Momentum is

building

MQmentalhealth.org

Annual Review 2016

Annual Review 2016

Forewords 4

Introduction to MQ 8

Momentum building: our work in 2016 9 – Momentum in… the search for life-changing answers – Momentum in… bringing our community together – Momentum in… building a movement for change

How we build momentum 21 – Our finance report 2016 – Thank you to our supporters – Our priorities for 2017

Keep the momentum building Back cover

For MQ, 2016 was a year of more. More researchers searching for the answers that will transform mental health. More links forged between mental health scientists around the world. More people joining our movement to build awareness, raise money and push mental health forward. This was a year of beginnings, of progress, of collaboration.

For MQ, this was a year of

momentum building.

4 | MQ Annual Review 2016

Forewords

Our Chief Executive Cynthia Joyce and Chairman Sir Philip Campbell look back on a year when mental health research started to get the attention it needs.

As little as 10 years ago, research rarely featured in conversations about mental health. But over the past years, we have started to see important shifts in the public dialogue – supported and championed by MQ – which feel profound, widespread and full of potential.

When the Mental Health Taskforce published its Five Year Forward View for Mental Health in 20161, recognition of mental health research took another step forward.

This national plan for mental health in England features an entire chapter on innovation and research. The need for a data revolution is covered in detail too.

There is growing recognition in the patient support community and among service providers that the tools we have to prevent and respond to mental health problems are woefully inadequate. It no

longer feels novel to hear mental health research mentioned in the same breath as existing treatments and interventions.

Momentum, without a doubt, is building, and it was deeply gratifying to us both to witness this continuing shift in 2016 – and to feel that MQ has played a part in bringing a national and international focus on the role research must play in the future of mental health.

Momentum is building in many ways.

We were able to fund more research in 2016 than ever before and to launch our data science programme, capitalising on the UK’s world-leading position in bioinformatics. Our research community continued to grow and attract experts from an ever-increasing range of disciplines. More people joined MQ to fundraise, to campaign or simply to raise awareness that the status quo in mental health cannot continue.

But of course, momentum, like research, takes time to bear fruit. The first recipients of our Fellows funding are just now completing their funded projects and we eagerly await their results. It will be several years until we understand the impact of the studies we set in motion this year. As the search for answers continues, millions of people are unable to find the support they need.

So the need to emphasise the value of research remains as urgent as ever. As Ian Goodyer highlights in the adjoining foreword, in many areas of mental health, little has changed in decades. Scientists remain hamstrung by the limitations of existing knowledge and evidence. Only by transforming not just our attitude to mental health research, but the investment it attracts, can we ensure the momentum we are seeing turns into meaningful, life-changing progress.

Cynthia JoyceChief Executive Officer, MQ

Sir Philip Campbell Chairman, MQ

1) The Mental Health Taskforce (2016). The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. A report from the independent Mental Health Taskforce to the NHS in England.

January 2013

MQ: Transforming mental health is launchedThanks to generous start-up funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Institute of Social Psychiatry.

September 2013

MQ Fellows Awards launched Turn to p12 to see how our 2016 Fellows are tackling the big questions in mental health.

November 2014

PsyIMPACT programme launchedMeet our latest researchers improving psychological treatments on p10.

2013 2014

Taking on mental illness: MQ: Our first three years

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 5

Developmental Psychiatrist Ian Goodyer explains why urgent investment in research is the only answer to rising rates of mental illness.

Mental health has gripped the public imagination in the last decade in a way that has never previously been the case. At the same time, a real evidence base has emerged showing, firstly, an increase in common mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, and secondly, continuity between these common illnesses in young people and the development of more severe mental illnesses later in life.

And yet we face a paradox. Public concern has increased, stigma is being challenged, but we are no closer to the population-level approaches nor the understanding of causes of mental illness that our response urgently needs.

Equally, we face an appalling lack of progress in the development of new treatments and interventions. I began practising as a psychiatrist in 1976, and many of the medications and treatments I was using then have barely changed since. It would be unthinkable for a heart or cancer specialist to say the same thing.

The key reason for this lack of forward motion? Simply put, the staggering lack of investment in mental health

science. The greatest advances in areas such as heart disease and cancer came after significant periods of investment. We have not yet seen such a period for mental health.

