PhD Studentship: Developing treatment guidance to support military personnel affected by deployment-related psychological distress

We are looking to recruit a PhD candidate who is interested to develop understanding of how mental health causalities can be assessed and triaged during potential future large-scale combat operations (LSCO).

This studentship is funded by a grant from the Ministry of Defence, focussing on large-scale combat operations. The project is delivered against three core research questions, all of which focus on how best to support the Defence Medical Command with preparing for the mental health consequences of deployment to a LSCO:

1. How can we accurately predict psychiatric casualty rates in a contemporary LSCO?
2. What preparation or intervention can feasibly be provided at scale within war zones?
3. How do we identify those likely to recover via early intervention versus those likely to require a longer treatment pathway?

The studentship will focus primarily on the third research question: ‘how do we identify those who are likely to recover via early intervention versus those likely to require a longer treatment pathway?’ Although there is extensive historical literature, there is comparatively little contemporary evidence to guide how clinical decisions about the assessment and triage of mental health casualties should be made in the context of LSCO.

The specific direction of the studentship is flexible, but is proposed to involve using a knowledge mobilisation framework to conduct:

1. A scoping review of best practices to reduce psychological distress of serving personnel pre-, during, and post-deployment with an emphasis on combat operations.
2. Qualitative interviews with clinicians, from a range of specialities and with varying lengths of experience, about clinical decision-making when assessing mental health casualties in a combat zone.
3. A Delphi consensus study (informed by the above and by findings from other work packages within the wider LSCO project) to develop treatment guidance for clinicians to use when assessing mental health casualties in a combat zone.

This studentship will include comprehensive training in relevant research methods and skills, and the possibility of teaching as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Essential Criteria

- 2:1 honours (or Overseas equivalent) bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject area (epidemiology, psychology, or a related health field). A 2:2 degree may be considered only alongside a master’s with a Merit or above.

- Ability to work independently and as part of a team

- Strong time and personal management skills and ability to work to deadlines

- Good communication skills (oral and written)

- Interest in working with the Armed Forces community and interest/understanding of military culture and mental health

Desirable

- Experience of working in research within the Armed Forces community

- Experience of working within a clinical setting

- Experience of writing and/or disseminating research to non-academic audiences

- To have published in peer-review journals

Applicants must apply via the admissions portal by midnight (23:59 GMT), Sunday 8^th November 2026.

On the ‘Choosing a programme’ page, please select Psychological Medicine Research MPhil/PhD (Full-time).

In the Funding section, please tick box 5 and include the following reference: CW-KCMHR-LSCO-26

Please note there is no need to complete the Research Proposal section in your application as the project has already been set. You may email Dr Charlotte Williamson (charlotte.1.williamson@kcl.ac.uk) for more information regarding the project and studentship.

For general queries please contact the Education support team at ioppn.pgr@kcl.ac.uk.

The studentship start date is 1st February 2027.

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