David Woodhead PhD (he/him)

Steve Martin & Martin Short singing the way you look tonight to the beautiful DianeKeaton 🥺💔

The mental health impacts of catastrophic events: policy considerations - A Bell, D Woodhead, 2025 In this article, authors Bell and Woodhead look at the terminology surrounding and impact of catastrophic events on mental health on a global basis. They outlin...

How do global catastrophic events – like climate change, war and pandemics – affect mental health?
And how can governments support those most at risk?

@davidwoodhead.bsky.social & @andybell-centremh.bsky.social explore in this special edition of @rsph.bsky.social's journal 👇 tinyurl.com/y5x88td3

Congratulations 🎊💐🥳🎊

Looking Again: The Quilt, the Gaze, and Queer Remembering David Woodhead reflects on the memories, legacies, and queer histories provoked by viewing- gazing upon- the AIDS memorial quilt in 1994 and in June this year.

For reasons I don’t fully understand the UK #AIDS quilt was displayed recently at @tatemodern.bsky.social for only three days.

My friend and colleague @davidwoodhead.bsky.social writes in this incredible piece about his encounter there w materiality and/as memory thepolyphony.org/2025/07/02/q...

@centreformh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social

Looking Again: The Quilt, the Gaze, and Queer Remembering David Woodhead reflects on the memories, legacies, and queer histories provoked by viewing- gazing upon- the AIDS memorial quilt in 1994 and in June this year.

Stood before the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt at Tate Modern and felt fury and sorrow coil together. Grief for those lost.
Rage at the silence that let it happen

My blog on remembering—not passively, but defiantly.
Grieving loudly. Loving fiercely. Refusing erasure.
thepolyphony.org/2025/07/02/q...

Thank you, Fiona. That's very kind of you.

The fight for LGBTQ+ rights can take its toll, yet solidarity strengthens us. We build resilience together, honouring the past while forging a future of compassion and justice. In our communities, we find healing, courage, and the power to keep going. @centreformh.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social

Image of a young person with short red hair draped in a LGBTQ+ Pride flag in the crowd at a Pride march. Quote from David Woodhead: "Every beat, every shout, every flash of colour was a declaration of identity – a promise that our existence, in all its boldness, would not be silenced."

Marching through time: Intersections of queer activism and mental wellbeing 

To kick off #Pride month, @davidwoodhead.bsky.social thinks back to his first Pride march, and considers the importance of caring communities in confronting mental health injustice 👇 tinyurl.com/4vx5bx56 #Pride2025

Waterloo sunrise: A ten-year journey from shadows to light - Centre for Mental Health David marks a decade of sobriety with reflections on how substance use impacted his life and the support that enabled his recovery.

As @davidwoodhead.bsky.social marks a decade of sobriety, he reflects on the support that enabled his recovery from #SubstanceUse - including family and friends, therapy, writing, physical health services & support like @londonfriend.bsky.social 👇 www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/waterloo-sun...

An incredibly powerful post by our fabulous colleague @davidwoodhead.bsky.social

Writing about addiction invites judgement and stigma. Yet I hope my blog reminds us that even in the darkest days, there is always hope #LGBTQ+ #mentalhealthequity #recovery @centreformh.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social

We also need to see:
🎯 ICBs developing a plan that addresses the care pathways between both services
🎯 ICBs funding voluntary orgs that meet the needs of marginalised communities
🎯 Strengthening & training of the workforce
🎯 Investment in testing innovative approaches to meeting co-occurring needs

Today at @centreformh.bsky.social we’re sharing our new briefing on the urgent need to improve support for people with both mental health and substance use difficulties. For too long, doors have been closed and people have been let down. It’s time to plan services with people’s real needs in mind.

Writing about addiction invites judgement and stigma. Yet I hope my blog reminds us that even in the darkest days, there is always hope #LGBTQ+ #mentalhealthequity #recovery @centreformh.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social

Integrate drug and mental health services. Prioritise compassion over criminalisation, acceptance over stigma. A system rooted in care recognises that addiction is a health issue, not a crime—ensuring people receive support, not punishment. Change begins with humanity. @centreformh.bsky.social

Having both mental health and substance use difficulties shouldn’t stop you from accessing care. But this is too many people’s reality. We’re calling for more integrated & compassionate care.