We need new science. As clinicians and researchers, we need to discover new methods that will decrease the incidence of mental illness. We need population-based studies that improve our ability to detect and understand mental illness in communities.

We won’t do that without unprecedented support for mental health science – and that’s where I see MQ as a vital player.

It’s the only charity in the world that is operationalised to truly advance our understanding of mental illness.

I work with a research centre in Toronto and scientists there know all about MQ. I have colleagues in Australia who are collaborating with MQ. The MQ events I have attended have been universally uplifting. People are keen to work together, and it is true to say that momentum is building. The door is open.

MQ is making a big impact in many ways, but it must continue with its mission and continue to expand. This is only the beginning, and to inspire the shift in knowledge we so urgently require, we must continue to be hugely ambitious.

Ian Goodyer Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, and Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for MQ’s Brighter Futures programme.

February 2015

Inaugural MQ annual Mental Health Science Meeting heldFind out what happened at our 2016 event on p16.

November 2015

MQ Bipolar ConferenceRead about our work shaping research priorities for bipolar disorder at www.mqmentalhealth.org/articles/bipolar-disorder-research-priorities.

2014 2015

April 2015

Research Funding Landscape published

To read more about our major research review, head to

www.mqmentalhealth.org/articles/research-funding-landscape.

2016

September 2015

MQ Data Science Group first meetsDiscover how we put data at the heart of our work in 2016 on p14.

6 | MQ Annual Review 2016

We are MQ. We exist to create a world where mental illness is understood, effectively treated, and ultimately prevented.

1 in 4 of us experience a mental illness each year.2

Mental illness costs the UK economy between £70 and £100 billion annually.3

Just 5.8% of all UK health research investment is spent on mental health research.4

Since 2013, over 60,000 people have joined us to champion mental health research.

We currently fund 24 research projects worth over £5 million in total.

£5m

£70– £100 billion

22x more is spent on cancer research than mental health research, per person affected.5

Cancer research

Mental health research

60,000

2) McManus, S., Meltzer, H., Brugha, T., Bebbington, P., & Jenkins, R. (2007). Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007 Results of a household survey. London, UK.

3) Centre for Mental Health. (2009). The economic and social costs of mental health problems in 2009/10, 1–4. London, UK.

4) UK Clinical Research Collaboration. (2014). UK Health Research Analysis 2014. London, UK.

5) MQ: Transforming Mental Health (2016) The MQ manifesto for young peoples mental health.

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 7

I’d never really thought of mental health research before, but taking part in this study has been amazing. It’s totally changed my life. I’ve been able to do so many things that I never would have been able to do before.

Now, whenever I feel a panic attack coming on, I realise that I am a lot stronger than I think I am.

My message for all MQ supporters and donors who make this work possible is thank you so much. Please just keep doing what you’re doing because it’s going to help a lot of people who are struggling like I did.

Research has totally changed my life

Teresa spent years experiencing debilitating panic attacks before taking part in a research project run by MQ Fellow Dr Andrea Reinecke. The research, which involved just one session of exposure therapy, has transformed Teresa’s ability to cope. We’re now funding Dr Reinecke to explore the impact that single-session therapy can have on anxiety.

Photo: Keith Barnes

8 | MQ Annual Review 2016

Introduction to MQ

Why it’s time to transform mental health research – and transform millions of lives. By any measure, our understanding of mental illness is nowhere near where it needs to be.

One in four of us experiences a mental illness each year, and yet our knowledge is so limited that getting an accurate diagnosis can take years. Treatments and interventions are nowhere near effective enough. Side effects from medications can be exhausting. And a painful period of trial-and-error is often needed to move towards a helpful solution.

At MQ, we won’t accept this status quo.

We won’t accept the devastating impact that a lack of understanding has on millions of people’s lives. And we won’t accept the huge disparity between research funding for physical and mental health.

Through research, we can inspire the next great shift in healthcare. We can approach mental illness with more clarity, more certainty and more compassion.

This is why we’re funding a growing range of research by the world’s best scientists and researchers, to find the answers and treatments people desperately need.

We’re building a global network of scientists and forming partnerships with like-minded organisations to drive forward mental health research more quickly.

