ORCID

Abstract

The past twenty years, British academic psychiatry has made significant scientific advances in neurosciences, psychopharmacology, imaging and genetics with patients increasingly being involved as research partners. However, this progress has coincided with marked structural deterioration. Despite a 50% expansion in medical school places and rising mental health needs, full-time academic psychiatrists numbers fell from 330 in 2004 to 206 in 2023. This reduction has constrained research capacity, limited educational opportunities, and exacerbated regional disparities. The current academic landscape is precarious. While research-active services deliver demonstrably better patient outcomes and service outcomes (productivity/efficiency), the research workforce remains small and unevenly distributed. Recent calls to action have emphasised how academic psychiatry must be seen as ‘everyone’s business,’ and highlighted its role in fostering critical thinking, high-quality teaching, and impactful research. In future, sustained investment in workforce development, diversity, and infrastructure is essential. Emerging technologies including digital health, artificial intelligence and precision psychiatry offer transformative possibilities. Regional, networked and virtual academic units can democratise participation and broaden engagement. Academic psychiatry must adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including the private sector. This specialty is indispensable for innovation, clinician development and evidence-based compassionate care for our patients but needs to justify it.

Publication Date

2025-09-15

Publication Title

International Review of Psychiatry

ISSN

0954-0261

Acceptance Date

2025-09-08

Deposit Date

2025-09-15

Funding

There is no direct conflict of interest to declare for this paper for any of the authors. RS is the associate Dean for academic training for the Royal College of Psychiatrists. AHY is the Chair of the Academic faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Their views and contributions to this paper does not represent the views of the Royal Collegeof Psychiatrists or any other organisation.This is also the position of other authors of this paper. RS has received institutional research, travel support and/or honorarium for talks and expert advisory boards from LivaNova, UCB, Eisai, Veriton Pharma, Bial, Angelini, UnEEG and Jazz/GW Pharma outside the submitted work. He holds or has held competitive grants from various national grant bodies including Innovate, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (ESPRC), National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), NHS Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) and other funding bodies including charities all outside this work. RL has been Chief Investigator in studies for Janssen and Boehringer Ingelheim. AY has provided paid lectures and advisory boards for the following companies with drugs used in affective and related disorders: Flow Neuroscience, Novartis, Roche, Janssen, Takeda, Noema pharma, Compass, Astrazenaca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, LivaNova, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Servier, Allegan, Bionomics, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, Sage, Neurocentrx, and Otsuka. He has been PI/CI to studies funded by various pharmaceutical companies. He has received grant funding (past and present): NIMH (USA); CIHR (Canada); NARSAD (USA); Stanley Medical Research Institute (USA); MRC (UK); Wellcome Trust (UK); Royal College of Physicians (Edin); BMA (UK); UBC-VGH Foundation (Canada); WEDC (Canada); CCS Depression Research Fund (Canada); MSFHR (Canada); NIHR (UK). Janssen (UK) EU Horizon 2020. JRT acknowledges the financial support of the EPSRC via Fellowship EP/T027703/1 and via grant EP/W035030/1. JRT is Co-Founder and Director of Neuronostics Ltd. No other author has any conflict of interest.

Keywords

Academic psychiatry, bio-psycho-social approach, innovation, personalized medicine, precision medicine

First Page

1

Last Page

11

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