Hannah Gray
Department, Institution: Division of Psychiatry, UCL
UBEL Pathway: Mental Health Research
Supervisor: Professor Joanna Moncrieff
Contact details: hannah.gray.22@ucl.ac.uk
About Me
I am a research student in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London. I hold a BA (Hons) in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford and an MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences from UCL. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a research assistant in the Division of Psychiatry on the Community Navigator Trial, evaluating a novel social intervention for mental health problems. My research interests centre on how the narratives used to make sense of people’s distress shape their experiences and recovery.
My Research
My research will explore how common mental disorders are diagnosed and treated within primary and secondary mental health services. It will aim to identify drivers of ‘over-medicalisation’ of social and personal problems in this context, and to explore how gender and social disadvantage affect these processes.
The research will consist primarily of an ethnographic study of how patients’ problems are presented, formulated and treated within community mental health and GP services in North-East London.
Impact of My Research
This research project will be the first to use ethnographic methods to capture micro-processes through which social and personal problems become interpreted as medical disorders, and the factors influencing these processes. The research will help to inform whether current practices in mental healthcare settings are justified by medical need, and will highlight opportunities to address both over treatment and unmet needs among health service users. Findings will provide guidance for policy and practice, promoting more balanced, person-centred approaches to mental health care.