And we’re shaping a movement of people – from fundraisers to campaigners – who share our determination to change lives through research. Our approach is interdisciplinary, with experts from across the sciences – biological, psychological and social – joining forces in the lab, through experimental psychology, in clinical trials and in prevention studies.

And our approach is international, as we connect researchers worldwide to share learning and deepen understanding of the full range of mental health conditions.

We know that creating change is a long-term project. We gained real momentum in 2016 – and we laid the foundations for even greater progress in 2017. At MQ, the movement to transform mental health through research is growing fast and gaining strength.

Improve understanding, to find out how and why mental health conditions develop, and to speed up diagnosis.

Improve current treatments, because everyone should have rapid access to a mental health treatment that works for them.

Prevent mental illness, because through research we can understand who is most at risk and take action to stop mental illness from developing.

WE WILL:

RESEARCH SPENDING

Cancer£178*

Dementia£110*

Mental health£8*

*Per person affected5

x1

x14

x22

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 9

Momentum

building: our work

in 2016

Momentum in...

The search for life-changing answers

Bringing our community together

Building a movement for change

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BREAKING THE LINK BETWEEN ANXIETY AND AUTISMProfessor Hugo Critchley, University of SussexFunding period: 2016–19

We’re funding Hugo to investigate whether therapy could help people with autism understand the reason for changes in their body’s response to certain situations, such as an increased heart rate in times of stress. Understanding these changes can help people to feel less anxious, so Hugo and his team hope to reduce the number of people with autism who also develop an anxiety disorder. If the treatment works, the plan is to develop an app for therapists to use.

Our PsyIMPACT programme funds innovative research to help more people get more effective psychological treatments, more quickly.

In 2016, we supported five new PsyIMPACT projects with a total of £1 million in new funding.

Momentum in...

the search for

life-changing

answers

We funded more researchers than ever in 2016, enabling more scientists to explore new mental health insights and new ways to respond.

Research to transform psychological support

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 11

PREVENTING PTSD IN EMERGENCY WORKERS Dr Jennifer Wild, University of OxfordFunding period: 2016–19

Jennifer and her team previously found that student paramedics are at more risk of developing mental illness if they dwell on past events or doubt their own ability to cope. So the team is now testing a new combination of internet-based therapies to help emergency staff avoid dwelling on negative thoughts. If it’s successful, this approach could show whether upfront training can help to prevent depression and PTSD.

PREVENTING REPEATED SUICIDE ATTEMPTSProfessor Rory O’Connor, University of GlasgowFunding period: 2016–19

Rory is exploring whether a US-developed approach could help UK hospital staff reduce the number of people who attempt suicide again after trying to take their own lives. It involves creating a safety plan in hospital and talking through warning signs and ways to cope with suicidal thoughts. We’re supporting Rory to run the first randomised trial of the treatment with 120 people who have tried to take their own lives.

TREATING PSYCHOSIS USING VIRTUAL REALITYProfessor Andrew Thompson, Warwick Medical SchoolFunding period: 2016–19

We’re funding Andrew and his team to explore whether virtual reality can deliver effective therapy for schizophrenia and other illnesses that cause psychosis and can make social interaction difficult. The team are working with technology experts and people with experience of psychosis, and their innovative approach could have far-reaching consequences for a new generation of psychological therapies.

DISRUPTING DEPRESSION THROUGH ATTENTION TRAININGProfessor Ernst Koster, University of GhentFunding period: 2016–19

Is it possible to stop negative information having a damaging impact on people with depression? Ernst and his team are using eye-tracking techniques to monitor and adapt people’s responses to negative words shown on screen. A similar approach improved people’s ability to manage negative emotions, and we’re supporting the team to investigate whether this could also work for people with mental health problems.

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PREDICTING WHICH ANTIDEPRESSANTS WILL WORKTrinity College DublinFunding period: 2017–20

Huge numbers of people who seek help for depression endure months of little improvement and unnecessary side effects. So we’re funding Claire to design an internet-based tool to predict how people will respond to treatment. She’s collecting data from people who take medication for the first time, and creating an algorithm to then test in clinics. Claire’s ultimate aim is to transform the way we personalise treatment for depression.

