Academic Work
I'm a PhD candidate in social anthropology exploring meaning-making in psychosis, altered states of consciousness, alternatives to forced psychiatric treatment, social determinants of distress, and therapeutic communities. I received my MSc in Global Mental Health in 2020 at the University of Edinburgh (with distinction). I’ve published academic papers and widely-read magazine articles and am regularly invited to give guest lectures and speak at conferences around the world.
Peer reviewed publications
Jordan, G., Ng, F., & Thomas, R. (2023). How clinicians can support posttraumatic growth following psychosis: A perspective piece. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 1-6. doi:10.1017/ipm.2023.7
Magazine publications
Thomas, R. (2022) 'The Transformative Potential of Psychosis', Mad in America, 21 July.
Thomas, R. (2023) 'Not Just A Dream: Finding the Mental Health Community I’d Been Longing For', Mad in America, 23 July.
Gupta, V., Jordan, G., Thomas, R. (2022) 'Psychosis can be a personal hell. It can also inspire growth', Psyche Magazine, 26 September.
Selected Guest lectures
February 2024 - 'Visual Methods, Documentary Film and Ethnography,' for the postgraduate course 'Qualitative Methods and Ethnographic Fieldwork' in Anthropology, University of Edinburgh.
February 2024 - 'Visual Methods, Documentary Film and Ethnography,' for the undergraduate course 'Ethnography: Theory and Practice' in Anthropology, University of Edinburgh.
November 2023 - 'Understanding Psychosis, Voice-Hearing and Unshared Realities,' for the postgraduate course 'Critical Approaches to Global Mental Health and Social Change' in Global Mental Health, University of Edinburgh.
November 2023 'Working with voice-hearing and altered states,' for the course 'Mental Health Officer Award' in Advanced Social Work Studies, University of Edinburgh.
November 2022- 'Reconceptualising Crisis and Response to Crisis,' for the course 'Mental Health Officer Award' in Advanced Social Work Studies, University of Edinburgh.
November 2021 - 'The Transformative Potential of Psychosis,' for the course 'Mental Health Officer Award' in Advanced Social Work Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Selected conference and webinar presentations
'How do we know what we ‘know’? Thinking across epistemologies and methodologies in global mental health' Edinburgh Mental Health Conference. Edinburgh, UK, April 2024, University of Edinburgh.
'Lived Experience in Global Mental Health' Global Mental Health Day. Edinburgh, UK, September, 2023, University of Edinburgh.
'Bridging Divergent Realities Through Film and Photography: Valuing "Living" Experience Through Visual Methods', Too Mad To Be True Philosophy and Psychiatry Conference. Gent, Belgium, May 2023, Museum Dr. Guislain.
'Unsettling Serious Mental Illness: Polyphonous Understandings of Intense Mental States' Panel Presentation', American Anthropological Association. Seattle, USA, November 2022, Seattle Convention Centre.
‘How Clinicians can Facilitate Positive Change and Post-traumatic Growth Following an Episode of Psychosis’ (webinar with Dr. Gerald Jordan and Dr. Fiona Ng) [online] New England, USA, November 2021, Mental Health Technology Transfer Centre Network.
‘An Overview of Positive Change and Post-traumatic Growth Following an Episode of Psychosis’ (webinar with Dr. Gerald Jordan and Dr. Fiona Ng) [online] New England, USA, November 2021, Mental Health Technology Transfer Centre Network.
‘The Transformative Potential of Psychosis’ [online] Cork, Ireland, September 2021, International Hearing Voices Congress.
Awards
2023 Our Minds Scholarship, University of Edinburgh
2022-2026 School of Social and Political Science Scholarship, University of Edinburgh
2021 Award for Best Overall Performance (MSc in Global Mental Health programme, University of Edinburgh)