Having both mental health and substance use difficulties shouldn’t stop you from accessing care. But this is too many people’s reality. We’re calling for more integrated, compassionate care so that everyone can get the support they need.
www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications...

This gap in provision has been recognised, but not effectively closed, for decades. Now we need action.

📢 We're calling for investment in both substance use & mental health services - and more integration between the two - as part of the upcoming ten-year health plan.

Two quotes from participants: “We might have a ‘no wrong door’ approach, but people may not even get to the door.” “There needs to be greater acceptance of the strength that it takes someone to disclose that they want support for a drug or alcohol problem, as people have told us this is not always taken seriously and often the issue is dismissed as not being a major problem.”

The pervasive stigma around both substance use and mental ill health acts as a significant barrier to getting help. And the lack of culturally competent, faith-sensitive, gender-informed can compound the barriers for people from racialised and LGBTQ+ communities.

A key barrier to support is the lack of integration between mental health and substance use services. Despite the complex links between the two problems, people are routinely refused mental health support until they stop using substances.

We hosted a roundtable with Professor Dame Carol Black and participants from charities, service providers, grassroots organisations, and professional bodies, to explore how we can move from fragmentation to more integrated, effective services.

Hate and its impacts on LGBTQ+ mental health. 🌈 How to combat the negativity and foster wellbeing. My latest blog post #LGBTQ #MentalHealth #Wellbeing @centreformh.bsky.social @literarti.bsky.social @durhamimh.bsky.social @andybell-centremh.bsky.social @aldersonday.bsky.social

Rainbows in the storm: Navigating hostility and hope in LGBTQ+ lives David Woodhead

Quote: “What are the long-term impacts of enduring hate, not just on us as individuals but on the many LGBTQ+ communities we belong to?” “And perhaps more fundamentally, how do we survive, let alone thrive, in a world that questions our existence?”

Rainbows in the storm: Navigating hostility and hope in LGBTQ+ lives

Following last week's Supreme Court ruling & new data on suicide deaths, @davidwoodhead.bsky.social explores how mental health inequalities are impacting LGBTQ+ people, and how we can tackle these injustices👇 tinyurl.com/mpu2a7px

Facing up to the reality of being HIV positive is, without doubt, a challenge. But in the midst of the fear, uncertainty, and stigma, I found hope and friendship. And purpose. @centreformh.bsky.social #UequalsU #HIV #Hope #Stigma #HIVTestingWeek #LGBTQIA @durhamimh.bsky.social

My giant head smashed through the door in the Shinning. My eyes are wide and wild. "Here's autism!"

Here's Autism!

#AutismAwareness
#AutismAcceptance

Infographic: 1 in 5 children and young people in England has a mental health problem. Only a third were able to access treatment in 2023. (Children’s Commissioner for England, 2024)

Infographic: 75% of young people experiencing a mental health problem wait so long that their condition gets worse, or they are unable to access any treatment at all. (Local Government Association, 2023)

⚠️ Rates of mental health problems among children have risen significantly in recent years, and now cost the UK £1 trillion in lost lifetime earnings.
How do we reverse the rise and reduce the risks?

Keep a look out for our new report tomorrow, where we'll be exploring this in more detail 👀

Upcoming Webinar: 1st May 2025

Join us for our next webinar on 1st May, 10 - 11 a.m

Presenters Jess Carlisle from LSE and Tamsin Fisher from Keele University

More details can be found sites.manchester.ac.uk/mhsci/2025/0...

To register: zoom.us/webinar/regi...

We are so thrilled! A marvellous new chapter and so much to explore 🤩

Thrilled and excited to be given this opportunity to build our partnership - @centreformh.bsky.social and @durhamimh.bsky.social - as well as explore important research questions. Thanks to @literarti.bsky.social and @andybell-centremh.bsky.social for helping make this happen. Dreams can come true.

We are thrilled at Centre for Mental Health to have been involved in these three days of exploring queer research methodologies and their applications. Thank you @drfijohnstone.bsky.social and colleagues and students at Institute for Medical Humanities for asking us to facilitate. A privilege.