INTEGRATING MENTAL HEALTH INTO ARTHRITIS TREATMENTKings College LondonFunding period: 2017–20 (Co-funded with Arthritis Research UK)

Around a third of the 500,000 people in the UK who live with rheumatoid arthritis also have a mental health condition.6 So we’re funding Sam to create an app to help healthcare staff create personalised treatment plans that address both physical and mental health symptoms. It’s based on an extensive review of existing data, and Sam hopes it will be a stepping stone to more integrated mental and physical healthcare.

Through our Fellows programme, we support the next generation of mental health researchers to tackle some of mental health’s greatest challenges, across disciplines and across the world.

In 2016, the fourth year of our Fellows programme, we announced four new MQ Fellows: Claire, Sam, Patrick and Jean-Baptiste.

Research to answer the big questions

Dr Claire Gillan Dr Sam Norton

6) Matcham F, Rayner L, Steer S, et al. The prevalence of depression in rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Rheumatology (Oxford).

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 13

TREATING DEPRESSION BY STRENGTHENING BRAIN CONNECTIONSUniversity of MinnesotaFunding period: 2017–20

Supported by MQ, Patrick is using cutting-edge neuroscience to try and stimulate the brain to compensate for changes caused by mental illness. He’s exploring whether connections can be developed between cells to influence impulse control, attention span and other behaviours affected by mental illnesses like depression. This pioneering project could reshape our understanding of how treatments affect the brain.

UNDERSTANDING THE LINKS BETWEEN BULLYING AND MENTAL HEALTHUniversity College LondonFunding period: 2017–20

We know many young people who are bullied experience mental health problems, but we have limited knowledge of whether bullying is the direct cause. So Jean-Baptiste is using innovative statistical analysis of major datasets to consider the consequences of bullying. The insights he delivers could lead to more targeted and more effective support for people most at risk of being bullied.

We support each MQ Fellow with £225,000 for their three-year cutting-edge research.

So much more research is needed

Dr Patrick Rothwell Dr Jean-Baptiste Pingault

I was initially given a mental health diagnosis by my GP, but since then different health professionals have all had different opinions. It was a huge relief to finally get a diagnosis that made sense after more than ten years – to know there’s a name for it, there are other people who have it, there’s a treatment!

If I’d had my diagnosis earlier, I’d be in a completely different place now. Mental health is such an under-researched area, and I think so much more needs to happen.

Georgia, MQ blogger

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A growing focus on data

Which genes have the biggest impact on mental health?

In 2016, to increase momentum in data science, we:

• Launched the MQ Data Science Award, with up to £250,000 available for pioneering research projects that expand how data is used in mental health research

• Drove forward the Mental Health Data Science Group, helping academic and clinical experts, government specialists and representatives from patient groups to work together, share information, attract funding and build awareness of the potential of data science

• Created an online platform featuring key data science resources available to mental health researchers. It’s growing all the time at www.mqmentalhealth.org/articles/data-science

• Supported the development of a paper in the Lancet Psychiatry, detailing how the UK is ideally placed to harness the power of data science.

Data science has the potential to inspire new levels of research and drive mental health forward. Large datasets – from clinical data to patient questionnaires – can reveal vital clues about the causes and consequences of mental illness.

QUESTIONS DATA SCIENCE COULD HELP TO UNLOCK

How does our environment affect mental health?

What puts people at risk of mental illness?

What are the early warning signs of mental illness?

Which treatments are most effective, and why?

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 15

To transform the future of mental health, collaboration is key.

So many disciplines touch on mental health – the biological, psychological and social sciences, education, social care, health policy – that moving our understanding forwards depends on coming together as a community.

Momentum in...

bringing our

community together

1 6 | MQ Annual Review 2016

Our 2016 annual Mental Health Science Meeting was our biggest ever. It’s now one of the largest international conferences on mental health research and gaining recognition as one of the best.

The two-day event was designed to be much more than a talking shop. As ever, our focus was on helping people to find new approaches, build new connections and seek new insights together.

Speakers included Luciana Berger MP, then-Shadow Labour Minister for Mental Health, and Norman Lamb MP, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson. They were joined by leading researchers in areas including child and adolescent psychology, brain and cognitive development, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.

