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About us
Our vision
to reduce the impact of mental illness in our communities
Since 1987, the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) has been dedicated to improving mental health in our communities. Based at West Moreton Health and supported by Queensland Health, we work closely with The University of Queensland and clinicians to turn research into real-world impact.
Research priorities
Our research teams are passionate about uncovering new insights into mental health, spanning everything from lab discoveries to real-world impact in clinics and communities. Guided by what matters most to people, and aligned with state and national priorities, we focus on:
- Pinpoint causes and prevalence of mental illness
- Identify risks before they take hold
- Create smarter, more effective treatments
- Strengthen services and systems
- Turn evidence into action through better policy and practice
QCMHR is located at the historic Dawson House, on the grounds of The Park Centre for Mental Health Treatment, Research and Education, operated by West Moreton Health.
Our expertise
Our research efforts are focused around the following areas of expertise:
- First Nations mental health
- Psychiatric epidemiology, risk factors, and burden of disease
- Forensic mental health
- Suicide crisis
- Service design
- Psychiatric neurobiology
- Clinical trials and interventions
- Treatment-refractory schizophrenia
- Physical and mental health comorbidity
- Military and veterans' mental health
- Mental health in climate change
- Child, adolescent, and youth mental health
- Alcohol and substance use
- Mental health systems, services, and evaluation
- Analysis and reporting of mental health outcomes data
- Translation of research into policy and practice
History
In the mid-1980s, Dr Harvey Whiteford, a young psychiatrist with Queensland Health, won a rare Government Fellowship at a time when psychiatry was still heavily stigmatised. The Fellowship sent him to Stanford University’s world-renowned Palo Alto Veterans Medical Center. The experience sparked a vision: that Queensland could lead the way in mental health research.
In 1987, that vision came to life. Queensland Health established the Clinical Studies Unit at Wolston Park Hospital, with Harvey as its first Director. As mental health care moved from large hospitals into communities in the 1990s, the unit transformed too, becoming the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR). Under the leadership of Professors John McGrath and Bryan Mowry, it grew into a state-wide centre dedicated to discovery and impact.
Since then, QCMHR has expanded far beyond its Wacol base. With steady support from Queensland Health and strong national and international partnerships, our researchers have led breakthroughs in prevention, treatment, and mental health services. We’ve built specialist research streams, a clinical trials unit, and trained the next generation of clinicians and researchers.
For nearly four decades, QCMHR has been driven by one simple purpose: to create knowledge that improves lives.
A detailed history of QCMHR can be found in the article Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research: the first 17 years, written in 2004 by Professors McGrath, Mowry, and Whiteford, who have each been Directors of QCMHR during the organisation's proud 37-year history.
