About Mental Health Research UK

Mental Health Research UK is the first UK charity dedicated to raising funds for research into mental illnesses, their causes and cures. Mental Health Research UK was registered as a charity in 2008 (Charity No: 1125538).

In April 2014 Mental Health Research UK linked with the Schizophrenia Research Fund (SRF). The linking came about as over the years both charities have been awarding joint PhD Scholarships in the field of schizophrenia and the trustees of both organisations had a common interest to develop this association further.

The Trustees of SRF and the Trustees of Mental Health Research UK joined the new board of Trustees which now manages both charities. The association makes the future of Mental Health Research UK more financially secure and ensures that at least two PhD Scholarships can be awarded each year for the foreseeable future.

It is one of the few charities in the UK which gives at least 95% of all donations received to our charitable aim - in our case, research. If you support us, nearly every penny you give is helping to make a difference in the long-term .

If you wonder how big the problem is, please have a look at the statistics presented in The Statistics.

Funding for mental health research: the need for increased funding from charitable sources

Investment in mental health research is small in comparison with the burden of illness, whether considered in terms of personal suffering or in terms of the burden on the economy as a whole. There are many mental health charities in the UK that support people with mental illness and those that care for them. Some of these charities also fund research either carried out in-house or externally, but the amounts of money are relatively small. There is no equivalent of Cancer Research UK, The British Heart Foundation, or Diabetes UK to name just three of the major charities in other disease areas that fund research in the UK.

A new initiative: funding research to make a difference in the long-term

We fund research into:
  • The underlying causes of mental ill health 
  • Treatments for mental health problems 
We will at times co-fund appropriate research projects with other charities and bodies involved in mental health. We also aim to invest in building research capacity through awards to support PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.

User and carer involvement

Best practice will be followed to ensure that service users and carers are involved at all stages with the prioritisation of research topics and the commissioning of research. For example: 
  • All research project applications will be peer-reviewed by service user reviewers as well as academic reviewers 
Sources of funding for the feasibility phase

Glenn Richer of PKF (UK) LLP, advised on the development of an initial business plan. In partnership with Rethink successful bids were made to the South London and Maudsley Charitable Trust and to a private family foundation for funding for a market test and plan for fundraising with a report in January 2009. This piece of preliminary work was carried out by the Management Centre (Judy Beard and Angela Cluff) following a competitive tender.

Further information

For further information, or to pledge support, please contact us by sending an email to trustees@mhruk.org