In 2016, we brought scientists, politicians and policy-makers together to help shape the future of research, and made sure everyone was focused on the issues that need addressing most.

PROGRESS AND PARTNERSHIP AT OUR ANNUAL MENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE MEETING

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 17

DEPRESSION TOP TEN QUESTIONS

1. What are the best ways to prevent depression occurring and recurring?

2. What are the best ways to intervene early to stop depression, and how early should they be used?

3. What are the best ways to train health professionals to recognise and understand depression?

4. What is the impact on a child of having a parent with depression, and can parents stop their children from also developing the condition?

5. What are the best ways to tell people with depression about treatment options so they feel empowered to manage their condition?

6. What stops people from accessing care and treatment when they are depressed?

7. Does depression impact employment?

8. What can friends and family do to support people with depression?

9. Are education programmes in schools effective in reducing stigma?

10. What impact do waiting times have on people with depression?

Read more at: www.mqmentalhealth.org/articles/depression-priority-setting-partnership

A BETTER WAY TO FIND ANSWERS: BRINGING TOGETHER EXPERTS BY EXPERIENCE AND HEALTH AND RESEARCH EXPERTS

How do you make sure researchers focus on the issues that need answering most urgently? By listening to the people who know what it’s like to experience mental illness and seek help.

So, in partnership with the James Lind Alliance, we’ve worked on several projects to make sure people with first-hand experience are heard. More than 6,000 took part in surveys we helped create to understand more about depression and bipolar disorder. And in 2016 the questions they wanted research to answer were analysed and prioritised by people with lived experience, carers, medical professionals and academics.

Now we’re working to get these questions answered by research

Scientists are already using these priorities to develop detailed research questions and attract funding. And following the success of this project, in 2016 we joined similar projects to identify the priorities for life-changing research into:

• Mental illness in young people

• Digital technology in mental health treatment

As the results are published, we’ll keep working with researchers to ensure future studies respond to the questions people with experience of mental illness most want answered.

BIPOLAR TOP TEN QUESTIONS

1. What causes bipolar?

2. How can treatments be tailored to individuals?

3. What is the most effective combination of self-management approaches, therapy and medication?

4. What are the best ways to manage suicide risk among people with bipolar?

5. What could be done for people who do not get better with treatment?

6. What are the best ways to manage the side-effects of medication (including weight gain, problems with thinking and memory, and emotional numbness)?

7. Why does it take so long to get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and how could time to diagnosis be shortened?

8. Which are the best medications for treating episodes and for prevention of relapse in bipolar?

9. How effective are talking therapies such as counselling, dynamic psychotherapy and CBT?

10. Can medications with fewer side-effects be developed?

Read more at: www.jla.nihr.ac.uk/priority-setting-partnerships/bipolar

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In 2016, more fundraisers and campaigners got behind mental health research, more people shared their opinions and experiences with researchers – and we put the foundations in place for a greater focus on young people’s mental health.

Momentum in...

building a

movement for change

I wrote in my application form that I wanted to run the marathon for MQ because I believe we have a long way to go in learning how to deal with mental health issues. Knowing that I could go through this amazing personal journey, and in the process help really smart people to undertake incredibly complex and well-needed research into mental health conditions that affect so many people, made it that much better and helped no end with motivation. Ed, Team MQ marathon runner

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 19

After speaking to researchers, policy-makers, politicians and young people throughout 2016, it became clear that young people’s mental health needed far more attention.

So we launched a major new research programme and set the wheels in motion for a groundbreaking public campaign in 2017. At the end of the year we published our manifesto on young people’s mental health. It explained the three priorities that also shaped our new young people’s research programme – Brighter Futures:

• Transform understanding of how mental illness develops

• Help identify which young people are most at risk – and which support can help them at the earliest possible point

• Create life-changing treatments specifically for young people.

Through research, partnerships and greater collaboration, Brighter Futures will help to redefine mental health for the next generation. The impact of developing a mental health condition when young can be devastating and last a lifetime. But, with greater investment in research, we can develop new ways to respond to the specific needs of young people and enable health professionals to respond more effectively.

It’s vital that the real experiences guide our research and campaigning. Our new Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), launched in 2016, is one way we’ll make sure it happens.

