded by Barts Charity and commenced its work on 1st March 2021. The overall aim of the YRRU is to study how young people (flexible age boundaries) use resources in the community to overcome mental distress. It will seek collaboration both with the mental health services and organisations for young people in the community outside health services.