The Thrive in Psychiatry campaign

Our Thrive in Psychiatry 2025 campaign which ran from 28 October to 9 December 2025 was a fitting follow up to the enormously successful Choose Psychiatry campaign which ran for several years and helped us achieve almost 100% fill rates in psychiatry for the last five years at least.

It is also a testament to the hard work, flexibility and creativity against tight deadlines by the team at RCPsych led by Peter Markham and the engagement of psychiatry colleagues from across the UK, giving their time and insights so generously.

The numbers here indicate that the campaign struck a chord with our membership:

• Our Thrive in Psychiatry webpages had 10,000 page views.
• The blog posts were viewed around 3,300 times
• The videos and podcasts were listened to/watched around 4,600 times… with the launch one being viewed 1,700 times alone.
  

It was a privilege to be involved in the campaign in my role as Presidential Lead for Retention and Wellbeing at RCPsych, and lead as host for the podcast series, and this has been one of the most enjoyable and insightful experiences of my career as I was able to hear the stories of, and see the person behind the role of psychiatrist, of colleagues It breathed new life into the pride I felt in my profession, and strengthened my commitment to nurturing the next generation of psychiatrists so they can make a difference to patients’ lives.

The stories that psychiatrists at all stages of their career shared during the campaign as part of podcasts, blogs, interviews and feedback/comments were riveting and humbling in equal measure. There were accounts of deeply emotional experiences, pearls of wisdom and glimpses into the endurance and courage shown by colleagues in the face of adversity, and barriers. At a time when the tumult and challenge in the profession and in mental healthcare can seem daunting, these stories from psychiatrists from diverse backgrounds, places and specialties reminds us of the art of the possible.

I think the campaign also brought to life the RCPsych Retention Charter which was published in the summer of 2025, the first ever by a medical Royal College and which provides a self-assessment and improvement framework to address the issue of retention of Psychiatrists. The four domains of the Charter which discuss the key elements of good retention practice, namely 'Creating a culture of belonging', 'Supporting psychiatrists’ health and wellbeing', 'Supporting psychiatrists’ career pathways' and 'Developing medical leadership' were an integral part of the stories shared by psychiatrists. A self-assessment tool is now available for organisations/departments/teams to self-assess their baseline standard of retention practices and develop a plan for improvement.

Many colleagues also contacted me individually to discuss issues they had faced, how it affected their career and what the College could do to further strengthen its role around collaboration, advocacy and setting standards.

Based on the feedback we have received through the campaign links, issues that members raised range from organisational support and reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent doctors, those with caring responsibilities, disabilities and illness, career development for SAS psychiatrists, effective job planning, tackling violence and aggression in the workplace, support for psychiatrists during investigations and coronial processes. There were also requests to link in with RCPsych to explore areas of research in relation to retention of psychiatrists, and offer training and CPD to tackle burnout among colleagues. The material available on the campaign website provides answers for most of these questions, where appropriate we will be directing colleagues to other resources offered by the College.

On reflection, a theme that strongly came across is that there is no one correct or preferred route for a psychiatrist, that a different route is not a deficient route, each part of your personal and professional experiences shapes you into making the unique psychiatrist that you are. You can chart your own unique journey. In Dr Seuss’s inimitable words:

I hope you have been able to follow the full offer of the campaign or dip into it as and when you can. You can find all the podcasts on our Thrive in Psychiatry podcasts page, as well as on YouTube.

Over the course of the next few months we will be sharing the impact of the campaign, the changes that come about as a result of it and our plans for Thrive in Psychiatry 2026, shaped by your inputs.

We owe it to our patients and future generations of psychiatrists to continue our renewed focus on retention that we started with the Retention Charter and the Thrive in Psychiatry campaign in 2025.

Thank you to all for your support and commitment to this work. I am sure the 2026 Thrive in Psychiatry will build on our inaugural campaign and take it to the next level. As a lover and writer of poetry, I will end by paraphrasing Emily Dickinson’s stirring line from the poem ‘I Dwell in Possibility’ by saying:

“I dwell in the house of possibility, built on foundations of purpose and a roof of promise.”