Made up of under-25s who have experienced mental illness or cared for people with mental illness, the group meets four times a year so members can share their perspectives on the research we’re funding. As a result, researchers gain a powerful insight into the issues faced by young people, and the young people have the opportunity to influence work that could define the future of mental health.

In late 2016, we also announced that our first Innovation Workshop would take place early in 2017. The aim? To bring together researchers in multidisciplinary teams – and to award up to £2m in funding to research ideas with the power to transform young people’s mental health.

And to make sure our new focus on young people has the biggest possible impact, we also launched our We Swear campaign at the end of 2016. The campaign called on everyone who cares about mental illness in young people to swear to take it on – and the movement grew fast. But that’s a story for our 2017 review…

On average, three children in every classroom live with a diagnosable mental health condition7

75% of mental illness starts before people are 188

THE YOUNG PEOPLE SHARING THEIR INSIGHT

SUPPORTING NEW THINKING – AND A NEW CAMPAIGN

Tackling mental illness where it begins

7) Green, H., McGinnity, A., Meltzer, H., et al. (2005). Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain 2004. London: Palgrave.

8) Kim-Cohen, J., Caspi, A., Mo tt, T.T., Harrington, H.L., Milne, B.J., Poulton, R. (2003). Prior Juvenile Diagnoses in Adults With Mental Disorder Developmental Follow-Back of a Prospective-Longitudinal Cohort. Arch Gen Psychiatry.

2 0 | MQ Annual Review 2016

All over the UK, heroic fundraisers went to great lengths for mental health in 2016.

Carol singers in Canary Wharf raised over £1,000 (and plenty of festive cheer).

Law firm Howard Kennedy chose us as their charity of the year. Together, we welcomed ITV Political Editor Robert Peston and business and community leaders to discuss our new direction for young people’s mental health.

Staff from Cardiff University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute swapped labs for laps, raising more than £3,000 by completing the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Year 10s at Carre Grammar School raised £1,000 by doing a sponsored walk.

Our amazing London Marathon runners pushed their endurance levels to the max. Together, they ran 236 miles and raised £32,000 for mental health research.

Our phenomenal fundraisers

We can’t thank all of our fundraisers enough for their amazing efforts to help transform understanding of mental illness.

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 21

Just as momentum grew in 2016 in other key areas of operation, so too did our financial position continue to strengthen.

Generous start-up funding from the Wellcome Trust* and the Institute of Social Psychiatry continued to play a central role in our growth. Critically, this has allowed us to invest in our infrastructure, attracting a strong base of supporters, as well as the systems and resources required to manage them. Focus on these areas ensures that we remain on course to achieving our key objective; the creation of a self-sustaining publicly funded charity. Indeed, the early returns on this investment have been encouraging. Voluntary contributions to MQ from supporters and investors almost doubled in comparison to 2015, and we consolidated our relationships with major donors as our research plans took shape.

We also continued to build our fundraising team and capability, focusing on engaging corporate donors for the first time and forming our first charity of the year partnership with London law firm, Howard Kennedy. And, as we invested more in letting people know about MQ and our mission, our supporter base grew steadily. As a result, we ended 2016 in a strong position to launch our first major public campaign, ready to create a new level of awareness both of MQ and of the desperate need for research into young people’s mental health.

* At year end 2016, MQ had drawn down 50% of Wellcome Trust funding.

How we build momentum

Our finance report 2016

INCOME

Total £6,111,220

Wellcome Trust: £5,676,202

High Value Partnerships: £258,523

Community Fundraising: £74,863

Individual Giving: £85,683

Investments and other income: £15,949

EXPENDITURE

Research: £1,283,761

Fundraising: £1,566,968

Communications: £199,013

Staff Costs: £950,690

Office Running Costs: £180,275

Governance: £20,712

Total £4,201,419

Voluntary contributions to MQ from supporters and investors almost doubled in comparison to 2015.

Voluntary contributions to MQ from supporters and investors almost doubled in comparison to 2015.

