Research centre for addiction and mental health to tackle ‘hidden’ issues

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Research, supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is a partnership between the University of York’s Institute of Mental Health Research, the University of Hull, and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London.

One in four adults and one in ten children experience mental illness. It is estimated 340,000 people need help for opiate use and over 600,000 need alcohol treatment, with a large group of adults and young people experiencing both mental ill health and substance use.

Researchers at the new Centre will undertake a clinical study to explore tangible solutions to the complex issue around addiction and mental health conditions in young people and adults. Experts aim to amplify the voices of people with lived experience, and those of their family and carers, using their experiences of addiction and mental health care to inform the programme of research.

“Our initial focus will be on young people and adults with substance use and mental health problems, as well as adults with alcohol-related cognitive impairments,” Associate Director (Faculty of Sciences) at the Institute of Mental Health Research at the University of York, Professor Cynthia Iglesias, said.

“People with these issues often struggle to seek and access health services, and so they are hidden or excluded from the treatments they so urgently need.

“The work that we will do at the Centre aims to give these groups of people a voice so that they can be heard and seen across multiple services that can support their physical and mental health, as well as reduce the risks of future relapses.”

The Centre’s target area covers a diverse population of 1.7 million people in cities, market towns, rural villages and coastal communities across the Humber and North Yorkshire, which includes some of the most deprived communities in the UK.

Professor Lina Gega, Director of the Institute of Mental Health Research, at the University of York, said: “The knowledge, skills and insights of different disciplines and professions are necessary to address the complex challenge of addictions – both substance-related and behavioural addictions - and their interplay with poor mental health.

“The Institute of Mental Health Research at York will lend its interdisciplinary expertise to support the new Centre in its ambition to improve the lives and care of anyone in the Humber and North Yorkshire region affected by addiction and mental health problems.”

Despite the significant pressure on public health because of substance use, it has accounted for less than three per cent of the overall mental health research activity in the last decade.

Professor Thomas Phillips, Director of the Centre from the University of Hull, said: “Research, in many areas of addiction, is underdeveloped and under-resourced and we urgently need to identify how to improve the provision of treatments for those experiencing coexisting substance and mental health conditions.

“Crucially, we will involve and engage with young people, patients, carers, families and local communities as active partners in our research, so that together we can make a positive difference to health and wellbeing in our region and beyond.”