Professor Lindsay Thomson
Personal Chair of Forensic Psychiatry
Background
Lindsay Thomson is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh and Medical Director of the State Hospitals Board for Scotland and the Forensic Mental Health Managed Care Network. She is an honorary consultant forensic psychiatrist working clinically in a high security setting.
Professor Thomson graduated in Medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1987 and completed basic Psychiatry training at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. She was a research fellow in the Division of Psychiatry for 2 years and then completed her higher psychiatric training in general adult psychiatry and forensic psychiatry.
She became senior lecturer in forensic psychiatry in 1997 and subsequently reader in forensic psychiatry. She was the psychiatry undergraduate course organiser from 1998 - 2015.
Responsibilities & affiliations
Clinical research impact markers include:
Board member of SACRO (Safeguarding Communities, Resettling Offenders) December 2006 - current
Advisory Board of the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services (IAFMHS), 2008-current
Scottish Prison Service Mental Health Steering Group, 2008 – current
Chief Scientist Office Mental Health Portfolio Group 2007 – current
Risk Management Authority Research Panel 2011 – current
Forensic Executive, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, 1998-current
Forensic Psychiatry Research Society (FPRS): President, 2004 - 2009
Research summary
Professor Thomson’s research interests the improvements of the mental health of offenders and public safety, in particular:
- risk of harm to others
- mental health of prisoners
- impact of legislative change
- specific mental disorders and effects of co-morbidity
- outcome factors for mentally disordered offenders
- treatment interventions for mentally disordered offenders
-
Understanding the mental health needs of Scotland's prison population
(70 pages)
Research output: › Commissioned report (Published) -
The review of initial complainant conduct: A tool to assist in the early identification of unusually persistent complainants
In:
British Journal of Healthcare Management, vol. 28
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12968/bjhc.2021.0020
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Randomised controlled trial of the short-term effects of osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate on symptoms and behavioural outcomes in young male prisoners with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: CIAO-II study
(11 pages)
In:
The British Journal of Psychiatry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2022.77
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Effectiveness of psychological and psychosocial interventions for forensic mental health inpatients: A meta-analysis
In:
Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol. 58
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2021.101551
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Exploration of morbidity, suicide and all-cause mortality in a Scottish forensic cohort over 20 years
In:
BJPsych Open, vol. 6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2020.40
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published)