Partnership and Collaboration

We are closely linked to many local and national clinical organisations, across the health service, government and the third sector. Many of our scientists are also clinicians and often share their time between clinical and research duties. This ensures a close link between research, teaching and the needs of the populations we serve clinically. These collaborations maximise the potential for educating the next generation of clinician-scientists, and translating research into meaningful clinical improvements.

Camden and Islington

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I) is a key research partner for UCL in mental health research . This includes basic health sciences to applied research. The Trust hosts multiple joint clinical appointments for academics in Psychiatry and Psychology, including clinical epidemiologists working in CYP cohorts. C&I also hosts NIHR Academic Clinical Fellows and Academic Clinical Lecturers on the Integrated Academic Training Programme. The Trust is a core part of the North Central London Training scheme in psychiatry. Although the C&I does not provide CAMHS services, trainees take rotational placements at local partner NHS organisations including The Tavistock and Portman, UCLH and the Whittington. Intellectual disability research is well represented. The Trust’s research activity is supported through NOCLOR Research Support.

UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health

There are close links between the research teams at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and clinical teams in the UCL Great Ormond Street Hospital. Many clinical psychologists and psychiatrists have joint academic and clinical appointments and several clinics at GOSH feed into multidisciplinary research programs, which include neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, as well as a range of evidence-based psychological treatments for children with chronic illnesses.

East London NHS Foundation Trust and North East London NHS Foundation Trust: Both academic and clinical training on the GOSH-Royal London scheme work closely with community services within the East London NHS Foundation Trust and the North East London NHS Foundation Trust, where UCL scientists are conducting research relevant for children and young people’s mental health and engaging local consultants in our academic training program.

Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

UCL has a long-standing partnership with the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (AFC), a leading charity supporting children’s mental health, through the provision of innovative services, training and research. This partnership brings together the academic excellence of UCL with the world leading expertise of AFC in research and practice in the fields of child development, psychopathology and intervention.

AFC’s Chief Executive Professor Peter Fonagy is Director of the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, and a number of other senior clinical and academic staff hold joint posts across the AFC and UCL. In partnership with UCL, AFC hosts three research units, the Evidence Based Practice Unit (EBPU), the Child Attachment and Psychological Therapies Unit (ChAPTRe) and the Developmental Neuroscience Unit, as well as delivering a range of postgraduate programmes from certificate to doctoral level. AFC’s postgraduate studies programme has attracted students from the UK and abroad who wish to advance their research and clinical understanding and skills for over 20 years.

The AFC is also a leading policy centre for children’s mental health, providing advice and guidance to government, NHS England and many other organisations across the country.

UK Trauma Council: The UK Trauma Council was co-founded and is co-directed by Prof. Eamon McCrory at UCL. Dr Rochelle Burgess, lecturer in Global Health at UCL’s Institute of Global Health sits on the Council providing expertise in community participation. Collectively, the Council brings together a group of leading experts, drawn from a variety of disciplines across all four nations of the UK, including research, practice and policy. It provides an authoritative and independent voice on childhood trauma, with a particular focus on creating and disseminating evidence-based resources and guidance.