The National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) brings together world-leading researchers from Cardiff, Swansea and Bangor Universities to learn more about the triggers and causes of mental health problems.
We aim to help improve diagnosis, treatment and support for the millions of people affected by mental ill-health every year, as well as reduce the stigma faced by many.
Key to achieving these aims is to engage with services and their users, the third sector and the wider public to increase understanding of mental illness, and by supporting and undertaking mental health research.
Our research
Mental health problems reflect a complex interplay of social, psychological and biological factors. This means that no single method of research can deliver all the answers, so we use a variety of techniques to investigate how these areas overlap and interact.
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Help us better understand the causes of mental health problems by joining our research community.
Our mental health is influenced by a complex interplay of social, psychological and biological factors and we need research that takes account of them all. That is why, at the National Centre for Mental Health, we support many research approaches.
From interviews and questionnaire based assessments to neuroimaging and laboratory studies. We believe in the importance of work, for example, that seeks to increase our understanding of both the social determinants of mental health and the influence that genetic factors play in determining our vulnerability to mental illness.
All the work we support will, we believe, ultimately lead to better prediction and prevention, earlier identification, and improved options for support and treatment.
All our work will ultimately be judged on its impact on those with lived experience of mental illness.
Psychosocial research
We use interview and questionnaire-based assessments to gather information on social and psychological factors that may influence a person’s risk of becoming unwell.
By being able to pinpoint particular personality traits and social determinants or specific life events that are associated with higher risk of illness, we can help health professionals to identify at-risk patients earlier and give them access to the right support and treatment.
Biological research
Our biological research is an important step towards developing better diagnoses and treatments. Laboratory studies help us to understand more about how mental illness might alter the way in which molecules, nerve cells and brain systems work.
Neuroimaging research
Neuroimaging offers a powerful insight into the structure and function of the human brain. Techniques like MRI can help us bridge the gap in understanding how the symptoms experienced in mental illness are linked to genetic risk factors.
We can also investigate the effectiveness of neuroimaging as a treatment for mental health problems as well as drug and alcohol addictions.
Get involved
More than 30,000 people have signed up to be part of our mental health research community, which is open to everyone over the age of 18, whether you’ve had experience of mental illness or not.
Find out more… in as little as 15 minutes and join our research community and see what opportunities are currently available to take part in.
Find out more
Learn more about our research and engagement activities in our annual report.
Our funders
Akriva Health
Alzheimer’s Research UK
Alzheimer’s Society
Big Lottery Fund
Blake Morgan LLP
Centre for Homelessness Impact
Commission of the European Communities
DHSC
Economic & Social Research Council
EPSRC (MRC Lead)
ESRC
Healthcare & Research Wales Fellowship
Innovate UK
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
McPin Foundation
Medical Research Council
Medical Research Foundation
Mental Health Research UK
National Institute for Health Research
P1vital Ltd
PrecisionLife
RCBC (Research Building Capacity Collaboration) Wales First Into Research Fellowship
Ruhr Universitat Bochum
Takeda
The Waterloo Foundation
The Wolfson Foundation
UK Research & Innovation
Universities Wales
Wellcome Trust
Welsh European Funding Office
- Welsh Government:
- Health and Care Research Wales
- Health and Care Research Wales – Research for Patient and Public Benefit (RfPPB) Wales
- Sêr Cymru
Join our research community and help us make a difference