Covid-19 and Mental Health

by Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft

Professor of Community Psychiatry

Center for Global Mental Health & Centre for Implementation Science

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience

King’s College London

Consultant Psychiatrist

South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

The topic addressed

This talk will give a brief overview of the recent, current and potential future impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health. The presentation will consider: (1) impacts on the general population; (2) impacts on people with pre-existing mental illness; (3) impacts on people who provide essential services and are at increased risk of infection and; (4) impacts on people who are infected by Covid-19. This summary will draw upon recent publications by the author on Covid-191-4

The presenter

Graham is Professor of Community Psychiatry at the Centre for Global Mental Health and the Centre for Implementation Science, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He also works as a Consultant Psychiatrist at South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in a local community mental health team in Lambeth. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, is a National Institute of Health Research Senior Investigator Emeritus and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Honorary Fellow of King’s College London and the Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Graham has authored or edited over 30 books and over 580 peer-reviewed papers in Pubmed.

References

1. Vigo D, Patten S, Pajer K, et al. Mental Health of Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Can J Psychiatry 2020: 706743720926676.

2. Vigo D, Thornicroft G, Gureje O. The Differential Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Low- and Middle-Income Countries vs High-Income Countries. JAMA Psychiatry 2020.

3. Ostuzzi G, Papola D, Gastaldon C, et al. Safety of psychotropic medications in people with COVID-19: evidence review and practical recommendations. BMC Med 2020; 18(1): 215.

4. Maulik PK, Thornicroft G, Saxena S. Roadmap to strengthen global mental health systems to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Ment Health Syst 2020; 14: 57.