RCPsych Insight magazine
RCPsych Insight is our quarterly magazine. Its aims are to:
- give you a window into just some of the activity that the College undertakes on your behalf
- present a range of views, including from academics and people with lived experience, on the many issues that affect your practice and the profession
- reflect the diverse experiences of psychiatrists – from trainees to international volunteers.
Cover art exhibition
We held a special exhibition of the cover art of RCPsych Insight at our London HQ.
Older issues
Issue 18 
Why you should take part in RCPsych’s LGBTQ+ survey, regardless of how you identify.
How the College is tackling the shortfall in psychiatrists on several fronts.
Dr Jacob Krzanowski talks about his experiences representing RCPsych at COP26 – and how psychiatrists can help tackle climate change.
How RCPsych in Scotland persuaded the Scottish government to adopt its five priorities for mental healthcare using award-winning campaigning.
Exploring an initiative to increase awareness of non-pharmaceutical interventions for insomnia.
Issue 17 
The College prepares to make its voice heard at COP26, with the message that the climate emergency is a mental health crisis.
RCPsych responds to the consultation for the Women’s Health Strategy for England, which should set out an ambitious and positive new agenda with women’s voices at the centre.
The Mental Health Watch website relaunches and is easier to use than ever.
The College proposes an action plan following its first membership survey results.
Exploring an initiative to increase awareness of non-pharmaceutical interventions for insomnia.
Issue 16
Why we hope you will take part in RCPsych’s first ever membership survey
Making sure your voices are heard in government over proposed changes to mental health law and the NHS
- Action being taken on the climate and ecological emergency by the NHS and RCPsych member Dr Guy Harvey
Professor Jackie Hoare talks about the challenges faced by young people living with HIV in South Africa and how research and remodelling care systems can help
How lockdown has dealt an extra blow to many vulnerable children and their carers but, for some, it has allowed greater access to help.
This issue also contains a tribute to Dame Fiona Caldicott, the College’s first female President, who passed away in February 2021.
Download Issue 16 (PDF)
Issue 15
RCPsych’s campaign for parity in Wales ahead of May’s Senedd and Scottish Parliament elections.
Recognition of the work of eminent psychiatrist and academic Dr Aggrey Burke over the past 50 years.
Patient representative Michelle Joseph explains why the College’s Equality Action Plan matters.
Professor Neil Greenberg and Dr Ananta Dave discuss supporting the healthcare workforce through the current crisis and beyond.
Issue 14
Two trainees from Palestine discuss the obstacles faced by the state’s mental health services and how an RCPsych project is helping.
Why training on eating disorders is a must for all doctors, not just specialists.
Why rising unemployment is an issue for psychiatrists.
Exploring the mental health needs of people coping with terminal illness.
Issue 13
Exploring RCPsych’s strategy to help tackle systemic racism within healthcare.
Why the College is taking a stand on climate and ecological issues, and why they matter to psychiatry.
How ECT, although not without its risks, can be a lifeline for patients when other treatments fail.
Issue 12
How the College has responded to the pandemic, from working to inform and support psychiatrists to making sure members voices’ are heard in Westminster.
Professor Wendy Burn reflects on her time as RCPsych President – her commitment to members, her achievements and the work yet to do.
As part of the College’s first South Asian History Month, we explore the contribution of psychiatrists from the region to UK psychiatry.
To mark Pride Month, we speak to one of the Rainbow SIG’s founding members about the societal and medical progress made in understanding LGBT+ mental health.
How epigenetic researchers hope they may be developing both an early warning system for mental ill-health and more information on how to effectively treat it.
Issue 11
As RCPsych begins an ambitious programme of lobbying for mental health services, psychiatrist MPs explain how members can amplify the College’s voice in Parliament.
Newly appointed patient and carer representatives make real the College’s commitment to co-production.
Dr Ananta Dave shares lessons in good practice from the United States in preventing suicide among doctors.
We explore the far-reaching mental health implications of vision loss which are rarely recognised or supported.
