The fifth Veterans’ Mental Health Conference at King’s College London brought together leading academics, charities and policy makers to network and to hear the latest research on military mental health from speakers of world-class reputation…
Guests included the Duke of Sussex, who has attended the conference three years running, and the Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood, Minister for Defence, People and Veterans who gave the opening address. The Duke met some of the speakers including Professor Zahava Solomon from Tel Aviv University, Ms Kacie Kelly from the George W Bush Institute and Dr Heidi Cramm from Queens University, Canada.
Organised by King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) and sponsored by the Forces in Mind Trust, the theme of this year’s conference is evidence, innovation and practice. As well as influential UK and international researchers, the conference featured perspectives from Combat Stress, Contact, the NHS and the BBC.
KCMHR is the leading civilian UK centre of excellence for military health research. Co-directed by Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Nicola Fear, KCMHR draws on the experience of a multidisciplinary team, many of whom feature in this year’s conference, including Professor Wessely, Dr Dan Leightley, Professor Edgar Jones, Dr Dominic Murphy and Professor Neil Greenberg.
Commenting on the day’s events, Professor Greenberg said: “We are delighted that for the fifth year running this conference has been such a great success. Being able to welcome the Duke of Sussex back for the third time has been a real honour, and we were thrilled that the Rt Hon Tobias Ellwood was able to give the opening address.
“Having a forum to exchange ideas with colleagues in academia, the military, the public sector and Service charities is of huge benefit to the whole team at KCMHR. We hope all the attendees find the conference beneficial in working to improve the lives of service personnel, serving or retired, and their families.”
