1.1
Mental health and wellbeing
Keywords
Mental health, primary care, psychiatry, clinical
psychology, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychosis,
public health
Expertise
The University of Liverpool has a wealth of experience
and expertise in assessing the social determinants of
mental health and wellbeing and in finding ways to help
people. We bring together a variety of specialists and
organisations to address the needs of individuals,
communities and populations around the world.
Our research community includes colleagues from
experimental, applied and clinical psychology, from
sociology and health economics, from healthcare
management, public health and medical colleagues
from primary care and general practice.
At the policy level we have expertise in studying and
ameliorating health inequalities, the epidemiology of
depression, improving health systems, better crowd
control, regulating nutritional health claims and how to
promote health and wellbeing at work. For individuals,
we are making new discoveries about fundamental
mechanisms in perception, cognition and motivation,
and problems such as maternal depression,
adolescent eating disorders, addiction, obesity
and offending behaviour.
A major aspect of our work is seeing things differently,
from a broader perspective, for example by drawing
together the social, economic and biological sciences
to discover the true root causes of ill health. Our work
in exploring brain function is contributing to the under-
standing and treatment of alcoholism, pain and obesity.
Our study of infant mortality in Islamabad showed
that if we treated postnatal depression in their
mothers, the health of the children improved. We
also lowered the incidence of respiratory disease in
Guatemalan children by recommending families be
given new stoves with proper chimneys.
We work closely with the National Health Service
(
NHS) to evaluate interventions and service design.
Our expertise is relevant to any organisation wishing to
understand why its members, employees, customers or
stakeholders behave in the ways they do.
We have helped evaluate the effectiveness of major
psychosocial interventions, advised on the meaning
and nature of wellbeing at all levels from the individual
to national governments and contributed to the National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
guidelines on the care of people with a wide range
of mental health problems.
Capabilities and facilities
Our work is based on human expertise, rather than
technology. We therefore have capabilities in
qualitative and quantitative research; in single-case
clinical methodologies, randomised controlled-trials
evaluating psychosocial interventions and the
experimental study of psychological processes.
We have expertise in study design, quantitative and
qualitative analysis, including systematic reviews
and covariance modelling. We also have access to
imaging technology (through the University’s
Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research
Centre and others) and facilities for observational
studies, including of children.
A major aspect of our
work is seeing things
differently, from a broader
perspective, for example
by drawing together the
social, economic and
biological sciences to
discover the true root
causes of ill health.
Health & Wellbeing
13
1.
Human health and wellbeing
APPLICATION AREAS
•
Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
•
Society and community
•
Biotechnology
•
Nanotechnology and advanced materials
•
Arts and leisure
•
Creative industries
•
Financial and business services
•
Information and communication
technology (ICT)
•
Aerospace and automotive
