Rajendra "Raj" Persaud (born 13 May 1963) is an English consultant

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, broadcaster and author of books about psychiatry. He is known for raising public awareness of psychiatric and mental health issues in the general media, has published five books and received numerous awards. In October 2008, Persaud resigned from his position as consultant psychiatrist at the

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, also known as SLaM, is an NHS foundation trust based in London, England, which specialises in mental health. It comprises four psychiatric hospitals (Bethlem Royal Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and t ...

Early life and academic career

Persaud is the son of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

-born author Lakshmi Persaud and Professor Bishnodat Persaud. He was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School Haberdashers' Boys' School (formerly Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School) is a 4–18 boys Independent school (United Kingdom) in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school was ...

and at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where he read for his degrees in medicine and psychology, and wrote for the student newspaper '' Pi''. In his first year at UCL he had to re-sit the examinations in anatomy, which he attributed later to availing himself too freely of the other educational opportunities there. He told the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' that this left him "traumatised" and he compensated by virtually taking up residence in the college library, eventually achieving at least three degrees, four diplomas and a membership examination, including: * BSc Degree in Psychology with First Class Honours, Department of Psychology,

(1984) * MB BS Degree in Medicine, The School of Medicine,

(1985) * DHMSA, Diploma in the History of Medicine,

Worshipful Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a me ...

(1988) * Dip Phil (Diploma in Philosophy) Extra-Mural Department,

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

(1990) * MRCPsych Membership of

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...

(1990) * MPhil Master of Philosophy,

Institute of Psychiatry The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a centre for mental health and neuroscience research, education and training in Europe. It is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness, neurological co ...

(1992) * Dip Hlth Econ, Diploma in Health Economics, Planning and Management, with Distinction,

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

(1993) * MSc Social Research Methods and Statistics,

City University London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

(1995) He was a psychiatric trainee at the

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably ''Bedlam (194 ...

and

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the I ...

in London, a research scholar and post-doctoral fellow at

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

in the US in 1990 and a research worker at the Institute of Neurology at UCL. In 2000 he was awarded a UCL Fellowship, and in 2005 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Fellow of the

. In 2002 he was voted one of the top ten psychiatrists in the UK by a survey of the

and the

, published in the ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' newspaper. He was a senior lecturer in psychiatry at the University of London and had a visiting professor role at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

for Public Understanding of Psychiatry from 2004–2008.

Media career

Persaud regularly appeared on radio and TV programmes, as either interviewee or presenter and was resident psychiatrist on the daytime television programme '' This Morning''. In addition to writing regularly for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', Persaud also had columns in the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

'', ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'' and Canary Wharf City Life magazine. He is a former presenter of the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

psychology and psychiatry programme '' All in the Mind''. He was a presenter for ''Travels of the Mind'' for

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

. He is the joint editor of the

"discover psychiatry podcasts". Persaud has appeared on talk shows such as '' Richard and Judy'' and ''

Good Morning with Anne and Nick In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...

'', promoting psychiatric treatments for mental health issues. With the general practitioner Mark Porter, he co-presented the live medical talk and phone-in TV programme '' Doctor, Doctor'' on Channel Five. Persaud's media work has earned him a mixed reception. Francis Wheen, then a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' columnist, wrote that he is "paid a lot of money for stating the obvious". In contrast, Phil Hammond, a GP and journalist, applauded Persaud for his populist appeal, saying Persaud is a "good media communicator" for the psychiatric industry, albeit lacking the sophistication of the late Anthony Clare. Persaud has worked in the NGO sector. He is a patron of OCD-UK, a British charity for people affected by

obsessive–compulsive disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder in which an individual has intrusive thoughts (an ''obsession'') and feels the need to perform certain routines (''Compulsive behavior, compulsions'') repeatedly to relieve the dis ...

(OCD). He also works with

ActionAid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organi ...

and visited

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

with the charity.

Personal life

He lives in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

and is married to Francesca Cordeiro, an eye surgeon of Goan descent who works at Moorfields Eye Hospital. They have a son and daughter.

Awards

* John Jepson Prize, Special Commendation (1986) * Osler Medal,

(1991) * Denis Hill Prize,

(1991) * Young Scientist Award, Biennial International Schizophrenia Workshop, Badgastein, Austria (1992) * Research Prize and Medal,

(1993) * Fellow of

(2000) * Fellow of the

(2005) * Morris Markowe Prize,

(2005) * Tony Thistlethwaite Award Commendation for Excellence, Medical Journalists' Association (2005)

Publications

* ''Staying Sane: How to Make your Mind Work for You''. September 1997 (Metro). * ''From the Edge of the Couch''. March 2003 (Bantam Press). * ''The Motivated Mind''. March 2005 (Bantam Press). * ''Simply Irresistible: The Psychology of Seduction – How to Catch and Keep Your Perfect Partner''. January 2007 (Bantam Press). * ''The Mind: A User's Guide''. July 2007 (Bantam Press).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Persaud, Raj 1963 births Living people People educated at Haberdashers' Boys' School Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Alumni of City, University of London Alumni of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Alumni of University College London English psychiatrists Medical journalists People from Reading, Berkshire English people of Indian descent English people of Indo-Trinidadian descent English Hindus Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists