Danny Bowman
Mental Health Policy in the United Kingdom from the Perspectives of Advocates, Civil Society and Politics Elites in the 21st Century
Biography
I have recently started my PhD at Liverpool after undertaking my BA and MA at the University of York in Social Policy. Alongside my studies, I have worked as Director of Mental Health and Head of Campaigns at the think-tank Parliament Street alongside founding the charity MaleVoicED which supports males experiencing eating disorders and other co-morbid conditions. My main areas of interest include UK mental health reform, global mental health discourse, and healthcare inequalities.
Research Interests
My research focuses on the determinants of mental health policy change within the United Kingdom. Using cross-disciplinary theories, it aims to examine why mental health policy has become so prominent within contemporary political discourse in the United Kingdom. It examines the different forms that policy has taken throughout the four countries of the UK and what has influenced these policy prescriptions. It also asks whether there is a party-political determinism in the construction and form of policy prescriptions within the area. The research aims to conduct semi-structured interviews with senior politicians, leading mental health charities, and individual mental health campaigners to consider the questions posed.