Peter Kinderman (born 1965) is professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, and is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
Kinderman was born in Sussex, and attended King's College, Cambridge as an undergraduate. He then worked at St James’ Hospital Leeds, before professional training in Clinical Psychology at the University of Leeds.
He then worked in the National Health Service as a Clinical Psychologist before taking a job as a junior lecturer at the University of Liverpool, where he registered for a Ph.D. supervised by Richard Bentall. Soon after being awarded his doctorate, he moved to the University of Manchester, and then later returned to the University of Liverpool, where he became professor of Clinical Psychology.
His research interests are in psychological processes underpinning well-being and mental health, and in particular psychotic phenomena such as delusions and hallucinations.
In 2014 he launched a free, online, open-access course exploring our understanding of mental health and well-being. [1]
Kinderman has published widely on the role of psychological factors as mediators between biological, social and circumstantial factors in mental health and well-being. [2] In his 2019 book, A Manifesto for Mental Health: Why We Need a Revolution in Mental Health Care, he critically examines the dominant ‘disease-model’ of mental health care and offers a contemporary, biopsychosocial, alternative.
In 2022 Kinderman had a 2021 paper he co-authored in the Journal of Mental Health retracted by the journal's editors and publisher for a "conflict of interest [that] was not disclosed upon submission of the article [...] that compromises the reliability of the reviews and the paper’s findings." In response, Kinderman wrote that "the retraction is justified." [3]
In 2000, he received the British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology's 'May Davidson Award', an annual award for outstanding contributions to the field of clinical psychology, in the first ten years after qualifying.
He served the British Psychological Society as President (2016-2017) and twice as elected Chair of the Society's Division of Clinical Psychology; [4] from 2004 to 2005, and again from 2010–2011. In that role, he worked with the UK Department of Health, the BBC, the Health Professions Council, [5] the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency [6] and the UK Office for National Statistics, [7] amongst others. In 2017, he resigned from being Vice-President of the British Psychological Society, citing the formation of the Association of Clinical Psychologists (UK) as a trigger, [8]
Kinderman is a member of the Council for Evidence Based Psychiatry, [9] and a trustee of the Joanna Simpson Foundation,. [10]
Medical psychology or medico-psychology is the application of psychological principles to the practice of medicine, sometimes using drugs for both physical and mental disorders.
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both conscious and unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feelings, and motives. Psychology is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between the natural and social sciences. Biological psychologists seek an understanding of the emergent properties of brains, linking the discipline to neuroscience. As social scientists, psychologists aim to understand the behavior of individuals and groups.
Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome problems. Psychotherapy aims to improve an individual's well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviors, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions, and to improve relationships and social skills. Numerous types of psychotherapy have been designed either for individual adults, families, or children and adolescents. Certain types of psychotherapy are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders; other types have been criticized as pseudoscience.
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how individuals relate to each other and to their environments.
Richard Bentall is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield in the UK.
Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment, clinical formulation, and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration. In many countries, clinical psychology is a regulated mental health profession.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom.
Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. The discipline is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly. For example, chronically occurring environmental stressors affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, cumulatively, can harm health. Behavioral factors can also affect a person's health. For example, certain behaviors can, over time, harm or enhance health. Health psychologists take a biopsychosocial approach. In other words, health psychologists understand health to be the product not only of biological processes but also of psychological, behavioral, and social processes.
A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals, to prevent admissions, and to provide support in homes, jobs, education, and community. These individuals were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs, which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing, psychiatric rehabilitation, supported or transitional employment, sheltered workshops, supported education, daily living skills, affirmative industries, dual diagnosis treatment, individual and family psychoeducation, adult day care, foster care, family services and mental health counseling.
Patrick J. McGrath, OC, FRSC FCAHS is a Canadian psychologist noted for his contribution to research on childhood pain.
Although modern, scientific psychology is often dated from the 1879 opening of the first psychological clinic by Wilhelm Wundt, attempts to create methods for assessing and treating mental distress existed long before. The earliest recorded approaches were a combination of religious, magical and/or medical perspectives. Early examples of such psychological thinkers included Patañjali, Padmasambhava, Rhazes, Avicenna and Rumi.
Military psychology is a specialization within psychology that applies psychological science to promote the readiness of military members, organizations, and operations. Military psychologists provide support to the military in many ways, including through direct clinical care, consultation to military commanders, teaching others and supporting military training; and through research relevant to military operations and personnel.
Kevin Joseph Michael Gournay CBE FMedSci FRCN FRSM FRCPsych (Hon) PhD RN CSci Cert CBT is a registered psychologist, chartered scientist and a registered nurse by background. He is an emeritus professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience; King's College London. He was a consultant psychologist at the Priory Hospital North London; retiring in December 2018. He then returned to clinical work as part of the national response to COVID19; retiring once more in 2023. He is currently an Honorary Professor at the Matilda Centre; University of Sydney. His work in Australia spans 30 years to the present and focusses on the combination of mental health problems and substance use. During the COVID19 pandemic he contributed to research on the impacts of COVID19 on mental health. He has been responsible over many years for a very wide range of research, policy and practice development in mental health care. He also works as an Expert Witness; he has provided reports on more than 300 suicides; 20 homicides and hundreds of reports on people who have suffered the consequences of traumatic events, including accidents, terrorist related incidents, natural disasters, war related events and stillbirth and perinatal death. He has also provided numerous reports on patients receiving care and treatment in high secure and Medium secure settings, including Broadmoor, Rampton and Ashworth hospitals
The degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy/DClinPsych/ClinPsyD) is a professional doctorate in clinical psychology, awarded mainly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The degree has both clinical and research components, and qualifies the holder to practice as a clinical psychologist in Britain's National Health Service and other clinical settings. It bears some similarities to the Doctor of Psychology degree in the United States.
Dame Til Wykes, Lady Davies, DBE is an English academic, author and editor.
Doctoring the Mind: Why psychiatric treatments fail is a 2009 book by Richard Bentall, his thesis is critical of contemporary Western psychiatry. Bentall, a professor of clinical psychology, argues that recent scientific research shows that the medical approach to mental illness is fatally flawed. According to Bentall, it seems there is no "evidence that psychiatry has made a positive impact on human welfare" and "patients are doing no better today than they did a hundred years ago".
Richard Allan Bryant is an Australian medical scientist. He is Scientia Professor of Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and director of the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic, based at UNSW and Westmead Institute for Medical Research. His main areas of research are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and prolonged grief disorder. On 13 June 2016 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to medical research in the field of psychotraumatology, as a psychologist and author, to the study of Indigenous mental health, as an advisor to a range of government and international organisations, and to professional societies.
Jonathan S. Comer. is an American psychologist who is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Florida International University. He is currently the director of an interdisciplinary clinical research program called the Mental health Interventions and Novel Therapeutics (MINT) Program. The MINT program focuses on improving the quality, scope, and accessibility of mental health care. Comer also serves as director of the Network for Enhancing Wellness in Disaster-Affected Youth, a SAMHSA-funded program in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) that provides trauma-informed training and consultation to youth-serving professionals in disaster-prone and disaster-hit regions. Comer is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and a leader in the field of clinical child and adolescent psychology. The author of over 250 scientific papers and chapters, he has received early career awards from the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies for his work. His research has been funded by federal agencies and by several private foundations and non-profit organizations. He has also received funding from the Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety.
Lillian Comas-Díaz is an American psychologist and researcher of multiethnic and multicultural communities. She was the 2019 winner of American Psychological Association (APA) Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Practice of Psychology. In 2000, she received the APA Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contribution to the Public Interest.