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DONORS

MQ: FOUNDING PARTNER

The Bedford Family

The Institute of Social Psychiatry*

The Wellcome Trust

The Goulandris Family – The Milto Goulandris Mental Health Intelligence Library

MQ: INFLUENCER

Susan & John Wilkes The M & C Trust 

MQ: ADVOCATES

Eileen Gregg-Gilby – The Brighter Futures Programme

Mel & Marilyn Stein – The Brighter Futures Programme

St Michael’s Church, Aldbourne

Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy

Howard Kennedy LLP

Thank you to our supporters

LEGACY PLEDGERS

MQ: VISIONARIES

Cynthia Joyce

Dennis Stevenson

Mike Wilson CBE

Norman & Alison Lillie

MQ TRUSTEES 2016

Sir Philip Campbell (Chairman)

Dr Sarah Caddick (resigned 29th June 2016)

Professor Christopher Fairburn

Dr Arash Hejazi (appointed 19th December 2016)

Professor Emily Holmes

Shaun Horan

Professor Richard Morris

Professor Irene Tracey (appointed 19th December 2016)

Edward Walker-Arnott

Mike Wilson

See MQ website for updated 2017 Trustees www.mqmentalhealth.org/articles/trustees

We would like to thank our Founding Chairman, Lord Dennis Stevenson, and Trustees (listed, right) for their vision and support in building MQ.

We would also like to thank the following people and organisations for their support and generosity in helping our work to grow this year:

MQ LEADERSHIP TEAM

Cynthia Joyce, Chief Executive

Neil Balmer, Director of Communications

Sophie Dix, Director of Research

Timothy Drew, Director of Finance

Paul Stein, Director of Fundraising

*Formerly a charity associated with the Institute of Psychiatry at Kings College, London.

MQ Annual Review 2016 | 23

As the impetus around mental health research continued to grow, we ended 2016 with plans for even greater ambition in 2017. We set our sights on three key priorities closely linked to our main areas of progress in 2016.

1 Raising more funds to find life-changing answersSo many questions about mental health remain unanswered. So little evidence exists to help us build new understanding. Throughout 2017 and beyond, we’ll keep working to attract and distribute funding to projects that could change the lives of millions of people.

2 Inspiring greater scientific collaborationOur Brighter Futures programme for research into young people’s mental health will move forward rapidly in 2017, with up to £2m of funding available for innovative research. We’re also preparing to support new data science projects, expand our Young People’s Advisory Group and hold the biggest ever Mental Health Science Meeting.

3 Building a movement with We SwearWhen people push for change together, progress happens – faster. So we’re putting wide-ranging plans in place for the We Swear campaign. It’s designed to bring together scientists, celebrities, politicians and an army of supporters to transform mental health in young people.

Our priorities for 2017

TALK TO USWhether you have personal experience of mental illness or support others who do, we want your interests to be at the heart of our work. To take part in surveys and focus groups, or to share your story and show the world the reality of mental illness, email us at supportercare@mqmentalhealth.org

TALK ABOUT USHelp to make sure our work keeps getting noticed. Tell your friends and family about MQ, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

FUNDRAISE FOR USReady to raise money to help fund life-changing research? Whether it’s a coffee morning, a sponsored silence, an egg-and-spoon race or anything else – we’d love to support you. Email supportercare@mqmentalhealth.org to let us know what you’ve got in mind.

TAKE ON A CHALLENGEWe have places for events across the UK, including the Virgin Money London Marathon. So whether you’ve got your eye on a run, a bike ride or a triathlon, email us at supportercare@mqmentalhealth.org to find out more.

REMEMBER US IN YOUR WILLOnce you have provided for your loved ones in your Will, would you consider leaving a gift to us? Transforming mental health is a big task, but we are in it for the long haul. Your support can help the world’s finest scientists to find much-needed answers about mental health. Together we can revolutionise our understanding of, and ability to tackle, mental illness.

For further information please contact Paul at pbaird@mqmentalhealth.org or visit www.mqmentalhealth.org/legacy-gift

MQ: Transforming Mental Health 6 Honduras St, London EC1Y 0TH

T: 0300 030 8100E: info@MQmentalhealth.orgW: MQmentalhealth.org

@MQmentalhealth facebook.com/MQmentalhealth

Registered charity in England / Wales: 1139916 & Scotland: SC046075

We’ve come a long way in just a few years, but this is only the beginning – and there are so many ways to make sure the movement to transform mental health through research keeps on growing.

Keep the momentum

building