Raj Persaud Author

Dr Raj Persaud is a Consultant Psychiatrist who worked as a consultant at the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley NHS Hospitals in London from 1994-2008, and as an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London. These are the premier research and training institutions for psychiatry in Europe. He was also Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the USA and Institute of Neurology at Queens Square. His training in psychiatry since leaving UCH medical school in 1986 has been entirely at the Institute of Psychiatry and the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley Hospitals.Unusually for a psychiatrist, he also holds a degree in psychology, obtained with First Class Honours, and eight other degrees and diplomas, including a Masters in Statistics. He was awarded the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Prize and Medal, The Maudsley Hospital's own Denis Hill Prize, and The Osler Medal. The Royal College of Psychiatrists recently also awarded him the Morris Markowe Prize.In 2004 he was appointed Visiting Professor for Public Understanding of Psychiatry at Gresham College, and he was asked by the Royal College of Psychiatrists to edit its first book aimed at educating the public on psychology and psychiatry. The Mind: A Users Guide was published in 2007 and reached the top ten bestseller list. All of his five non-fiction books have been top ten bestsellers. His writing is in several established textbooks, and he has approaching 100 publications in journals such as The British Journal of Psychiatry, British Medical Journal and The Lancet. Recently he was elected Fellow of University College London and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is patron or supporter of numerous mental health charities including, at various times, OCD-UK, The Manic Depression Fellowship, Association of Post-Natal Illness, Childline, Action Aid and The Samaritans. The Independent on Sunday newspaper conducted a poll among members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Institute of Psychiatry to discover who were the top ten psychiatrists in the UK. Dr Raj Persaud was the youngest doctor to make it into this esteemed list. TheTimes newspaper also placed him as one of the Top Twenty Mental Health Gurus in the world.He is now joint podcast editor for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and also has a free app on iTunes and Google Play store entitled "Raj Persaud in Conversation". This includes a lot of information on the latest research findings in mental health, plus interviews with top experts from around the world.He left the NHS in 2010 for full time clinical private practice in Harley Street. He has been chair of the judges of one of the world's most prestigious prizes for popular science writing - the Aventis Prize for Science Books - in 2002 awarding the prize to Stephen Hawking.