Issue 10
RCPsych’s call for immediate and longer-term action to help end the crisis in adult in-patient mental health services across England.
How workforce barriers stand in the way of racial equality in mental health and what can be done to address them.
How adult psychiatrists can do more to help the ‘hidden’ children caring for a parent with mental illness.
Retired psychiatrists recount their experiences of the psychiatric profession and reflect on the changes they witnessed and helped to shape.
Issue 9
As insufficient sleep finds its way on to the UK government’s radar as a public health issue, we explore the pivotal yet undervalued role that sleep plays in mental health with Dr Hugh Selsick, chair of RCPsych's Sleep Working Group.
Celebrating 25 years since RCPsych in Scotland first opened its doors, we look back at some of its most significant achievements in this time.
We discuss the importance of mental health research in rehabilitation and recovery with award-winning Professor Helen Killaspy and peer-researcher Angela Kinn.
Issue 8
The College welcomes government action to tackle the effects of digital technology use on the mental health of children and young people.
On the first anniversary of his death, we celebrate the life of Professor NN Wig – a giant of Indian psychiatry.
We preview three standout sessions from RCPsych’s upcoming 10th International Congress: Louis Theroux on making documentaries about mental health, journalist and TV presenter Mark Austin and his daughter Maddy on the story of her anorexia, and Dr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin on what we can learn from the boys who survived the famous Thai cave rescue last year.
How learning from Scotland’s success in cutting street knife crime – and a redesign of kitchen knives – could help reduce the harm caused by domestic violence.
Issue 7
How social prescribing came to Merseyside, offering structure and hope after mental illness.
An innovative new programme led by the College aims to cut the use of physical restraint, rapid tranquilisation and seclusion.
Northern Ireland’s pioneering new approach to mental health legislation.
Manchester-based interpreters and psychiatrists come together to break down language and cultural barriers in mental health.
Issue 6
How the College is feeding into the mental health chapter of the Long-Term Plan for the NHS.
We speak to Grace Ofori-Attah, consultant psychiatrist and television screenwriter for Idris Elba.
How a campaign to reduce mental health stigma in south India flourished with help from a local drama company.
Does bodily inflammation play a role in depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s? We talk to Professor Ed Bullmore, author of An Inflamed Mind, and Professor Jonathan Cavanagh of Glasgow University who both anticipate an inflammation revolution.
Issue 5
We discuss WHO’s recent decision to officially recognise gaming disorder with Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones and Dr Stephen Kaar
Andy Williams, author of our recent College Report on personality disorder in Scotland, talks about tackling stigma and ensuring patients receive the best care
Indigenous mental health groups in Australia and New Zealand: Why working with these groups requires an adapted approach
Issue 4
- Stephen Fry supports the #ChoosePsychiatry campaign by encouraging medical students to enter the profession
- Our annual International Congress is back and better than ever, with a theme – Psychiatry: New Horizons – that reflects the exciting programme of speakers and events
- As we celebrate both the NHS turning 70 and the centenary of women’s right to vote, we take a snapshot of just some of the most inspiring and pioneering women in mental health
Issue 3
- Our most successful social media campaign – how our ‘7 days to make a difference’ Twitter campaign helped avert cuts to mental health funding in England
- Mental Health Act Review: Dr Lade Smith explains how we need to understand why black and Asian patients are reaching mental health crisis in the first place
- Worried about retirement? Working in a disaster zone is just one of the options on offer
Issue 2
- The facts and figures from Choose Psychiatry, our most successful recruitment campaign
- Dr Amar Shah explains why Quality Improvement is key to good clinical practice
- Features about raising the profile of mental health in Malawi, and the woman who swapped astrophysics for psychiatry
Issue 1
- Professor Sir Simon Wessely’s thoughts about stepping down after three years at the helm
- Professor Wendy Burn on her priorities as President
- Find out about those working in Neuroscience, Perinatal and how to combine Psychiatry with an award-winning screenwriting career