Alex has applied experience in working with health organizations to develop mental health policy and to design and implement new mental healthcare services in primary and hospital based care.

In 2017, Alex began a major humanitarian project in Cambodia with NGO involvement which is developing the country’s first mass-accessible mental healthcare provision in primary care.

From his initial work in a rural charity hospital, he has developed a complete and financially self-sustaining model for setting up first mental health provisions in the region, including medicine sourcing, doctor and nurse training, patient screening and assessment, treatment, and after care.

He is in the process of implementing this model in other regional hospitals, prioritizing medical services which treat those who cannot afford to pay for free or which donate all of their profits for such purposes.

Over the next year, over 1,000 lowest income Cambodians are expected to receive mental healthcare to which they would not otherwise have had access, increasing to 10,000+ patients in the coming years

Keynotes at economics, nursing, philosophy, and psychology conferences (example youtube clip above).

Supervised 16 PhDs and applied doctorates, all successful, 12 had top tier publications before or soon after completion (average 3 per student).

Designing and delivering medical education programs.

• Doctor training in diagnosing and treating mental health conditions.
  
• Nurse training in recogniseing and screening for mental health conditions.
  
• Pharmacist training in the responsible use of psychiatric medicines.
  

Skills workshops in psychotherapy techniques designed and delivered.

DBA, MBA, and executive education programme development and teaching.

Masters and undergraduate degree course development and teaching.

Over 100 papers on mental health and well-being, cited around 11,000 times by other researchers.

Intergrating behavioural science, economics, education, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, and other social and health sciences.

Incorporating behavioural science (behavioural economics/nudge) approaches to ensure the "human element" of clinical practice is considered ensuring  locally sensitive solutions.

Clinical research on alcohol use disorders, anxiety, body image disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, stress, suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychosis, and schizophrenia.

Positive well-being research on gratitude, happiness, hope, and positive relationships

Physical health research on biomarkers, comorbid conditions, diabetes, disability, genetic risk counselling, and sleep disorders.

Commonly used methodologies include: Experimental research, large dataset research, longitudinal research, randomised controlled intervention trials (RCTs), scale development (psychometrics), and meta-analyses and systematic literature reviewing.

Education

Professor Alex Wood

Mental Health and Happiness across Psychology, Economics, and Psychiatry/Medicine

Centennial Chair in Psychology at LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science

Impact

research